Top London boys’ school says no to talk by former pupil, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy

A prestigious London boys’ school in Hampstead has refused to allow a former student who works for the Israeli government to address pupils.

Eylon Levy, born to Israeli parents in north London, achieved widespread acclaim for his succinct interviews with international media since the Hamas terror atrocities of 7 October.

His reputation as an orator was established when, as a student at Oxford University, George Galloway walked out of a debate with him. After achieving a MPhil from Cambridge University, Levy made aliyah at the age of 23. He was most recently an international media adviser to President Isaac Herzog.

Ahead of a planned return to the UK, Levy wrote to his alma mater, which charges around £25,000 a year, offering to speak with students.

Edd Pickering, appointed at UCS as director of development and alumni in January 2023, refused the offer.

Tasked with encouraging financial support and philanthropy for the school, Pickering, who spent a decade as a fundraiser at the University of Reading, thanked Levy for his offer, but wrote that “we are unfortunately unable to accept.

“Upon seeking advice on how best to support all pupils at UCS, the School has taken a decision not to provide a platform for discussing or fundraising for causes directly involved with the current conflict.”

He added: “We have been clear in our condemnation of the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas, and neither antisemitism nor Islamophobia have any place at UCS.

“We are aware that many in our community have been directly impacted by the conflict and we endeavour to support them as appropriate.”

In a note seen by Jewish News, Levy responded: “When I graduated from UCS thirteen years ago, it was a proud liberal bastion committed to broadening minds and educating without fear or favour.

“UCS stood out with its radical commitment to free speech. It hosted guest speakers from a range of backgrounds, so that pupils could hear from them first-hand and ask tough questions. While other schools preferred to mollycoddle minds, UCS understood that the best way to protect its pupils was to prepare them to be adults in the real world.”

Levy adds that it was at UCS that he learned to “cut his teeth”, “think critically” and “think on my feet.” He added that it saddened him that those are “no longer the values or legacy with which UCS wants to be identified.”

He concludes by saying that “never in twenty years as a UCS student and then an Old Gower did I imagine I would be no-platformed by the school I loved so much. I kindly ask you to reconsider.”

When contacted by Jewish News, a UCS spokesperson said: “We are always interested to hear from Old Gowers and place a huge amount of value on the support that this community provides across the UCS Foundation.

“Last term, we worked hard to welcome a range of speakers into the school to educate our pupils and we will continue to do this moving forward. We are currently working with Streetwise and Stand Up! Education who have spoken to some of our pupils over recent months.

“We are also continuously seeking to enhance a sense of tolerance and understanding in all our pupils. At the heart of this are discussions in clubs and societies, PSHE lessons and school assemblies, and last term we welcomed Bob Kirk into the school to talk about his experiences. We also draw on pupils’ ideas and wishes in helping frame the support and education that we offer them.

“On this occasion, we declined the kind offer from Mr Levy to speak with the current UCS pupils, however we will continue to work hard to ensure that the pupil body is able to grow and learn together, using a range of internal and external speakers as appropriate.”

As reported by Jewish News, in November 2023 UCS called in an outside organisation run by Maccabi GB and CST after one of its pupils was filmed making obscene gestures and declaring “free Palestine, f*** Israel”.