A student has been suspended following
complaints about his dating app profile picture, posing next to a
sleeping orthodox Jewish man on the London underground.
The image shows a Palestinian flag digitally edited into the Jewish man's mouth.
The image shows a Palestinian flag digitally edited into the Jewish man's mouth.
It was used in the Nottingham Trent
University student's Tinder profile.
The picture has since spread across
Twitter, with many people critical of it.
The university, where the student was
due to start his first year, has referred the matter to a
disciplinary panel.
Jess, a Jewish student at the
University of Cambridge, first shared the photo on Twitter last
Friday, after it was sent to her by a friend.
"When she sent it to me she was
quite confused, and we both were quite alarmed by it.
"Not necessarily because we
thought the boy who took the photo was in any way an antisemite, but
because we thought it was wrong to instantly conflate this man's
religious identity with a political conflict.
"When I wrote that tweet I didn't
have any intention of trying to punish the boy. It's more important
to me that he learns from his mistake, and other people can learn
from it too," she told the BBC.
Actress Tracey Ann Oberman, who has
appeared in EastEnders and New Tricks, expressed her disgust in a
tweet which has been liked and re-tweeted hundreds of times.
Ms Oberman, who has written for the
Jewish Chronicle, said the photograph displayed 1930s "levels of
Nazism" and called on the university to take action.
Other social media users described the
image as "disgraceful" and "horrendous."
However, another Twitter user
commented: "This is a joke pic, that's all. I'm Jewish and not
offended."
Nottingham Trent University - which
replied to the tweets by saying they take "hate crime, including
antisemitism, very seriously" - confirmed the student was
suspended earlier this week.
Its spokesperson told the BBC: "We
launched an immediate investigation the moment we were made aware of
a screen grab circulating on social media, in which NTU was mentioned
in an individual's personal profile.
"We acted very quickly to identify
an individual who had not yet started his first year at the
university.
"An investigatory officer
interviewed this individual and they were immediately suspended.
"As part of this investigation we
have been told that a Palestinian flag had been superimposed onto the
image.
"A disciplinary panel will now
decide on appropriate action. We are proud of our diverse and
inclusive community, and do not tolerate any form of hate crime,
including antisemitism."
Daniel Kosky, Campaigns Organiser at
the Union of Jewish Students, welcomed the university's response.
'We are pleased to hear about the swift
action taken by Nottingham Trent University in launching an
investigation and suspending a student.
"It will reassure Jewish students
that Nottingham Trent University takes antisemitism seriously, and
will act upon it if it appears on their campus."
Source: BBC
