UCL bans former employee after ‘antisemitic blood libel’ shared at campus event

University College London (UCL) has banned a former academic employee from its campus after video footage appeared to show her spreading an antisemitic blood libel, at event hosted at the institution by an accredited student group. 

The university has launched a “full investigation”, and has also banned the student group responsible for the event – UCL Students for Justice in Palestine – from holding any further events on campus until that investigation is completed.

Video footage of an event held on Tuesday 11 November by the group showed Dr Samar Maqusi, who previously worked as an academic on staff at UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, giving a lecture on “The Birth of Zionism”.

In the video Maqusi, a former employee of UNRWA, the UN’s specific agency for Palestinians, can be seen telling attendees that “in about 1838 there was something called The Damascus Affair. What happened is that there was a Christian priest called Thomas – he disappears in Damascus during what is called the feast of tabernacles, so this is a Jewish feast, and the story goes – and again, these are things that you read, and again, as I said, do investigate, draw your own narrative – but the story is that 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, which the term is gentile”, has to be mixed in that.

“So the story is that a certain investigation was undergoing to try and found where Father Thomas is – he was found murdered and a group of Jews who lived in Syria said that, you know, admitted to kidnapping him and murdering him to get the drops of blood for making the holy bread.”

The Damascus Affair is an early-modern example of the medieval blood libel, the false accusation that Jews would murder non-Jews to use their blood in the making of matza for Passover (not Sukkot, the feast of Tabernacles). After the disappearance of an Italian monk, Father Thomas, and his Muslim servant, Ibrahim Amrah, in early 1840 – local Christians, encouraged by a notoriously antisemitic French consul in the city, encouraged the local Governor to arrest a number of Jews accused of the murder. The accused were arrested and tortured, whereupon they ‘confessed’ to the crime. Scores of Jewish children were held hostage in attempt to try and pressure their mothers into revealing the supposed location of the blood. The affair led to a surge in violence by both Christians and Muslims against the local Jewish community in Syria.

The video was originally shared by StandWithUs UK, who said it had been taken by a member of their organisation. They described how the lecture had been “hosted by the UCL Students for Justice in Palestine Society as part of a five-part series called ‘Palestine: From Existence to Resistance’ on 11 November 2025.

“Such hate-filled lies have no place in any academic institution.”

A further video of the same event subsequently shared by StandWithUs saw Maqusi claim that Napoleon “decides to call out to the Jews in Asia and Africa, because at that time, as many of you also know, a lot of the financial network, a lot of the banks, a lot of the financial infrastructure was owned by a lot of Jewish families, the Jews pretty much controlled the financialisation [sic] structure.

“And he promised them in return that if they give him the money, they fund the battle against the British and the Ottomans, that in return he pledged that he would erect the Jewish kingdom, in his words the revival of the Jewish kingdom in Palestine under French patronage.”

While Napoleon did make a proclamation in April 1799 calling on Jews to take possession of the land, this was a proclamation aimed at the Jewish community in the land of Israel itself, which Napoleon had invaded as part of expedition to Egypt. The local Jewish community largely ignored Napoleon’s urgings. There is no indication whatsoever that Napoleon issued the proclamation in return for financial support, and the idea that “Jews pretty much controlled” financial infrastructure is untrue.

Dave Rich, Head of Policy at the Community Security Trust, said:

“The blood libel is a vicious anti-Jewish lie that has incited hatred and violence towards Jews throughout history.  We are appalled that a Research Associate at UCL, Dr Samar Marqusi, has delivered such an outrageously antisemitic lecture to students on UCL property. At a time when antisemitism is rising at alarming rates, it is utterly disgraceful that such dangerous myths are being presented within an academic setting. This is not education; it is the perpetuation of hate. CST has complained to UCL demanding firm and swift action against both Dr Maqusi and the Students for Justice in Palestine Society that organised the talk.”

The President of UCL’s Jewish Society said: “This incident is deeply troubling and such rhetoric has no place on campus. It underscores how much work still needs to be done to ensure that Jewish students feel safe and respected on our campus.  We will continue to work with the leadership and authorities to enforce accountability and demand decisive action. Moments like this remind us that vigilance and education must continue – words have consequences.”

Louis Danker, President of UJS, added that “”Jewish students are disgusted that ancient antisemitic blood libels are being platformed on campus in 2025. That a UCL academic feels emboldened to teach ahistoric hatred demonstrates a deep rot in many of our academic institutions. Swift, decisive action is required urgently by UCL and UCL Students Union. Jewish students will no longer accept a culture of impunity on antisemitism, and the time for change is now.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism described the situation as “appalling. By failing to clearly refute this centuries-old falsehood, the audience is left with the impression that such a claim could be true, thereby perpetuating one of the most dangerous and long-standing antisemitic myths.”

CAA pointed out that “according to the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by UCL, ‘Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism, e.g. blood libel, to characterise Israel or Israelis’ is an example of antisemitism. The blood libel is a malicious and dangerous lie that has incited violence against Jews for centuries. It falsely accuses Jews of using the blood of others for their own gain. It continues to be a major aspect of antisemitism today. UCL must explain how this was allowed to take place.”

UCL Students for Justice in Palestine is an accredited organisation within the university’s student union. The society’s tagline is “you just have to be human”.

UCL President & Provost, Dr Michael Spence, said: “I am utterly appalled by these heinous antisemitic comments. 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.

“The individual responsible is a former fixed-term researcher at UCL, but not a current member of UCL staff.  We have reported this incident to the police and have banned her from campus. We have launched a full investigation into how this happened and have banned the student group which hosted it from holding any further events on campus pending the outcome of this.

“Regrettably, like many UK universities, we continue to confront incidents of antisemitism and are committing to banishing this from our campus. We have initiated disciplinary proceedings against a number of students in relation to antisemitism and reported incidents to the police where appropriate.

“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.”

Macusi has been contacted for comment.