A university has referred an academic to police after she was accused of making a reference to “blood libel”.
Samar Maqusi allegedly made the comments on blood libel – the antisemitic belief that Jews killed gentiles to use their blood in rituals – during a lecture to the Students for Justice in Palestine society at University College London (UCL).
The university said it reported the incident to the police and banned the American academic from campus while it is being investigated.
The student society has also been banned from holding more events on campus.
StandWithUs UK, a group that supports Jewish students on university campuses, first raised concerns after a recording of the lecture was made public on Tuesday.
The group said the lecture, titled “Palestine: From Existence to Resistance”, contained references to the Damascus affair – an event often described as a blood libel.
The Damascus affair is a claim that in 1840, Jews in Syria murdered a Christian priest to get blood to make bread for a religious festival.
Ms Maqusi, a former researcher at the university but not a current member of the staff, described the Damascus affair during her lecture.
“You know, again, these are things that you read and again, as I said: do investigate, draw your own narrative,” she said.
She added “Jews pretty much controlled the financialisation structure” during Napoleon’s reign.
The lecturer said that Napoleon promised Jews a Jewish kingdom in return for funding the French empire.
The lecture made claims that mainstream media was “Zionist-controlled”.
London-based university students, outside King’s College London, take part in an inter-university march for Gaza | PAShe said: “Keep in mind, when we’re talking about Zionism, we’re talking about an ideology that’s held within a structure that also controls a lot of what’s within our hands.
“When you’re trying to read about Zionism you’re most probably being guided or censored or being directed.”
A student who attended the lecture, Mark Ben Mikhelson, 21, told the Times: “The acceptance by my fellow students of antisemitic blood libels and conspiracy theories was a chilling moment.
“These lies have led to the killing of so many Jews throughout history and yet it is seen as perfectly normal discourse at UCL.”
In May, StandWithUs called for public inquiry into rising antisemitism on British university campuses.
StandWithUs UK said: “It is indefensible that one of the UK’s most prestigious universities is providing a platform for long-debunked racist conspiracy theories.
“UCL should be ashamed for allowing the casual dissemination of one of the oldest antisemitic blood libels, which has driven persecution and violent pogroms against Jews throughout the world.”
Michael Spence, the president and provost of UCL, said in a statement to the Times: “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.”
“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. 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.
“Regrettably, like many UK universities we continue to confront incidents of antisemitism and are committing to banishing this from our campus. We have initiated disciplinary proceedings against a number of students in relation to antisemitism and reported incidents to the police where appropriate.
“Freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental to university life but they can never be misused as a shield for hatred. UCL remains steadfast in our commitment to ensure our campus is a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for everyone.”
