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<\/a><\/p>\nPro-Palestinian students demonstrate at University College London, May 15, 2024. (Krisztian Elek\/SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Samar Maqusi was speaking to the SJP chapter on Tuesday when she made the comments, according to footage shared by the U.K. branch of the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs, which said one of its members had been filming. The lecture, titled \u201cThe Birth of Zionism,\u201d was the first in a planned five-part series called \u201cPalestine: From Existence to Resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n
In one comment, Maqusi says, falsely, that \u201cthe Jews pretty much controlled the financialization structure\u201d during Napoleon\u2019s time and that he advocated for Jewish control of Palestine because he was paid by French Jews to do so.<\/p>\n
In another, she repeats the allegation that Jews require the blood of gentiles to be used in the making of their \u201cspecial pancakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maqusi was describing the Damascus Affair, the widespread persecution of Syrian Jews in 1840 following allegations, and a confession under torture, that Jews had killed a monk to use his blood to make matzah. The allegations iterated on the blood libel, an antisemitic conspiracy theory that originated in medieval England, and spurred what are believed to be the first protests by American Jews on behalf of Jews abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the story is that a certain investigation was undergoing to try and find where Father Thomas is \u2013 he was found murdered and a group of Jews who lived in Syria said they admitted to kidnapping him and murdering him to get the drops of blood for making the holy bread,\u201d Maqusi said.<\/p>\n
She hedged on whether she herself believed the story, saying at one point, \u201cThese are things that you read, and again, as I said, do investigate. Draw your own narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n
The footage drew immediate condemnation from a range of Jewish groups. \u201cBy failing to clearly refute this centuries-old falsehood, the audience is left with the impression that such a claim could be true, thereby perpetuating one of the most dangerous and long-standing antisemitic myths,\u201d the Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British advocacy group, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The footage has also spurred a reckoning at University College London, which has more than 50,000 students in the city center. President and Provost Michael Spence said in a statement issued late Thursday that a \u201cfull investigation into how this happened\u201d was underway and that the incident had been reported to the police.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am utterly appalled by these heinous antisemitic comments,\u201d Spence said. \u201cAntisemitism has absolutely no place in our university, and I want to express my unequivocal apology to all Jewish students, staff, alumni, and the wider community that these words were uttered at UCL.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the SJP group would not be allowed to hold any events on campus until the investigation was complete. He also said the lecturer had been barred from campus, while noting that she was not a current member of the faculty.<\/p>\n
Neither the group nor Maqusi has commented publicly about the incident. According to a biography page on the school\u2019s website, which was removed in the wake of the incident, she is a longtime employee of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that is much maligned , and an architect studying \u201cthe spatial politics of the Palestine refugee camp and its impact on the potential to self-\u00ad\u2010emancipation.\u201d (UNRWA has drawn criticism over the alleged involvement of employees in attacks on Israel, including Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 massacre.)<\/p>\n
The incident comes as large-scale pro-Palestinian protests have dimmed following a ceasefire suspending the two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In the United States, several schools have suspended or banned their chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine over incidents or practices during the war.<\/p>\n
It also comes weeks after Britain\u2019s education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, told universities they had her \u201cfull backing to use their powers\u201d to fight antisemitism on their campuses, following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegrettably, like many UK universities, we continue to confront incidents of antisemitism and are committing to banishing this from our campus. We have initiated disciplinary proceedings against a number of students in relation to antisemitism and reported incidents to the police where appropriate,\u201d Spence said, adding, \u201cFreedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental to university life, but they can never be misused as a shield for hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n