UK students call on university to suspend rabbi who served in Israeli army
Students at a university in northern England are staging a sit-in to call for the suspension of a Jewish chaplain who has served in the Israeli army during the war on Gaza.
Dozens are occupying part of the Parkinson Building of the University of Leeds, the latest outbreak of action after weeks of protests against Rabbi Zecharia Deutsch.
Deutsch, an Israeli citizen, was called up as a reservist for two months late last year.
The nature of his military participation is unclear but has nevertheless raised ethical questions.
Deutsch’s service was legal, but given the more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in the besieged strip, many are concerned.
“We don’t want anyone who has gone to fight in a genocidal conflict to come back and be welcomed with open arms,” said one student organiser, who requested anonymity, fearing reprisal from the university.
Deutsch has been chaplain at Leeds and several British universities since 2021. He began his military service in November as part of a mobilisation effort after Hamas’s attacks in southern Israel on October 7, which killed at least 1,139 people.
While Israel says it wants to wipe out the Palestinian group, which governs Gaza, prominent rights groups and some world leaders have called for a ceasefire, given the unprecedented humanitarian toll.
Most of those killed in Gaza have been women and children.
Students have rallied week on week, calling for Deutsch to be expelled. Organisers said more than 100 have joined the latest sit-in, which began on Thursday afternoon and was continuing at the time of writing.
