A rabbi and his wife hired to support Jewish students at Yorkshire universities have been removed from their posts following contentious social media posts about the crisis in Palestine.

Ariel and Sonia Pariente were appointed by the University Jewish Chaplaincy (UJC) to assist and provide students at universities including Leeds and York with “loneliness, anxiety, ongoing incidents of antisemitism and intimidating anti-Israel activism."

But social media posts from Mrs Pariente dated before her appointment included claims that deaths in Gaza had been faked and sharing calls for more “biblical punishment” for Palestinians.

She also referred to “Pallywood” - a slur which refers to a conspiracy theory that Palestinians have faked their suffering during Israeli military action.

The University of Leeds confirmed that neither Rabbi nor Mrs Pariente will be providing chaplaincy support after the posts came to light.

Students in Palestine support groups at the University of Leeds are now campaigning for the removal of UJC employees, which the University has no say over, urging instead for the University to appoint a local rabbi to support students.

The University of Leeds confirmed that neither Rabbi nor Mrs Pariente will be providing chaplaincy support after the posts came to light.

A spokesperson said: “The University Jewish Chaplaincy has confirmed to us that this matter has been dealt with and that it no longer employs the chaplains for the Leeds and Yorkshire region. We welcome the swift action taken by UJC.

“We remain committed to providing support to all students and staff during this incredibly difficult time and condemn views or actions which deliberately seek to exclude or make Muslim, Jewish or any other people unwelcome on campus.”

It comes after a former chaplain at the University, also hired by the UJC, received death threats after he served as a reservist in the IDF.

Zecharia Deutsch left his role following his return from Israel.

“The calls just came in constantly,” Ms Deutsch told the Times.

“Men, women, lots of different voices. We tried to answer them. We wanted to get evidence. At one point I realised that my son was sitting on the stairs, that he was part of it too. I think it left an impression on him.”

He was given a permanent bodyguard by the Community Security Trust, a Jewish protection organisation, and West Yorkshire Police advised them to leave the city.

Yorkshire university rabbis removed after anti-Islamic social media posts found