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Campus Radicalization: How Extremist Narratives Target New Students on UK Campuses
University of Exeter. Photo: Wikipedia.
Anti-Israel sentiment on UK university campuses is steadily growing, leading to a troubling trend of student radicalization. Pro-Palestinian student societies across the UK generally claim to promote social justice, but they often use emotionally charged messaging and historical distortions to manipulate impressionable new students into accepting radical narratives.
Having met many students who have never encountered a Jew or a Zionist, I’ve observed their unfamiliarity with our people and the situation in Israel.
These uninformed students are especially susceptible to narratives crafted by anti-Israel groups. Students eager to fit in are vulnerable to manipulation through misinformation and peer pressure. Early protests and statements by groups that hate Israel set the tone for the year. By appealing to students’ desires to belong, some pro-Palestinian groups create an environment where aligning with extreme anti-Israel and anti-Western views is marketed as normal.
One of the most concerning developments within student groups on campus is the glorification of violence; tragedies like October 7th are celebrated, while deaths of terrorists such as the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar are mourned. These groups frame violent acts as noble, giving students the perception that such acts are part of a greater cause. The student body lacks the historical context needed to critically evaluate these messages, making the anti-Israel campaign particularly effective.
An example is the below Instagram post by Oxford Action for Palestine on October 7, 2024, proclaiming “One Year of Genocide. One Year of Resistance.”
This statement glorifies violence by framing Hamas atrocities as legitimate resistance, casting Israel as the aggressor while romanticizing terrorism against Israelis as justified, and portraying Israeli responses as unprovoked aggression. This simplifies the conflict into a false oppressor-oppressed narrative, making it easier for students to adopt a biased perspective. Through this approach, the conflict can be reduced to Jews in Israel being the bad guys and Palestinians always being the righteous victims.
Pro-Palestinian university societies systematically distort symbols, history, and information to shape student perceptions, aligning with their political agenda while excluding challenging viewpoints.
One such example is the “Wear a Keffiyeh Week” — which Palestine groups across the country promoted. Below is an example of the Kingston University Palestine Society posting about their participation on Instagram.
The keffiyeh, originally worn by Arab Bedouins as a protective covering and later popularized by terrorists such as Yasser Arafat as a symbol of Palestinian terror, carries specific historical and political connotations. The anti-Israel campaign encourages students to wear the keffiyeh as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, overlooking its association with Palestinian nationalism and past violence.
By presenting the keffiyeh as trendy, these groups entice students to adopt it without understanding its implications. This effectively makes radical symbols part of campus culture and normalizes their use without changing the symbolism for Zionists and Jews who associate it with terrorism. While it’s hard to measure how effective the initiative truly was, many college societies across the country participated, adding to its visibility. This tactic taps into students’ natural desire to belong, fostering a collective mindset that pressures them into feeling they must support the movement to truly fit in.
Furthermore, false and exaggerated statistics are employed to provoke emotional responses, as seen in an Instagram post by Oxford Action for Palestine above, claiming that “the Palestinian death toll from Israel’s assault on Gaza will be 335,500” by the end of the year.
Such claims lack evidence and are misleading. This article shows the problems and manipulation of casualty numbers in Gaza, and how inaccurate the above claims are. This misrepresentation is clearly intended to provoke outrage and elicit an emotional reaction, steering uniformed students towards accepting an anti-Israel stance.
One now-removed Instagram post by KCL Students for Justice for Palestine further proves how distortion is used to manipulate. The post features a map that claims the entirety of Israel, including the Golan Heights, as supposedly “Palestine.” On the Golan Heights issue alone, this misleading portrayal ignores Syria’s claim to the Golan Heights as its own territory under supposed Israeli occupation. By labeling this area as Palestinian, these groups obscure the reality of the territorial dispute and imply that the Palestinian goal is more about claiming land and eliminating Israel than addressing alleged occupation. This contradictory messaging confuses students and oversimplifies complex issues, making it easier for them to adopt a one-sided perspective.
As some pro-Palestinian societies on UK campuses increasingly spread radical narratives, they risk creating an environment that glorifies violence and deepens divisions. These groups exploit new students’ desire to belong, manipulating context and distorting history. This approach not only influences impressionable students but also normalizes extreme perspectives in the name of social justice. Universities must prioritize promoting balanced discourse, countering misinformation, and fostering critical engagement to protect academic integrity and create a truly inclusive campus environment.
Samuel Weisz is a Jewish student at the University of Exeter, and a CAMERA on Campus Fellow.
The post Campus Radicalization: How Extremist Narratives Target New Students on UK Campuses first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran, US Task Experts to Design Framework for a Nuclear Deal, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump’s threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.
“We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals, and ultimately reached a better understanding,” he said.
“It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement.”
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to “review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: “We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic.”
There was no immediate comment from the US side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Washington’s ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal’s limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran’s negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
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Hamas Says Fate of US-Israeli Hostage Unknown After Guard Killed in Israel Strike
Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of Edan Alexander, 19, an Israeli army volunteer kidnapped by Hamas, attends a special Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony with families of other hostages, in Herzliya, Israel October 27, 2023 REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki
Hamas said on Saturday the fate of an Israeli dual national soldier believed to be the last US citizen held alive in Gaza was unknown, after the body of one of the guards who had been holding him was found killed by an Israeli strike.
A month after Israel abandoned the ceasefire with the resumption of intensive strikes across the breadth of Gaza, Israel was intensifying its attacks.
President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in March that freeing Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who was serving in the Israeli army when he was captured during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that precipitated the war, was a “top priority.” His release was at the center of talks held between Hamas leaders and US negotiator Adam Boehler last month.
Hamas had said on Tuesday that it had lost contact with the militants holding Alexander after their location was hit in an Israeli attack. On Saturday it said the body of one of the guards had been recovered.
“The fate of the prisoner and the rest of the captors remains unknown,” said Hamas armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida.
“We are trying to protect all the hostages and preserve their lives … but their lives are in danger because of the criminal bombings by the enemy’s army,” Abu Ubaida said.
The Israeli military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hamas released 38 hostages under the ceasefire that began on January 19. Fifty-nine are still believed to be held in Gaza, fewer than half of them still alive.
Israel put Gaza under a total blockade in March and restarted its assault on March 18 after talks failed to extend the ceasefire. Hamas says it will free remaining hostages only under an agreement that permanently ends the war; Israel says it will agree only to a temporary pause.
On Friday, the Israeli military said it hit about 40 targets across the enclave over the past day. The military on Saturday announced that a 35-year-old soldier had died in combat in Gaza.
NETANYAHU STATEMENT
Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.
He dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing “impossible conditions.”
Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya’s comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give a statement later on Saturday.
Hamas on Saturday also released an undated and edited video of Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot. Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda.
After the video was released, Bohbot’s family said in a statement that they were “deeply shocked and devastated,” and expressed concern for his mental and physical condition.
“How much longer will he be expected to wait and ‘stay strong’?” the family asked, urging for all of the 59 hostages who are still held in Gaza to be brought home.
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Oman’s Sultan to Meet Putin in Moscow After Iran-US Talks
FILE PHOTO: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said gives a speech after being sworn in before the royal family council in Muscat, Oman January 11, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Sultan Al Hasani/File Photo
Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said is set to visit Moscow on Monday, days after the start of a round of Muscat-mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
The sultan will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Iran and the US started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump’s threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.
Ahead of Saturday’s talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Following the meeting, Lavrov said Russia was “ready to assist, mediate and play any role that will be beneficial to Iran and the USA.”
Moscow has played a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations in the past as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and signatory to an earlier deal that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
The sultan’s meetings in Moscow visit will focus on cooperation on regional and global issues, the Omani state news agency and the Kremlin said, without providing further detail.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss trade and economic ties, the Kremlin added.
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