Scottish University’s Jewish Society Holds Charity Ball Despite Anti-Israel Intimidation
by JNS.org
A Scottish hotel canceled a planned annual charity ball by the Jewish Society and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at St. Andrews University in Fife, Scotland, after receiving phone and email threats from radical anti-Israel groups, including the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC). Jewish students at the university, however, managed to hold the event at another location at the last minute.
The St. Andrews Golf Hotel received the threats from anti-Israel activists on the grounds that students were going to fundraise at the event for the Jewish National Fund and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. The activists also indicated plans to disrupt the event, and the hotel management, judging that it would not be able to guarantee the safety of anyone involved, backed out of the event.
“Despite the adverse circumstances of the venue pulling out the day before due to allegedly aggressive phone calls and emails from individuals supporting the SPSC, the [university’s] Jewish Society was able to secure an alternative venue,” said Joel Salmon, the president of the St. Andrews Jewish Society, according to the Jerusalem Post. “The St. Andrews Jewish Society will not cave in to intimidation or bullying. We will always protect our members and shall continue to provide events to enrich Jewish life in St Andrews,” he added. SPSC declined to comment.