EXCLUSIVE: Government warns LSE over ‘lawfulness of speech’ ahead of Hamas book event
Department for Education spokesperson says 'responsibility to stand up against evil antisemitic abuse lies with all of us'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The government has warned the London School of Economics of its responsibilities in relation to the “lawfulness of speech” ahead of planned Hamas book launch event.
Jewish News approached the Department for Education for comment after the university defended its decision to go ahead with the March 10 event promoting the Understanding Hamas and Why That Matters book launch.
Despite widespread concerns that the book claims the Islamic terror group have been wrongly vilified and demonized since the October 7th massacre in Israel, an LSE statement said “free speech underpins everything we do” at the institution.
The Board of Deputies led calls for the university to cancel the event, which features a one-sided panel of speakers openly hostile to Israel and Zionism.
A Department for Education statement also raised further concerns about the event “particularly where they relate to proscribed terrorist organisations.”
A spokesperson for the DfE told Jewish News:“With the appalling rise in antisemitism on campuses in the UK, this government is committed to making sure all students, regardless of race or religion, are free to focus on their studies rather than worry about their safety and to ensure the safety of students and staff on campus.
“The responsibility to stand up against evil antisemitic abuse lies with all of us.
“While everyone is entitled to their political opinions and HE providers have duties to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law, but any discussions must be lawful.
“It is a matter for any university, as an autonomous institution, to assure itself of the lawfulness of speech at events it is hosting, particularly where they relate to proscribed terrorist organisations.”
Jewish News revealed how LSE’s Middle East Centre was booked for the event next month.
The book’s co-authors Helen Cobban and Rami G Khouri argue that the proscribed Islamic group has undergone a “transformation from early anti-Jewish tendencies” and now “differentiates between Judaism and Zionism”.
They also claim branding Hamas “as ‘terrorist’ or worse”, has meant “demonisation intensified after the events in Southern Israel on October 7, 2023.”
In a statement the Board said:“Despite the purported caveat that the book ‘does not advocate for or against Hamas’ it is difficult to see how this is anything other than an attempt to whitewash a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation in this country.
“Not only should this event be cancelled, but the Home Office should take a direct interest in it.”
Jewish News has now read further extracts of the 244-page book, including allegations made by pro-Hamas activist Dr Azzam Tamimi that Israel lied about what took place on 7 October to justify mounting a revenge attack.
He writes of “Hamas actvists and leaders, and some eyewitnesses who all testified that there was no beheading of babies, there was no rape whatsoever….”
Tamimi claims most the hostages taken during the massacre into Gaza “were not actually taken by Al-Qassam fighters” but by ordinary citizens who were “in a sense jubiliant they managed to set foot in their homeland of their ancestors” and who “were just acting in a very disorderly manner.”
He added:”My understanding and my knowledge of the Al-Qassam brigades is that they are highly disciplined…”
Further social media posts made by co-author Cobban include frequent use of the term “Zios” in relation to describing journalists and activists.
Cobban also claimed “every accusation” made by Israel in relation to the Hamas masscre of October 7 was in fact “a statement of intent”.
She also shared a post claiming Hamas “is not a terrorist organisation” and that Israel is a “genocidal, perverted, irreligious terrorist organisation”.
Jewish News revealed every speaker at the LSE event has a past history of making inflammmatory comments in relation to Israel and Zionism.
But an LSE spokesperson defended the decision to host event at the university adding: “Free speech and freedom of expression underpins everything we do at LSE.
“Students, staff and visitors are strongly encouraged to discuss and debate the most pressing issues around the world.”
Jewish News had revealed how author Cobban’s social media feed on X also confirms how she retweeted a post last weekend from Irish comic Tadhg Hickey who claimed to have attended the funeral of the late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah with “all the best freedom fighters”.
Days earlier, on 23 February, Cobban also retweeted another post from Hickey, which saw him photographed with his “hero” Leila Khaled, who took part in the infamous 1969 plane hijacking as a member of the PFLP terror group.
In response to the confirmation that the Bibas family had been murdered in Gaza, Cobban also shared a post claiming it is “racist and a form of genocide whitewashing to act like two dead Israeli children is earth shattering news while actively ignoring or justifying the 20,000+ Palestinian children.”
Co-author Rami G. Khouri is a director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.
A regular contributer to Al Jazeera, last week he wrote:”Effective Israeli propaganda has long demonised Hamas in the West as a reckless and vicious terror group that wants to destroy Israel. The reality, however, is that Hamas has been a successful Palestinian national political organisation.”
The launch event is chaired by Michael Mason, from LSE’s Middle East Centre, while other speakers include the Centre’s Jeroen Gunning, and Catherine Charrett of the University of Westminster.
Days after the Oct 7 massacre, Gunning told an event:”If you reduce Hamas to a gang of irrational terrorists, you will never understand why this is happening.”
He also claimed: “Normal life does not exist in Gaza. The population are in a de facto open-air prison.”
In June 2024, Charrett shared a post on X which stated: “Zionists can’t get over the fact that Zionism did not originate among the indigenous Jewish communities of the Middle East.”
Last May, Mason, who chairs the book launch, posted on X: “It is impossible to understand the current global wave of student protests and other Palestinian solidarity gatherings without understanding at least the basics of the 1948 Nakba.”
An LSE spokesperson added: “We host an enormous number of events each year, covering a wide range of viewpoints and positions.
“We have clear policies in place to ensure the facilitation of debates in these events and enable all members of our community to refute ideas lawfully and to protect individual’s rights to freedom of expression within the law. This is formalised in our code of practice on free speech and in our ethics code.”
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