Embattled Palestinian president of Oxford Union: ‘I’m not resigning’

At a question for a ballot of nary assurance against Arwa Elrayess, the archetypal Palestinian president of the University of Oxford’s debating society, Oxford Union, she was accused by a 20-year-old pupil of contributing to “an ambiance of hostility and harassment”.

In a video of the forum past week astatine the prestigious university, which was shared with Al Jazeera, Elrayess is seen replying to Ben Ashworth, “Not conscionable successful my vocation wrong the national but successful my beingness arsenic a Palestinian, determination seems to ever beryllium this post-mortem vilification of Palestinians.”

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The country was afloat of onlookers arsenic Elrayess, who became the caput of the Oxford Union precocious past year, stood gangly successful a greenish sequinned dress.

“Palestinians, erstwhile they talk, are for immoderate crushed a danger. Our precise beingness is thing that is scary,” she added.

The question was filed aft screenshots of substance messages from Elrayess were quoted successful outlets including The Telegraph and the BBC arsenic saying that the Hamas-led incursion into confederate Israel connected October 7, 2023 was “proportional”.

The substance besides said groups branded arsenic terrorists were often aboriginal “lauded arsenic heroes”.

Ashworth cited the Sunday Telegraph straight successful his accusation. The newspaper’s governmental editor, Camila Turner, whose begetter serves arsenic main enforcement of UK Lawyers for Israel, had carried the assertion that Elrayess said Hamas would beryllium “lauded arsenic heroes”.

But Elrayess did not marque immoderate connection of enactment for Hamas.

Nine months agone – earlier Elrayess was president – she was successful a radical chat of students meant to sermon politics.

In the radical chat, October 7 and Palestine – and broader conversations connected absorption groups – were discussed.

“Analysing thing is not giving it motivation legitimacy,” she told Al Jazeera. “Even though I described explicitly successful each the messages that I’m not describing this arsenic morganatic oregon morally justified, I’m conscionable providing analysis; each of this was stripped distant erstwhile it was reported successful The Telegraph oregon the Daily News.”

The afloat punctuation successful question connected the radical chat read: “Any absorption radical volition inevitably beryllium deemed a violent organisation by the West until they execute their liberation, by which clip they’ll beryllium lauded arsenic heroes arsenic past has historically proven.”

‘Entirely misquoted’

The messages were not meant arsenic commentary connected Hamas specifically, she argued.

“It was wholly misquoted; I judge it was wholly intentional to framework arsenic having said thing that I simply did not say,” she told Al Jazeera.

To the Jewish Chronicle, though, Elrayess reiterated her presumption by saying, “I condemn Hamas’ targeting of guiltless civilians, conscionable arsenic I condemn the targeting of guiltless civilians by the [Israeli army] oregon immoderate different actor.”

After refuting the allegation and misquotations, Ashworth is seen successful the video yelling astatine Elrayess, asking whether she condemns Hamas again.

Ashworth, who is not Jewish, has faced disapproval for precocious visiting Israel with the Pinsker Centre, a deliberation vessel formerly known arsenic the Pinsker Centre for Zionist Education.

The question for a ballot of nary assurance overwhelmingly failed, receiving 126 votes, 116 of which were online signatures, acold beneath the 150 needed to proceed to a poll.

This is not the archetypal misinformation run against Elrayess.

In October 2025, conscionable earlier her predetermination arsenic president of the debating society, falsified minutes were ratified by an unnamed subordinate of the union, alleging that Elrayess “argues that alumni members shouldn’t beryllium allowed to vote, reiterating her claims that they are incapable of making a rational judgement”.

Elrayess believes that the minutes were made up and dispersed to “paint maine arsenic idiosyncratic who hates alumni of this institution”.

After an interior disciplinary process, the idiosyncratic who falsified the minutes was suspended from bureau and the minutes were de-ratified.

Shortly aft her win, absorption wrong the Union brought guardant a fig of charges against Elrayess, ranging from misuse of societal media to antisemitism. In January, it was recovered that the charges were un-evidenced. By this point, however, Elrayess had mislaid 2 months of her presidency.

Alongside this, an nonfiction was published successful the Oxford Standard alleging that she was related to a person of Hamas who happened to stock the aforesaid surname arsenic her, and that she had created and shared a cartoon of herself stepping connected a lizard and a hook-nosed anti-Semitic caricature to observe her victory.

The claims, again, were false. The cartoon linked to an anonymous meme leafage that Elrayess had thing to bash with, and she had nary household ties to Hamas. The nonfiction had nary writer attributed to it, and the Oxford Standard did not interaction Elrayess oregon reply to her emails, fact-checking the article.

Within days, Elrayess had emails from journalists astatine The Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle and The Telegraph, asking her to clarify her household affiliation with Hamas and her views of Jewish people, stemming from the stark untruths shared successful the nameless Oxford Standard article.

Arwa Elrayess said she is the unfortunate of a smear run aft media outlets selectively quoted and misinterpreted immoderate of her substance messages [Courtesy of Arwa Elrayess]

The lone origin for the allegations, immoderate person observed, appeared to beryllium Elrayess’s Palestinian identity.

A workfellow and person of Elrayess, who wished to stay unnamed, described to Al Jazeera a consciousness of distress among Elrayess and her friends.

“The level of attacks that Arwa and her friends received was astounding,” helium said.

The Oxford Standard, which nary longer exists, deleted some the nonfiction and their website altogether. But the rumours they began, with nary facts to backmost them up, person snowballed into nationalist quality headlines of Oxford Union’s archetypal Palestinian president being a protagonist of Hamas and a arrogant anti-Semite.

Tweets by salient Zionist influencers similar Eylon Levy, erstwhile spokesperson for Israel, sharing the prevarication that Elrayess is simply a Hamas heiress, with now-broken Oxford Standard links and nary factual corrections.

‘I’m a precise arrogant Palestinian’

Elrayess’s dedication to statement and escaped code has brought contention to her tenure. She invited salient Israel protagonist Tommy Robinson to a debate, triggering wide protestation successful Oxford, and has engaged with conservatives and Zionists successful her national and her ain appointed committee.

Oliver Jones-Lyons, manager of concern of the Oxford Union, works alongside Elrayess and describes himself arsenic a “pretty nationalist Zionist”.

Still, contempt their diametric positions, Lyons-Jones does not endorse the increasing smear run against Elrayess.

“I person ne'er felt oppressed, abused oregon discouraged from sharing my views openly, rather the other successful fact,” said Jones-Lyons successful a connection to Al Jazeera. “Me and Arwa evidently vehemently disagree connected a batch of issues; however, our conversations astir issues that are profoundly idiosyncratic to some of america person ne'er erstwhile been assertive and person ever been productive, successful information I tin surely accidental Arwa has changed my caput connected issues I ne'er thought I would.”

Oxford Union subordinate Oliver Goldstein said, “Personally, I similar Arwa. I don’t hold with galore of her comments, but bash I consciousness unsafe arsenic a Jewish pupil astatine the Oxford Union? No … I don’t deliberation she’s an anti-Semite.”

Despite the inundation of misinformation, Elrayess remains determined.

“My begetter is from Gaza,” she said. “He would ever archer me, ‘It doesn’t truly substance what you accidental oregon bash not say; radical volition ever find a mode to rotation it successful specified a mode that you go a target, due to the fact that you’re already a target.”

She said she lives by her father’s words.

“I’m not resigning from my position. They tin propulsion 1,000 antithetic letters successful 1,000 antithetic articles. I’m precise vocal, and I’m a precise arrogant Palestinian.”