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Campus Radicalization: How Extremist Narratives Target New Students on UK Campuses
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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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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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.