A British Jewish graduate student who is suing Leeds University after an essay she wrote about crimes committed by Hamas against Gazans was given a failing grade will have her case heard in court in June, the UK Jewish News reported.
According to Leeds University student Danielle Greyman, 23, the essay received a failing grade because it did not blame Israel, but criticized Hamas for abuses against the people of Gaza.
Due to the bad mark on the paper, Greyman was forced to retake the class, which she passed. However, she was therefore unable to graduate in time to begin a master’s degree at Glasgow University, the Daily Mail reported.
In the research paper, Greyman wrote about Hamas using human shields as a “betrayal of the Palestinian people by their government.” But the instructor’s notes on the essay said: “This ignores the fact that the Israeli state commits acts of violence.”
In an external review of the essay, an examiner who studied it said that it should have received a passing grade.
“It’s been massive emotional damage. I almost had a complete breakdown over this,” Greyman told the Jewish Chronicle at the time. “[Sociology] was very much my passion, I wanted to become a sociologist. After this happened, I had an entire meltdown
Greyman, who is suing the university for “negligence, discrimination and victimization,” noted she had never failed a university essay before.
She told the Jewish News that her case will proceed in a UK court on June 26, noting that because she was forced to delay her schooling for nearly a year while her appeal went through, she was not able to enter the master’s program at Glasgow University.
She explained that after her appeal, the university had another academic at a different university grade her paper and she passed.
She tweeted that she was “very excited that this nightmare is almost over.”
“No institution, or academic, should behave this way and I am glad to have the opportunity to hold Leeds accountable,” she added.
A University of Leeds spokesperson told the Jewish News: “The University strenuously denies the accusations of antisemitism and all proceedings will be fully defended.”