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Academic Freedom to Support Hamas at the London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science. Photo: Wiki Commons.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is rated as one of the best universities in the UK and globally — and the school often extols its academic mission and motto: rerum cognoscere causas (“to know the causes of things”).
It is curious, then, that the LSE does not feel obliged, let alone willing, to share the knowledge presumably obtained at a book event it hosted about Hamas.
Readers may not be aware that the LSE recently hosted a discussion with an author about her book Understanding Hamas and Why That Matters. The discussion quickly attracted criticism and censure when it was announced.
First, LSE’s webpage for the event carried the blurb of the publisher, OR Books. The blurb claims that “the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has been subject to intense vilification. Branding it as ‘terrorist’ or worse, this demonization intensified after the events in Southern Israel on October 7, 2023.”
It is difficult — and incredibly radical – to sustain the idea that Hamas has been demonized.
Of course, this is no surprise for OR Books, which features a book called Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn, no fewer than six books by David Finkelstein, and — what else — a “Free Palestine Reading List.”
But the LSE has a reputation to maintain. Thus, following criticism, the LSE replaced the event’s description. Unfortunately, their promotional text remains problematic in other ways: it claims that the book set out Hamas’ “transformation from early anti-Jewish tendencies to a stance that differentiates between Judaism and Zionism.”
Efforts by Hamas members to slay the “Yehudis” surely refute this.
As the event neared, protests and counterprotests arose. The LSE was determined that the event go ahead, because “free speech underpins everything we do.” What is more, “Students, staff and visitors are strongly encouraged to discuss and debate the most pressing issues around the world.”
However, perhaps anxious about security and reputational implications, the LSE decided that this “public” event would only be available to LSE staff and students. Indeed, there would not even be a livestream of the event. To date, the LSE has not put up a video of the event. So much for visitors being invited to “discuss and debate the most pressing issues.”
The LSE has somehow arrived at the worst possible decision. On the one hand, it chose to go ahead with hosting an event that could, on one reading of UK terrorism legislation, have allowed its speakers to commit the offense of inviting support for a terrorist organization. That the book was co-written by a Quaker who saw fit to promote the book on the “Nonviolence International” YouTube channel is certainly ironic, but this does not erase the fact that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization in the UK.
On the other hand, this is not a victory for academic freedom. The Jewish Chronicle, while criticizing the event, said that freedom of speech was fundamental for universities, and thus the LSE should proceed with the event (if only to reap the whirlwind later by losing out on state funding). Yet even here, the LSE has failed. By keeping the event closed only to LSE students and staff, and by refusing to put up a video of the event, the LSE is deliberately not sharing whatever was said at the event.
If, as The Jewish Chronicle remarked, light is the best disinfectant to bad ideas, then that cannot happen here — where everything that was said remains in the dark, away from public scrutiny. Again, the LSE said this was an opportunity for visitors to come and share in the process of debate. But the LSE instead kept it a closed debate, never to be televised. The LSE locked the door and has thrown away the key.
While we do not yet know the consequences of their decision — whether other talks supportive of Hamas will now be hosted, or if Jewish students will be at further risk of harm on university campuses — we can point to the LSE’s decision as having played a part. To quote their motto, we will “know the causes of things.”
Asher Abramson is a lawyer based in Edinburgh, UK. He is a BA International History graduate of the London School of Economics.
The post Academic Freedom to Support Hamas at the London School of Economics first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.