The four members of faculty targeted – all of whom teach at KCL’s Department of War Studies – are Dr Ofer Fridman, senior lecturer; Dr Ady Schonmann-Bethlehem, visiting professor; Dr Raphael Marcus, visiting research fellow; and Professor David Betz.
A KCL academic being impersonated by students in an Instagram video posted by 'KCL Stands For Justice'[Missing Credit]
The makers of the video, one of whom is wearing a keffiyeh and the other holding up masks of the lecturers, refer to KCL as “Killer’s College London” and accuse the War Studies department of being complicit in “genocide”.
Impersonating Fridman, an Israeli who they say served in the IDF for 15 years, they say, “I don’t think you’re a true academic until you have contributed to apartheid and ethnic cleansing, you know?”
The students accused Schonmann-Bethlemem, an expert on international law who has represented Israel in the United Nations and other international bodies, of helping the country to “evade human rights allegations” for money.
One said, impersonating Schonmann-Bethlemem: “As Zionists, we have no problem profiting off of human destruction and suffering”.
A KCL academic being impersonated by students in an Instagram video posted by 'KCL Stands For Justice'[Missing Credit]
They went on to accuse Marcus of spending most of his time “on X reposting Zionist propaganda and spreading violently anti-Palestinian rhetoric”.
They also said Betz had “collaborated extensively with the IDF” and accused him of “spewing racism and xenophobia” on X.
The educators themselves did not respond to the JC’s request for comment.
A KCL spokesperson told the JC they “were appalled to learn of social media posts from alleged King’s students which make a number of claims about individual members of staff, and promote antisemitism and the harassment and intimidation of others.
“We are investigating this matter, have asked Instagram to remove the content, and will not hesitate to carry out appropriate disciplinary action against any individual who breaches the legal bounds of freedom of expression.
“We are in touch with those affected to offer our support, and are absolutely clear that antisemitism and discrimination of any kind have no place in our community and will not be tolerated to ensure that King’s is a safe and inclusive place of learning and work for all students and staff.”
An alleged KCL student in a video posted to Instagram by 'KCL Stands For Justice'[Missing Credit]