I’m hanging the palestinian flag out of my office in the guild because there is something I want students to know about. It’s that today is Nakba day meaning “disaster” or “cataclysm” in Arabic. Today is when people all across the world mourn 700,000 palestinians fleeing or being forcibly driven from their homes during during the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The majority of whom have been living as refugees ever since. All denied the right of return to their homes and livelihoods.
Further I want students at the university to know that for month’s 1600 Palestinians have been on hunger strike for their freedom in Israeli jails, many came close to death after up to 70 days without food. Although several now carry on strike. Bilal Diab, 27, and Thaer Halahla, 33, who have both been without food for 77 days, aren’t ending their strike – they’re demanding that they are released. They simply want an end to their imprisonment without trial by a state illegally occupying their lands.
If you want to do something for justice in Palestine for those imprisoned without trial, those on hunger strike, then I recommend joining the excellent UoB Students for Justice in Palestine and their facebook group, stay tuned for event updates from them.
Vice President Education & Access 
Lets not forget that you are a sadistic antisemite
I have no hate for people who support Israel, I understand why they do. I have no hate for people who support Palestine, again I understand why they do. I have hate for people like Ed Bauer who have no mission in life apart from trying to cause people misery, incite hate and promote violence on campus.
Testify Brother!!
hey anonymous, if you’re so brave and outspoken, why don’t you leave your name the next time you’re trying to defame someone. If that’s too much to ask, at least learn how to spell ‘anonymous’.
Do you have any proof that Ed either gets sexual pleasure from inflicting pain on others or that he hates Jewsh people? Being Anti-Zionist is not the same as being Antisemetic (not all Zionsts are Jewish and not all Jewish people are Zionist). Classic case of ‘those words do not mean what you think they mean’.
For reference I don’t know Ed and am fairly ambivalent about the whole thing but those are pretty hefty words to be throwing about.
Ed has done all this before. The motivation for this is clear – to cause controversy and gain popularity. Yet again he has misused his Guild position to his own ends. Waving this flag does nothing to the situation in the Middle East, it stirs up trouble for those that it offends, this then makes all the Lefties and the Socialists happy because he looks like an anarchist.
It’s already provoked arguments on his own professional Facebook account, but that’s exactly what he wants. It’s an ego boost essentially. He makes a statement, his supporters support him, he feels he’s doing the right thing for “Students at the University of Birmingham”. No, he’s just forced his own opinions onto the Guild and justified it by the support of a minority.
Let’s not forget that Ed was elected by a minority. To be a Vice-President of Education. Now go do something about Education, leave this issue to your own discussions between your friends, not in your professional capacity.
Just to add a note – I don’t take sides in the Israel-Palestine debate, but I think if Ed really cared about this situation he would choose to extensively campaign. Instead he waves a flag that he knows full well that it causes controversy.
You are clearly a pro-nazi, sorry, Zionazi. To see Israel turning in to the modern Nazi State is so sad.
I didn’t see this until now, but in no way have I hinted at being pro-Nazi or Zionist. Please explain your definition of “Zionazi” and relate it to the post I made and how you managed to infer that? Seems I’m able to write stuff with such a hidden message that the underlying message is hidden from myself.
I think the 81 Shares on Facebook this article now has speaks for itself. This is an effective way of raising awareness on Nakba day about one of the longest running human tragedies in the world today.
This is not a “minority opinion” UK opinion polls show clear support the Palestinians and their right to a state [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14946179] further guild council recently voted to boycott two companies for discriminatory work in the occupied territories.
I will carry on with such actions which take no more time than a few minutes because they are effective and as far I can tell from polls and guild council, supported widely by the general student body.
Still too much of a scumbag to respond to any critique though, it seems. What a joke.
No real critique worth responding to, just a pile of abuse as far I can see. Haters gonna hate etc.
(As I can’t reply directly to your message, I’ll settle for this in the hope that it’s seen).
Suffice to say, that’s a very poor get-out clause from someone looking for exposure. You’ve systematically avoided the issue of over-representing one demographic over others which flies in the face of what you SHOULD be doing: representing all students equally.
Have you given any thought to your actions from every perspective, including Israeli students?
Regardless, it’s good to see your “haters gonna hate” stance out in the open. Trolling is mighty amusing sometimes… but in this case it’s sad as it’s the students who suffer most every time you get involved (and really, the more you, the more clear it is that your own soap box is of greater importance to you than anyone else’s concerns).
I’m sure like any well trained politician you’ll attempt to side track these observations entirely (or ignore them, as you have so far). But as the student body saw with Clegg and his promises, politicians aren’t to be trusted.
In other words: Enjoy it while it lasts.
I do not say that it is incorrect to support it. I think it is perfectly acceptable to support it on your personal Facebook, just not on your professional Facebook.
The Guild is a safe space. The Guild voted to boycott two companies. It did not vote on the Guild’s stance on this issue. At least in your professional capacity you should aim to be neutral. And be careful when you say “wider student body” – unfortunately GC is NOT representative of the wider student body, judging by the fact it receives approximately 10% of turnout for Open Place councillors.
You have invited people into your office for a chat on what you think the Guild should be doing – really polite and I hope that you get a response to it, but my opinion is that the Guild should not do anything about it considering how sensitive some students may find the issue.
EB are you having a bubble, like seriously. You cannot use such statistics like that to back up a point. The majority of Israelis and pro-Israel supporters would advocate for a Palestinian state you absolute moron. That does not show anything about supporting the Palestinian cause in this manner, stop manipulating data like that.
Guild council is a joke, come on even you know it, a bunch of your cult followers put themselves up, make a mockery of democracy, a mockery of representation and push their own agenda (or should I just say yours). You can talk shit like this, but you have no clue about anything, you champagne socialist cunt.
PS did I say you were a cunt?
When will you accept that nothing you say or do really matters? (This applies to pro-Israeli activists too in a small degree, but certainly more to you et al.)
There are plenty of frustrated people out there trying to make the best of an impossible situation but you’ll never be one of them whilst using illogical, short sighted rhetoric and tedious publicity seeking. Galloway is one of the only people in the UK who has really profited from that sort of tactic, and he’s a laughing stock. Join the muddled, liberal middle, we have sandwiches.
There have been some unusual arguments made above. I am fully in support of the existence and flourishing of the state of Israel. I do not believe it is inconsistent to say that I am also fully in support of the remembrance and condemnation of the Nakba.
To suggest that these two views are incompatible is like saying, I condemn slavery, therefore I condemn also the city of Bristol and slight all Bristolians. This is clearly false. Present day Bristolians clearly are not evil for living in a place where terrible things happened, and owe only a duty to ensure that people in the present so not suffer, either through other wrong-doing or through the deliberate obscuring of a damaging past. Similarly, present-day Israelis are not slighted by the remembrance of the Nakba, and such remembrance serves as a fulfillment of our human duty not to ignore the deep pains of others, and sufferings of the past.
Hanging a flag out of a window is clearly a straightforward method of marking respect for this day. It is a standard use of a symbol as one of remembrance.
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Great action Edd. I’d say all the shares and ‘likes’ on the Students for Justice in Palestine page speak for themself.
The hateful comments are quite funny and extremely pathetic, you’d think you had killed someone.