Meanwhile, a joint statement from dozens of other anti-Israel student groups denounced the "so-called ‘peace plan’”.
“We, as the students, reject this normalisation of a ceasefire and request every single one of us in this movement to continue the fight against the settler colonial entity until its completely dismantled,” the statement said.
It added that students are meant to represent those with “the highest revolutionary potential”.
“Mobilising against the oppressor requires every single one of us to be unwavering and strategic with our pressure,” the rallying call went on, outlining their aim for the “dismantling of the apartheid and genocidal structure of Israel,” and calling for a “one-state solution for true liberation for Palestinians.”
Dozens of student-led groups signed a post that rejected the Gaza ceasefire[Missing Credit]
“It is our responsibility to give our all and our assistance to our Palestinian comrades. Throughout the world, colonised people have waged resistance against their oppressors with success.”
The statement concluded with a quote from the founder of the notorious plane hijacking group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), George Habash, stating, “No one is innocent, no one neutral. A man is either with the oppressed or he is with the oppressors.”
It was shared on Instagram by UCL Action for Palestine, KCL Stands for Justice, LSE Students for Justice in Palestine, City Action for Palestine, Durham Students for Palestine, Bangor for Liberation, Kingston University Palestine Society, Nottingham Camp for the Liberation of Palestine, Goldsmiths for Palestine, Cambridge for Palestine, University of Aberdeen Palestinian Solidarity Society and the University of Essex’s Palestinian Solidarity Society.
The apparent call for student mobilisation against Israel comes as the Education Secretary said there had been an “unacceptable increase in antisemitism” at universities.
Bridget Phillipson said the Government was funding training to help staff and students “tackle this poison of antisemitism”.
Last week, the Government announced the continued deployment of £7m worth of funding to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities, including £500,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy for welfare support for Jewish students in universities.
An image circulated on anti-Israel student groups that quoted a chant calling for 'Zios in the ground' and featured two Hamas fighters[Missing Credit]
But just days after the announcement, a University of Oxford student was filmed leading a chant that included the phrase “put Zios in the ground” during a pro-Gaza demonstration. Following the incident, a man was arrested on suspicion of committing a racially aggravated hate crime.
In the aftermath, several student groups circulated an image that appeared to glorify the chant, featuring the Oxford student superimposed alongside armed men wearing Hamas insignia and brandishing guns.
Meanwhile, Leeds Students Against Apartheid reshared a post which referred to an elite group within Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades, the Qassam Shadow Unit, stating, “there is no unit in the world comparable to the Qassam Shadow Unit.
A Leeds group appeared to reshare a post in support of an elite Hamas unit[Missing Credit]
“For two years, the most advanced surveillance network on Earth, backed by the full weight of Zionist, America, British, French [...] failed to locate a single Zionist POW held in the most besieged, bombed, and monitored place on the planet.
“The Shadow Unit didn’t just outsmart an army. It humiliated an empire,” the post, which was originally shared by an account named Abu Rahss, went on. “This is not just resistance. This is legend.”
The society also reshared a post featuring the inverted red triangle symbol that is used by Hamas and some Pro-Palestinian supporters, often to target and harrass Jews and Israelis. The post said: “Our work was never about a ceasefire ... our work is to uphold the Thawabit, to ensure Zionism is completely eradicated”.
Some student groups reshared posts commemorating Yahya Sinwar[Missing Credit]
Dozens of anti-Israel student groups, including Oxford Action for Palestine and Soas Liberated Zone, have pledged support to the Thawabit – or the “fundamental cornerstones” – of the Palestinian national struggle. One key principle of the concept is the right to “armed resistance”.
Several student groups shared posts on the anniversary of the massacre. Kingston University Palestine Society said October 7 2023, “is the day we decided to fight back”.
Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society held an event last week to “honour our resistance,” which it said would “celebrate the glorious al-Aqsa Flood which permanently crippled the Zionist entity, putting it into a state of slow but inevitable collapse.”
KCL Students for Justice for Palestine shared a post which said, “it didn’t start on October 7” and Soas Liberated Zone commemorated the anniversary with videos of hundreds of students marching through central London and chanting “There is only one state: Palestine 48”.
Louis Danker, president of the Union of Jewish Students, condemned the glorification of terrorists: "It is shameful, but sadly predictable, that students are once again glorifying terrorists and endorsing proscribed organisations. UJS have launched our 'Stand Against Terror' campaign to highlight rampant celebration of Hamas on campus. The onus is now on Government, university leaders and law enforcement to take firm action to identify and discipline those responsible,” he told the JC.
Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society and Leeds Students Against Apartheid Coalition were approached for comment.
