Illustrative” Parliament Square, in London, Britain, Sept. 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

University College London (UCL) on Thursday condemned an on-campus incident in which its former researcher uttered “vile” antisemitic statements during an event organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a global anti-Israel network linked to jihadist groups.

As seen in footage shared by StandWithUs UK, the researcher, Samar Maqusi, delivered a pseudo-academic lecture at the UCL Student Union which argued that Napoleon Bonaparte recruited Jewish financiers to join him in a conspiracy to end the Ottoman Empire’s occupation of the Holy Land, saying the French emperor sought the fictional partnership because “Jews pretty much controlled the financialization [sic] structure.”

Additionally, she charged that Jews harvest the blood of gentiles to use it as the key ingredient of “special pancakes,” a classic antisemitic trope pulled from the medieval age and used to justify pogroms and many other forms of legalized anti-Jewish discrimination and persecution.

“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,” university president and provost Michael Spence said in a statement. “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.”

He added, “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.”

UCL’s Student Union also condemned the incident while announcing disciplinary sanctions for SJP which halts its operating on campus indefinitely.

“The antisemitic tropes used throughout the lecture are reprehensible, and we condemn this language in the strongest possible terms. Every person in our community has a duty to call out and challenge hate speech on our campus,” it said. “We have suspended the two organizing societies, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jews for Palestinian Justice, with immediate effect. A full investigation through our disciplinary procedures will now take place.”

UCL is not the only university in the United Kingdom to see recent antisemitic acts.

At City St. George’s, University of London Israeli professor Michael Ben-Gad has been unrelentingly pursued by a pro-Hamas organization which calls itself City Action for Palestine. It has subjected him to several forms of persecution, including social media agitprop, spontaneous, unlawful assembly at his place of work, and even a petition of their own.

City Action for Palestine is one of London’s most notorious anti-Zionist groups, convulsing higher education campuses across the city with pro-Hamas demonstrations which demonize pro-Israel Jews, attack policies enacted to combat antisemitism, and amplify the propaganda of jihadist terror organizations. Ben-Gad is not its only victim, as the group has targeted Members of Parliament, the Union of Jewish Students, and City University London president Anthony Finkelstein, who is Jewish and the child of a Holocaust survivor.

In 2023, just months before Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel, the National Union of Students (NUS), a body representing thousands of university students in the UK, apologized for discriminating against Jewish students.

The expression of contrition followed years of incidents to which Jewish groups pointed as evidence that antisemitism was prevalent throughout its organizing structure. Jewish students had reported incitement of violence against Israeli civilians, the spreading of conspiracy theories about Mossad’s rumored role in the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), and opposition to a motion proposing observance of Holocaust Memorial Day.

In November 2022, NUS removed president Shaima Dallali after finding her guilty of antisemitism and other misconduct. Dallali’s tenure at NUS brimmed with controversies, including the discovery of tweets in which she called Hamas critics “Dirty Zionists” and quoted the battle cry, “Khaybar, Khaybar o Jews, the army of Muhammad will return,” a reference to the Battle of Khaybar in 628 that resulted in a massacre of Jews.

UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson recently called on higher education officials to “tackle this poison of antisemitism,” calling the trend “unacceptable.”

“There can be no place for harassment and intimidation,” she said while appearing on a program by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which has itself been scrutinized for deluging the airwaves with false stories fed by the Hamas terrorist organization. “Universities can and must act on that.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

During anti-government protests, the words “Puta Judía,” which translate to “Jewish whore,” were spray-painted on the gates of Mexico City’s National Palace, apparently targeting Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Photo: Screenshot

Anti-government protests in Mexico City turned openly antisemitic over the weekend, with demonstrators chanting and scrawling graffiti attacking President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Jewish heritage — sparking outrage from Jewish leaders and politicians nationwide.

On Saturday, protesters spray-painted the words “Jewish whore” on the gates of Mexico City’s National Palace, the presidential residence, in an act apparently directed at Sheinbaum, the country’s first female and Jewish president.

According to local media reports, youth groups staged the protest to voice their concerns over escalating violence, crime, and corruption, particularly linked to the country’s drug cartels.

Clashes erupted shortly after local police moved in to contain the demonstrations, leaving dozens reportedly arrested and injured.

During the protest, demonstrators targeted the presidential residence with antisemitic insults, chanting slurs and spray-painting a crossed-out Star of David on its walls.

En México, los mexicanos pintaron con aerosol la frase “puta judía” en las puertas del Palacio Nacional, tras el descontento generalizado con Claudia Sheinbaum, la presidenta del país.

Las protestas se intensificaron especialmente tras el asesinato de un alcalde, Carlos Menzo,… pic.twitter.com/bfqfuHrW5m

— ITON GADOL es Israel y las comunidades judias (@Itongadol) November 16, 2025

The country’s Jewish community has strongly condemned these latest incidents, denouncing the antisemitic attacks and calling for accountability.

“Antisemitism is a form of discrimination according to our constitution and must be rejected clearly and unequivocally,” the statement read.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also condemned the displays of anti-Jewish bigotry, expressing solidarity with Sheinbaum and warning against such acts of political violence.

“Israel strongly condemns the antisemitic and sexist slurs directed at Mexico’s President [Claudia Sheinbaum],” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X. 

“There is no place for such attacks in political discourse. All forms of antisemitism, in any context, must be rejected unequivocally,” Saar continued. 

Israel strongly condemns the antisemitic and sexist slurs directed at Mexico’s President @Claudiashein. There is no place for such attacks in political discourse.
All forms of antisemitism, in any context, must be rejected unequivocally. pic.twitter.com/HEDKzq34e8

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) November 16, 2025

As in many countries around the world, the Jewish community in Mexico has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.

Earlier this year, Voice of the People — a global initiative launched by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to survey and amplify Jewish voices worldwide — released a study showing that concerns about rising antisemitism now top the list of challenges facing Jewish communities across demographics.

Among Jews in Mexico, 84 percent expressed deep concern about rising antisemitism.

Oct 19, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Photo: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said he thinks it would be “pretty cool” to compete in an NFL International Series game in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.

The Dolphins secured a 16-13 victory in overtime against the Washington Commanders in Madrid, Spain, in Sunday’s Week 11 matchup, which was the final international game of the season. At a postgame news conference closing out the NFL’s 2025 International Series, Tagovailoa, 27, was asked where would like to play a league game internationally. The athlete first mentioned his home state of Hawaii, where his close family still lives. “Shoot, it would be pretty cool to go play in Jerusalem, I don’t know,” he added. “That would be sick.”

Tagovailoa has already played three international games throughout his NFL career with the Dolphins – in London, England, in 2021 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2023 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Miami lost both games.

Sunday night’s game at the Santiago Bernabeu marked the seventh international game of the 2025 NFL regular season, which included previous games in Brazil, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, and the UK. There have been no regular-season games in the Middle East or Asia.