Queen Mary moving Palestine talk to smaller venue ‘weak-willed’

A London university’s decision to cancel 100 tickets to a pro-Palestinian lecture has been criticised as “extremely disturbing” and “weak-willed” by academics.

Francesca Albanese, United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, was due to speak on the afternoon of 12 November at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) on “the ‘genocide in Gaza’ and ‘international law”.

However, in an email seen by Times Higher Education, QMUL management blamed “unforeseen circumstances” for moving Ms Albanese’s lecture to a smaller venue. It is understood that around 100 tickets were cancelled as a result.

Ms Albanese has already spoken at the University of Greenwich, SOAS University of London and the London School of Economics in recent days.

Protestors, led by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, have demonstrated against Ms Albanese, who is also an affiliate scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, for her views and urged universities to “#BanFran”.

At LSE, images on social media show police attempting to keep the peace between pro-Palestinian protestors and those holding banners denying that a genocide is taking place in Gaza.

“This just seems to me to be another attempt to stifle those of us at Queen Mary who are opposed to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians,” Penny Green, professor of law and globalisation at QMUL told THE.

She accused the institution of using a securitisation argument for restricting access to the lecture, which she warned was “extremely disturbing”.

“I understand some degree of security required, but this is very, very heavy handed,” added Professor Green, who is also head of the law department.

“It seems to me that this whole securitisation argument is to deflect attention away from management’s persistent attempt to silence pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel anti-genocide voices.”

Professor Green said the institution had failed to defend colleagues who have been “attacked by Zionists”.

“It has taken a very Israeli sympathetic approach to the genocide,” she said. “It seems to me that they have hitched their colours to the to the Israeli flag and not to the Palestinians.”

With the pro-Palestinian supports within the institution being “silenced in favour of a very tiny minority of Zionist voices”, she said that students and staff were “angry” and “despairing” towards university management.

“This is the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories…if the university isn’t going to make a space for those UN voices then that’s extremely disturbing from my point of view.”

Those whose tickets have not been cancelled were told to bring photo identification and to expect increased levels of security. The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (Brismes) recently warned that health and safety regulations are being increasingly misused to restrict academic freedom.

Gargi Bhattacharyya, a professor at another London university, told THE that Ms Albanese’s work has made her a “target” for those wishing to defend Israel.

“Those people are agitating in such a way and threatening disruption in a way that is making universities and other organisations very anxious,” she said, claiming the “weak-willed” QMUL had overreacted and caved in to external pressures – which is not the role of the university.

“There’s been a long history of UK universities succumbing to pressure to not platform pro-Palestinian voices.

“I think in the light of the events of the last months, I don’t think it was ever acceptable, but I think it's bordering on criminal at this point in this genocide for QMUL to do that.”

QMUL was approached for comment.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com