University students express solidarity with UN rapporteur at London rally

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - A group of university students staged a rally Monday at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London to support Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, amid criticism from pro-Israeli advocates.

Pro-Palestinian supporters gathered at the university campus for the event, organized by Jewish students as part of a counter-demonstration against a protest by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

It comes after the CAA announced that they would stage a protest at the university to say Albanese “is not welcome."

Before the beginning of Albanese's speech, a large group of pro-Palestinian protesters arrived at the campus with Palestinian flags and signs featuring slogans including "Free Palestine," "Stop the genocide" and "End Israeli apartheid."

Both protests took place with police present to prevent any skirmishes.

During the rally, the pro-Palestinian protesters chanted slogans including "No justice, no peace," "CAA go away" and "You do not speak for us."

In response, the pro-Israeli group shouted "You are not Jewish."

Pro-Palestinian Jewish students also spoke about the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and chanted "Stop bombing mosques, stop bombing churches, stop bombing hospitals, stop bombing babies."

In a statement ahead of the protest, the SOAS Jewish Society expressed support and solidarity with Albanese, whose speech will "shed light on the brutality Palestinians face under Israeli apartheid."

Citing the CAA's "supposed concern" over "Jewish students’ safety" due to the speech, the group said this is "disingenuous and politically motivated."

"We, the Jewish students at SOAS, along with our allies, see through this manipulation. We will continue to educate ourselves and each other about antisemitism and the only path to overcoming it: solidarity with all oppressed peoples," said the statement.

Some pro-Israeli protesters were seen holding signs targeting the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) as well as Albanese.

Recently, the UN special rapporteur said that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is not a "war" but a "genocide."

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing nearly 43,400 people and rendering the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.