(JTA) — A university student in Scotland was found guilty of racism after insulting a fellow student’s Israeli flag, and he was expelled from St. Andrews University.
The student, Paul Donnachie, 19, reportedly told an exchange student from Yeshiva University in New York that Israel was a terrorist state and the flag was a terrorist symbol. He then put his hands down his pants and then rubbed them on the small flag hanging on the wall, the BBC reported.
The flag had been a gift to the Jewish student, Chanan Reitblat, from his brother, a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, according to the report.
Donnachie, a member of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said he would appeal Tuesday’s ruling.
"This is a ridiculous conviction," he said, according to the BBC. "I’m a member of anti-racism campaigns, and I am devastated that as someone who was fought against racism I have been tarnished in this way."
A second student, Samuel Colchester, 20, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. He was suspended from the university for one year.
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