Student societies at City University in London have welcomed the cancellation of Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev’s talk, a decision the students claim was made “in relation to wholly unreasonable demands made upon the university by the police”, including bringing armed guards on campus

In a joint statement published by the City University Palestinian Society, the students referred to the cancellation as “only a deferment”, adding: “we know this is not the end…not the stance that students would like to see our institution take against Israeli Apartheid”.

“No group should be entitled to demand the presence of armed guards or police on our campus”, the statement said, a presence the students described as standing “directly against the principle of our university being spaces to challenge and organise in”.

The signatories to the statement, including ten student societies and the City University BME Officer, urged “full transparency from both the University and the Student Union, as to what exactly the [so-called security] requirements demanded of them were”.

Meanwhile, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has echoed the complaints made by pro-Israel activists on campus, accusing the university of refusing “to guarantee the safety of the ambassador and students on campus by implementing basic security measures”.

 

Source: Middle East Monitor