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Universities at Risk: How Extremist, Far-Left Groups Exploit the Israel-Palestinian Conflict
The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Since October 7, student activism around the Israel-Hamas conflict has surged, but extremist political organizations, particularly the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), have hijacked the movement to push their own radical agendas. These groups are not driven by a genuine pursuit of peace — but by the opportunity to recruit students and spread misinformation, fueling division and putting Jewish and Israeli students at risk.
Far-left groups like the SWP have long aligned with pro-Palestinian causes, but their involvement goes beyond solidarity. Their rhetoric frequently crosses the line into outright incitement. Far-left organizations frame the October 7 massacre as legitimate “resistance,” glorifying violence and encouraging radical activism. This distorts reality, undermines nuanced discussion, and fosters a toxic atmosphere on campuses. Universities are failing in their duty to protect all students — including Jewish and Israeli students — from this growing hostility.
A critical question arises: why are UK-based political parties prioritizing the Israel-Palestine conflict over pressing domestic issues? For groups like the SWP, this conflict serves as a convenient narrative to illustrate a Marxist struggle between the “oppressed” and “oppressor.”
In their framework, Palestinians are victims, and Israelis are cast as villains without any further analysis or critical thought — a gross oversimplification that strips Palestinians of agency and ignores potential paths to peace. The SWP openly rejects diplomatic solutions, labelling a two-state solution a “fantasy” and advocating for the destruction of Israel and other capitalist countries instead of peaceful coexistence.
These groups openly condone Hamas and justify terrorism. The SWP has repeatedly distributed materials praising Hamas and legitimizing “courageous” violence against Israelis. One of their pamphlets even defends suicide bombings as part of a “long tradition of Palestinian guerrilla actions,” dangerously normalizing terror attacks against civilians. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) has pushed conspiratorial claims that Israel used October 7 to justify military action, trivializing mass murder and inciting further division and hatred against Jews.
Despite their extremism, these groups operate freely on UK campuses. The SWP and RCP recruit students by embedding themselves within pro-Palestinian student societies, organizing demonstrations, and distributing propaganda outside university grounds. My own university claims it prohibits external groups from campaigning on campus, yet the SWP has repeatedly been allowed to do so. In Edinburgh, the SWP-affiliated student society posted “Victory for the Palestinians – Why it’s right to resist Israel” just days after the massacre, demonstrating their true intent: to escalate hostility rather than seek justice.
The SWP also collaborates with figures known for their extremist views, hosting them at student events, including a Palestinian surgeon who has openly praised terrorists like Leila Khaled, Ahmad Jarrar, and Maher Al-Yamani — individuals responsible for hijackings and deadly attacks against civilians.
Another controversial figure frequently platformed is rapper Lowkey, who promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, referencing the “Zionist lobby” and falsely claiming that “nothing is more antisemitic than Zionism.” A Daily Mail investigation revealed that SWP student societies have even hosted speakers who praised Hamas and celebrated the October 7 massacre, despite Hamas being designated a terrorist organization by the UK, US, and EU.
Universities must take decisive action. SWP and RCP should not be allowed to form societies within student unions or hijack student activism to push their extremist agendas. Their presence on campuses has fostered a culture of radicalization, incited antisemitism, and endangered all students, and specifically Jewish and Israeli students.
If universities continue to stand by, they will be complicit in the spread of extremism. The time to act is now. Radical groups must be barred from embedding themselves in student movements, and institutions must enforce policies that protect students from political extremism. Failure to do so will not only undermine campus safety but also damage the credibility of student activism as a whole.
Dani Port is a student journalist studying at the University of the Arts London, and a writing fellow with CAMERA on Campus.
The post Universities at Risk: How Extremist, Far-Left Groups Exploit the Israel-Palestinian Conflict first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.