UCL ignites scandal as academic Samar Maqusi repeats ancient antisemitic blood libel, prompting police referral, campus ban, and national outrage.
University College London (UCL) has plunged into a storm of condemnation after academic Samar Maqusi repeated one of history’s deadliest antisemitic lies — the centuries-old blood libel — during a campus lecture, triggering immediate intervention by university leadership and a referral to police.
Maqusi, currently pursuing a PhD in architecture, delivered her remarks at an event organized by UCL’s Students for Justice in Palestine — a group now suspended by the university. Instead of simply referencing the 1840 Damascus Affair, she recycled the debunked fabrication as though it were legitimate, telling students to “investigate” whether Jews murdered a monk for ritual purposes. She went on to claim Jews in Syria had “confessed” to killing Father Thomas for “holy bread” — a claim historically proven to be an antisemitic hoax used to justify persecution, torture and murder.
In an astonishing escalation, Maqusi layered the blood libel with familiar conspiracy tropes, declaring, “The Jews pretty much controlled the financialization structure,” and insinuating that Zionism operates within a system that “controls” society’s levers of power — rhetoric mirroring centuries of antisemitic propaganda.
Israeli student Mark Mikhelson, 19, who was in the room, said the crowd’s acceptance of the rhetoric was chilling:
“This was genuinely shocking — hearing such antisemitic conspiracy theories cheered by fellow students.”
Stand With Us UK, which obtained the recording, condemned the university for giving a platform to “long-debunked racist fantasies.”
UCL President Dr. Michael Spence responded with rare force:
“I am utterly appalled. Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our university.”
He confirmed that UCL has banned Maqusi from campus, launched a full investigation, suspended the student group responsible, and reported the incident to police for further action.
The scandal illustrates a growing challenge in UK academia: extremist campus factions weaponizing anti-Israel activism to normalize classical antisemitism — even resurrecting myths that historically fueled pogroms and mass violence against Jews.University College London (UCL) has plunged into a storm of condemnation after academic Samar Maqusi repeated one of history’s deadliest antisemitic lies — the centuries-old blood libel — during a campus lecture, triggering immediate intervention by university leadership and a referral to police.
Maqusi, currently pursuing a PhD in architecture, delivered her remarks at an event organized by UCL’s Students for Justice in Palestine — a group now suspended by the university. Instead of simply referencing the 1840 Damascus Affair, she recycled the debunked fabrication as though it were legitimate, telling students to “investigate” whether Jews murdered a monk for ritual purposes. She went on to claim Jews in Syria had “confessed” to killing Father Thomas for “holy bread” — a claim historically proven to be an antisemitic hoax used to justify persecution, torture and murder.
In an astonishing escalation, Maqusi layered the blood libel with familiar conspiracy tropes, declaring, “The Jews pretty much controlled the financialization structure,” and insinuating that Zionism operates within a system that “controls” society’s levers of power — rhetoric mirroring centuries of antisemitic propaganda.
Israeli student Mark Mikhelson, 19, who was in the room, said the crowd’s acceptance of the rhetoric was chilling:
“This was genuinely shocking — hearing such antisemitic conspiracy theories cheered by fellow students.”
Stand With Us UK, which obtained the recording, condemned the university for giving a platform to “long-debunked racist fantasies.”
UCL President Dr. Michael Spence responded with rare force:
“I am utterly appalled. Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our university.”
He confirmed that UCL has banned Maqusi from campus, launched a full investigation, suspended the student group responsible, and reported the incident to police for further action.
The scandal illustrates a growing challenge in UK academia: extremist campus factions weaponizing anti-Israel activism to normalize classical antisemitism — even resurrecting myths that historically fueled pogroms and mass violence against Jews.
