Former On Dit editor Habibah Jaghoori slams Israeli government

A controversial former student magazine editor, who was stood down over an article labelled “anti-Semitic”, has hit out at Israeli UN delegates.

A former university magazine editor who came under fire for “anti-Semitic” comments last year has responded after criticism over a new social media post about the Israeli UN delegation.

Former On Dit editor Habibah Jaghoori, who calls herself “anti-Zionist … not anti-Jew” has retweeted an image of Israeli UN delegation wearing “yellow stars” captioning the post: “Every single oppressive and violent phenomena of the past, including the holocaust, runs in your blood”.

“It is who you are,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

X users replied to her tweet calling the former editor an “anti-Semite”.

“What kind of real person talks like this? Have you no decency,” another replied.

In clarifying comments to The Advertiser, the political activist said “the Israeli government commits war crimes and is carrying out a genocide”.

“It is despicable that these are the same people that are weaponising the horrors of the holocaust when they are the ones committing inhumane violence just like that,” she said.

“Oppressors throughout history have always played the victim and that is what they are doing.”

Political activist Habibah Jaghoori retweeted a tweet which read: Just in – Israeli UN delegation wears Nazi-era "Yellow Stars" at UNSC. Picture: X

She said the “Israeli UN delegates are a people that are committing atrocities against innocent and unarmed people”.

“The use of white phosphorus, blocking food, water and electricity and bombing hospitals is oppression to the maximum,” she said.

“It is even harmful to the environment. What has the environment done to them if they don’t have value for human life.”

Ms Jaghoori called the delegates “Zionists” saying she is “anti-Zionist” but not “anti-Jew”.

“I stand in solidarity and support all the Jewish community and activists right now condemning the crimes of the Israeli government,” the former editor said.

Former On Dit editor Habibah Jaghoori. Picture: Twitter

In September last year, Ms Jaghoori was stood down from her position as editor of the University of Adelaide’s student magazine On Dit after writing an article labelled “anti-Semitic”.

The student refused to retract her a statement she wrote in her article calling for “death to Israel”.

Following her public comments after the publication of the piece Ms Jaghoori was sacked from the four-person team by the YouX (student union) board.

The article on Israel posted online by On Dit writer Habibah Jaghoori. Picture: Facebook

The article listed incidents of Israeli violence against Palestinians and argued this was “ethnic cleansing”, ending with the line “Free Palestine and Death to Israel”.

In a statement, YouX said the finding against Ms Jaghoori was not about her article, but her “conduct and behaviour” since its publication.

In its statement, the YouX board said Ms Jaghoori, was subject “to the same organisational values as all other representatives and employees of YouX”.

“The committee respects and supports the editorial independence of On Dit editors and does not seek to censor or influence the publication in any way,” it said.

“The findings of the committee are in relation to the continued and sustained behaviour of the editor in question and the manner in which she has chosen to push her point of view in the public domain.

The Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) had accused On Dit of racism and inciting “hatred” after the article detailed claims of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians, from its title “death to Israel”.

The AUJS said students studying at the University of Adelaide were increasingly being scared on campus amid claims of rising anti-Semitic behaviour.

University of Adelaide declined to comment on the matter.