Britsh University Bans Lecturer and Suspends Student Group Over ‘Heinous’ Antisemitic Blood Libel Lecture

University College London (UCL) has issued an “unequivocal apology,” banned a researcher from campus, and suspended a student group after a lecture hosted by the group featured “heinous antisemitic comments,” including the promotion of a medieval blood libel and other conspiratorial tropes.

The Tuesday event, part of a lecture series by the campus branch of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), featured Dr. Samar Maqusi, identified as a former fixed-term researcher at the university. In her talk on “The Birth of Zionism,” Maqusi discussed the 1840 Damascus Affair, an incident where the Jewish community was falsely accused of murdering a monk to use his blood for Passover.

In an audio recording shared by the advocacy group StandWithUs, Maqusi is heard uncritically repeating the antisemitic falsehood.
“During this feast, they make these special pancakes, or bread, and part of the holy ceremony is that drops of blood from someone who’s not Jewish… has to be mixed in that bread,” Maqusi stated. She added that the monk, Father Thomas, “was found murdered and a group of Jews who lived in Syria… admitted to kidnapping him and murdering him to get drops of blood for making the holy bread.” Maqusi also made no mention of the Jews who were murdered over the centuries due to the blood libel and dozens of others throughout history.

Maqusi also failed to mention that the “confessions” in the 1840 affair were extracted under brutal torture, which resulted in the deaths of two of the accused Jews. Dozens of Jewish children were kidnapped as well, by Christians who tried to force them to receal where the blood was supposedly kept. While Maqusi did tell students to “do investigate, draw your own narrative,” she offered no such corrections herself.

In the same lecture, Maqusi also invoked other antisemitic tropes about global control, claiming, “the Jews pretty much controlled the [world’s] financialisation (sic) structure,” and that “a lot of the banks, a lot of the financial infrastructure, was (sic) owned by a lot of Jewish families.”

She further claimed this financial power persuaded Napoleon Bonaparte to “erect the Jewish kingdom (sic) in Palestine under French patronage,” aided by “a man called Sir Moses Montefiore… a British financier and banker.” Israel was established over a century after Napoleon died and had nothing to do with French influence.

The university’s response was swift. Dr. Michael Spence, UCL’s president and provost, released a statement calling the comments appalling.
“Antisemitism 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,” Spence said.
Spence confirmed that UCL has reported the incident to the police, banned Maqusi, who he confirmed is not a current staffer, from campus, and launched a “full investigation” into the incident.

He also banned the SJP student group “from holding any further events on campus pending the outcome of this.”

Mark Ben Mikhelson, a Jewish UCL student who attended and recorded the lecture, told StandWithUs he was shaken. “The acceptance by my fellow students of antisemitic blood libels and conspiracy theories was a chilling moment,” he said. “These lies have led to the killing of so many Jews throughout history and yet it is seen as perfectly normal discourse at UCL.”

A senior official at the Community Security Trust, which protects UK Jewish communities, told UnHerd that the lecture represented “the crossing of a Rubicon” where “flagrant antisemitism” is becoming acceptable. StandWithUs executive director Isaac Zarfati called it “indefensible” that UCL provided a platform for “long debunked racist conspiracy theories.”

The incident has amplified wider concerns about antisemitism on British campuses, drawing reactions from political figures.

Last month, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated there had been an “unacceptable increase in antisemitism” at universities and said the government was funding training to help staff “tackle this poison.”

Also last month, Arif Ahmed, the free speech director at the Office for Students (OfS), warned that the watchdog was prepared to punish universities that failed to keep Jewish faculty and students safe.

Responding to the UCL incident, Shadow Education Minister Saqib Bhatti said UCL must investigate “immediately,” stating that “life has become intolerable for Jewish students across the UK due to the surge in antisemitism.”

The lecture as the latest in a pattern of incidents at UCL.

A month after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, more than 500 alumni wrote to the provost demanding action against a “torrent of antisemitism.” They cited student societies glorifying the terrorist killings and a motion by UCL’s branch of the University and College Union (UCU) calling for “intifada until victory” and a “mass uprising.”

In March 2025, Dr. Tarek Younis of Middlesex University delivered a lecture at UCL claiming that terrorism was a term “deployed by Israel” to discriminate against Muslims and “marginalise Palestinian resistance.”

In his statement, Dr. Spence acknowledged the ongoing problem. “Regrettably, like many UK universities, we continue to confront incidents of antisemitism and are committing to banishing this from our campus.”

He concluded, “Freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental to university life, but they can never be misused as a shield for hatred. UCL remains steadfast in our commitment to ensure our campus is a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for everyone.”