University Palestine and Islamic Societies have expressed support for the bid by Riverway Law firm, working on behalf of a Hamas leader, to deproscribe Hamas as a terrorist organisation under section 4 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This has exposed the facade maintained by many who claim to advocate for “Palestinian rights,” but are instead advocating for Hamas, an overtly antisemitic terrorist organisation that prides itself on targeting civilians.
18 anti-Israel societies have endorsed the legal bid. Among them are the Student-Staff Coalition for Palestine at the University of Birmingham, which has been linked to antisemitic rhetoric at unauthorised protests, and the London School of Economics Palestine Society, which recently supported the launch of the Hamas propaganda book: “Understanding Hamas: And Why That Matters”.
These student societies claim that the proscription of Hamas impedes their ability to engage in “Palestine advocacy.” This isn’t simply a cynical conflation of “Palestine” and Hamas. It’s an admission of what many Jewish students have been saying all along: these societies are not advocating for Palestinian rights or peace; they are advocating for Hamas’s violent and antisemitic ideology. It is well past time that the public actually starts listening to its Jewish members.
If these student societies cannot advocate for Palestinians without glorifying a brutal terrorist organisation – which proudly murders, kidnaps, rapes, and tortures civilians in pursuit of its genocidal goal of destroying the one Jewish state – then they have no place in an academic setting.
CAMERA on Campus UK firmly opposes any effort to remove Hamas from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations. The Home Secretary must reject this bid. There should be no tolerance for individuals or groups who support or incite terrorism. Where there is evidence of such actions, appropriate investigations must be carried out to protect student safety. Institutions need to understand that student societies that express their support for this bid are not doing it out of concern for free speech, but out of their ideological affiliation with Hamas. UK universities have a duty to protect all students by thoroughly investigating organisations that openly express support for terrorism and ensuring that campuses remain safe, lawful environments.
