Nottingham Trent University (NTU) expelled a student for posting a photo of himself next to a Jewish man with a Palestinian flag sticker photoshopped over the man’s mouth.
The photoshopped picture shows the student, identified only as Jonathan, sitting next to a Charedi man sleeping on the metro; it was used for the student’s Tinder profile.
A university spokesperson told the Jewish News on Oct. 25 that the student was “permanently excluded from the university” before he had even started his first year on campus.
“This behavior was completely unacceptable and is not recognized as part of our university’s culture,” the spokesperson said. “We have a diverse, inclusive and global community of which we are proud, and we endeavor to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, harmony and respect. Any behavior which deviates from this will not be tolerated at NTU.”
The photo first circulated on social media on Sept. 26; the university announced on Oct. 4 that the student had been suspended. The student told the UK Tab when the story first broke, “That was indeed a terrible picture, absolutely insensitive and should not have been taken in the first place” and stressed that he wasn’t anti-Semitic.
Both Union for Jewish Students Campaigns Organizer Daniel Kosky and Campaign Against Anti-Semitism Program Manager Binyomin Gilbert praised NTU for “swiftly” handling the matter in statements to the UK Independent.
