The National Union of Students (NUS) president, Shaima Dallali, has been sacked following a 5-month long investigation into allegations of antisemitism (1/11).

The decision comes after an independent panel found that Dallali had made significant breaches of the NUS code of conduct.

In a statement, the NUS said: “We are sorry for the harm that has been caused and we hope to rebuild the NUS in an inclusive way – fighting for all students as we have done for the past 100 years.”

It is thought to be the first time in the 100-year history of the national student organisation that a president has been suspended or fired.

Dallali, 27, was elected to lead the NUS for a two-year term from July after being elected by delegates at the organisation’s national conference in March. However, she was later suspended in August (25/6) as part of a procedural measure for the investigation.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS), whose president is former Cambridge student Joel Rosen, released a statement saying they welcomed the decision taken by the NUS but that “this case is a symptom of a wider problem.

“Jewish students across the country will be asking how an individual deemed unfit for office by NUS was elected in the first place. We await the findings of the substantive inquiry into NUS’ treatment of Jewish students.”

The full report, which is expected to be published by the end of the year, will investigate broader allegations of antisemitism within the NUS.

The report was originally expected to be published last Friday (28/10) however it has been “unexpectedly delayed due to factors outside of the NUS investigation.”

Chloe Field, currently vice president of higher education at the NUS will stand in as acting chair of the NUS UK board until a replacement can be found.

The Cambridge Student Union (SU) previously backed the investigation into antisemitism when it was announced in August but at the time also expressed concerns that the claims of antisemitism were “being weaponised against students of colour and support for Palestinian rights” in a statement made to Varsity last month.

Following the news of her suspension Dallali posted on Twitter, saying: “Don’t ever believe that an organisation is ‘progressive’ or cares about justice before finding out how they treat women of colour and/or Muslim women. Many enable oppression and Islamophobia. They will punish us for daring to be political and make us believe it’s our fault.”

The investigation into Dallali was initially sparked after it was revealed she had written provocative comments, such as tweeting: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return Gaza”, referencing a massacre of Jews in AD 628. The massacre is often referred to in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Dallali, who is 27, has since apologised for the tweet, which she wrote ten years ago. She stated that she is now “a different person”.

Dallali also called Muslim cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi “the moral compass for the Muslim community at large” in an article written in 2018.

Al-Qaradawi has previously described the Holocaust as “divine punishment” for the Jews, whilst falsely claiming that “they exaggerated this issue”. In a 2009 sermon, al-Qaradawi called on God to kill Jews “down to the very last one.”

When al-Qaradawi’s antisemitism was put to Dallali earlier this year by The Tab, she did not comment.

Responding to her sacking, Dallali tweeted: “On the first day of Islamophobia Awareness Month, I find out I have been dismissed through Twitter.

“That is unacceptable”, she added.

The SU has been approached for comment (1/11).