The president of University College London (UCL) has apologised after several students were blocked from attending an event on Jewish history after an anti-Israel mob “besieged a campus building”.
A group of activists wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags stormed the building last Friday afternoon, chanting “Zionism off campus” and “Crush the Zionist settler state”.
The talk was organised by the UCL Friends of Israel Society and CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis) on Campus UK, and featured Yemenite-Israeli influencer Adiel Cohen, who spoke about his family’s flight from antisemitic violence in Yemen.
Kurt Schwartz, CEO of Camera, whose UK Campus branch co-hosted Friday’s event, said: “It is horrifying that some students were blocked or scared away from attending the event we co-hosted, and that a heavy police presence was required for those who attended and were faced with protesters that called for Israel’s destruction and demanded ‘Zionism off Campus’.
“Being a Zionist simply means you support the self-determination of the Jewish people in their historic homeland. Would these protestors demand that students of any other cultural background be hounded ‘off campus’ for believing their country ought to exist? It is highly alarming that protests that incite violence towards Jews and Israel are becoming so commonplace on and off university campuses.
“It is even more heartbreaking that an event in which historic anti-Jewish persecution was discussed was met with the very same hatred in 2025.”
“We are immensely proud of our British colleagues and UCL students for arranging this event amidst a dangerous climate of hostility and hatred towards Jews and Israel since the October 7 massacre more than two years ago,” Schwartz said.
(Read the Jewish Chronicle’s full Oct. 29th 2025 coverage here)
