ISLAMABAD: On Tuesday, students from the Palestine Society at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) alleged that the university had suspended students after a rally in solidarity with Gaza.
The SOAS Palestine Society reported that the university suspendes the students following a rally in solidarity with Gaza. Some critics have condemned the university’s actions, viewing them as an attack on freedom of expression.
The tweet stated that on October 9, the Palestine Society and its student community organized a rally in solidarity with the people of Gaza, with hundreds of students participating.
The statement on October 13 and 14 reported that the university suspended students and issued warnings through disciplinarians. It characterized the university’s actions as a targeted act of political repression against those who support the Palestinian cause.
The Palestine Society at the university posted an online petition demanding the university to drop all disciplinary proceedings related to the protest, revoke formal warnings issued to Palestine Society Committee members, and restore the right to protest on the steps of the main building. They also called on the Student Union to advocate for students’ right to protest and to pressure the university to fulfill these demands.
Author and activist Fatima Bhutto expressed her disappointment with SOAS’ actions against students, stating on X, “I am so disappointed in @SOAS. I was always proud of being a @SOASalumni but not today. All solidarity with @SoasPalestine.”
Additionally, the UK Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, wrote to university vice chancellors expressing concern about the welfare of Jewish students and urging them to address threats to their safety, citing evidence of support for Hamas among some pro-Palestinian student organizations.
Multiple academics at Oxbridge and Russell Group universities posted statements that appeared to justify Hamas’s attacks on Israel. Some of them are currently facing investigation.
