London university described pro-Palestine protesters as 'dressed as terrorists'
Students at the London School of Economics who staged a protest to draw attention to the university’s investments in Israel were described as being "dressed as terrorists" in emails between senior staff seen by Middle East Eye.
The comment was made in messages between management staff discussing the university's response to the protest, which took place during a registration event for a summer school at the central London campus on 7 July 2024.
In one email on the same day as the protest, Elizabeth Aitken, who heads the LSE's summer school programme, wrote that "staff and students thought that it was a terrorist attack as the protestors [sic] were wearing full face masks and carrying rucksacks".
Other staff members in the email thread, including LSE's president, Larry Kramer, sympathised with Aitken without questioning her recollection of events and recommended possible expulsion and involving police to stop student activists from disrupting future events.
In a subsequent email Aitken suggested that "it may be possible to identify these particular 'protestors' [sic], whilst they were dressed as terrorists with balaclavas".
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Footage of the incident analysed by MEE showed that some protesters had covered their faces with Palestinian keffiyehs, and only a handful carried backpacks and tote bags.
Some protesters are pictured wearing medical masks, balaclavas and sunglasses in an apparent effort to conceal their identities.
Protesters can be seen blocking a registration desk with a banner that reads "London School of Exploitation". Security can also been seen in the footage grabbing the banner from the student protesters.
Following the July protest, seven students involved in the demonstration were suspended as the school launched disciplinary action against them.
Dubbed "the LSE 7" by supporters, the school denied the students access to campus, including medical and mental health services.
Some of these restrictions were later eased after the students lodged multiple appeals to the university.
A number of students involved in the protest who spoke to MEE requested pseudonyms to protect their identities due to concerns about a potential backlash and online harassment.
Emily, a student who attended the protest while studying for a postgraduate degree, disputed the claims made by the staff members and said the students covered their faces to avoid "getting doxxed" by pro-Israeli voices on campus.
"People spend a lot of money to attend the university's summer school, and we weren't there to intimidate anyone or make them uncomfortable," Emily told MEE.
"The goal was to raise awareness and let people know what LSE has been doing with its investments in Israel.
"We covered our faces with a keffiyeh because, in the last year, many of us have been doxxed to the point that pro-Israeli voices would send our details to potential employers in an attempt to ruin our lives and silence us."
Emily added: "These emails reveal how management thought about us, and it was shocking that they drew a direct correlation between us wearing the keffiyeh and terrorism."
Letters informing the seven students of their disciplinary action included testimony from LSE staff members, who alleged that "several witnesses, including security guards and members of staff, expressed concerns, fear and distress" over the protest.
The letter also noted that "many people in the room were fearful that this was a physical attack. This feeling and fear was especially heightened given that it was the anniversary of the London bombings", a reference to the 2005 al-Qaeda attacks on the London transport network.
Ahmed, the only Muslim student to be part of the LSE 7, said he was shocked when the university referred to the London bombings in its letter.
"I was a one-year-old when the London bombings happened, and I learnt about it from that letter. I never heard of it before," said Ahmed.
"And I honestly think they mentioned the London bombings purposely to attack me because I'm Muslim.
"Because at the end of the day, the university could have made this into a bigger thing and escalated it further. That's why I submitted a subject access request to find out if they had referred me to Prevent and the police."
Ahmed added that his mental health was "impacted severely" when the university imposed restrictions as part of the disciplinary process which meant he was unale to access the university's prayer room.
The LSE also collected witness statements from eyewitnesses and staff who were present at the protest.
In one email seen by MEE, a senior member of staff asked a security guard to include in his account of the incident the claim of "one of the megaphone users shouting out allahu akbar".
Ahmed and Emily both denied that this had happened.
"When we read that claim in one of the statements, it was concerning because it was simply not true," said Ahmed.
"We filmed the protest and at no point did any of us say 'Allahu Akbar' on the megaphone - both inside the student centre and outside when the protest was forced to go outside."
Year of protest
Following public pressure, including condemnation from Gina Romero, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the LSE dropped the disciplinary action against the students last month.
Last year, the LSE became the first British university to evict its students from an encampment for Gaza after securing a court order to disperse them.
The eviction came after the Central London Country Court ruled in favour of the LSE and gave them an interim possession order, requiring the encampment to leave within 24 hours.
During the hearing, Judge Kevin Moses acknowledged that students had a right to protest but said: "What it does not do is give parties an unfettered right to occupy other parties' premises with a view to protesting, particularly when they are required to leave."
Students launched the encampment in May 2024 after the LSE Student Union's Palestine Society released a report titled "Assets in Apartheid".
The report said the LSE had invested £89m ($113m) in 137 companies involved in possible war crimes in Gaza, the arms industry and fossil fuels.
Muslim students at the LSE have also accused the university of institutionalised Islamophobia over the treatment of Muslim students and accused it of harassment and discrimination.
Last year, the LSE Islamic Society said: "Muslim students at the LSE face a complete lack of trust in the LSE’s ability to safeguard and protect them, let alone feel welcomed and included in the LSE community."
The LSE did not respond to multiple requests for comment at the time of writing.
Naila Ahmed, head of campaigns at CAGE International, said the LSE's treatment of the student protesters was "deeply concerning and reflects a broader trend of repression against anti-genocide activists across campuses".
"The LSE7 were gravely misrepresented, and their rights as students were unjustly compromised. While the decision to end disciplinary measures is a welcome step and one that was secured through the students’ campaign, the institution’s Islamophobic framing of their actions remains troubling," Ahmed said.
"The case of these 7 students should force LSE to revise how they approach student protest and fulfil their duty to uphold the students’ right to free speech."