UK student union president receives backlash for joining event with BDS leader UK student union president receives backlash for joining event with BDS leader The Union of Jewish Students and Board of Deputies of British Jews slammed the event and Larissa Kennedy’s expected participation in it. Larissa Kennedy, president of Britain’s National Union of Students. Source: Twitter. Spread the word. (March 11, 2021 / JNS) The president of Britain’s National Union of Students (NUS) has sparked outrage for agreeing to speak alongside BDS movement founder Omar Barghouti at an event for Israel Apartheid Week. Larissa Kennedy, elected last July, is listed as a speaker for an online debate on March 18 called “United Against Racism: Resisting Israeli Apartheid.” The event is hosted by the British group Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Also scheduled to speak is William Shoki, an activist with the South African BDS Coalition, and PSC director Ben Jamal.