By Amy O’Donoghue
LSE has received national attention over a controversial book launch entitled Understanding Hamas And Why That Matters, hosted by LSE’s Middle East Centre on 10 March 2025. The event attracted many pro-Israel protestors and pro-Palestine counter-protesters, while police separated the two camps outside the Cheng Kin Ku Building.
The mobilisation began when Zionist group Betar Worldwide posted about the event on X, claiming “these jihadis are destroying our nation” and inviting “all Patriots, all Zionists, all decent people to stop this event”. This gained further traction after promotion on Instagram by Jewish-led campaign group Stop the Hate. The group LSE Liberated Zone (not affiliated with the LSE administration) responded with a call for “emergency mobilisation” to “help us keep our campus safe from far-right agitators”.
An online open letter calling for the event to be cancelled received 53,000 signatures.
Preceding the event, Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely wrote to LSE President and Vice-Chancellor Larry Kramer, describing the content of the event as “Hamas propaganda”.
An LSE spokesperson responded to Hotovely, stating that “free speech and freedom of expression underpins everything we do at LSE”, and so the event would go ahead.
The Home Office also issued a statement, warning LSE that anyone taking part in the event who crosses the legal boundaries of free speech will “face the full force of the law”.
There was a large turnout for the protest, which took place outside the Cheng Kin Ku Building where the book launch was being held. A GB News reporter was also present and spoke to protesters; one protester from the pro-Israeli side told the reporter that the fact this event was being held was “shameful” and “shows the decline of universities”. Most protesters from the pro-Palestinian side declined to speak to the GB News reporter.
LSE Liberated Zone claims that a pro-Palestinian counter-protester was arrested and later released without charge after a “baseless accusation” was made against them by a protester from the other side. They also claim the police “demonstrated their alignment with the Zionist fascist forces” by assaulting protesters who were attempting to speak to the individual that was arrested. The Metropolitan Police did not respond when the Beaver attempted to verify these claims.
Tension continued during the book launch itself. It began with the chair, Michael Mason, emphasising that Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation and that LSE does not endorse the views set out in the book. He also repeatedly stated that anyone in the audience who crosses the line from free speech to extremism would be expelled from the event.
The three co-authors of the book (Helena Cobban, Jeroen Gunning, and Mouin Rabbani) were then given a chance to speak. Cobban stated she was pleased LSE was “upholding values of free speech and free association” by holding this event. She also claimed Hamas has been “systematically misrepresented in the corporate media” since before the events of October 2023.
Gunning then stated that whilst he does not deny the war crimes that Hamas has committed, he believes that the labelling of them as a terrorist organisation has “devastating effects” because it obscures historical roots. He also highlighted that the IDF has used the terrorist label to target all Gazans. He claimed the IDF has previously stated that they see no difference between Hamas and Gaza citizens and that to them, all Gazans are “animals”.
Rabbani added that it is standard practice to engage with groups such as Hamas when seeking a peace settlement, referencing historic engagement with the IRA as an example of this.
The chair then questioned the authors, announcing his “ethical unease” with the contents of the book, which he claimed mentions the war crimes committed by Hamas only once in its entirety. The authors responded that they did not wish to deny the atrocities committed.
During the Q&A section of the event, a staff member from LSE described the “twisted use” of the term demonisation in relation to Hamas as a “clear attempt to exonerate a terrorist organisation”. A heated exchange between audience members and author Cobban followed, with uproar occurring after Cobban claimed that most of the October 7 attacks were targeted to military personnel, which the chair immediately disputed. A row of spectators eventually walked out.
An LSE Spokesperson said:
“Free speech and freedom of expression underpins everything we do at LSE. Students, staff and visitors are strongly encouraged to discuss and debate the most pressing issues around the world.
“We host an enormous number of events each year, covering a wide range of viewpoints and positions.
“We have clear policies in place to ensure the facilitation of debates in these events and enable all members of our community to refute ideas lawfully and to protect individual’s rights to freedom of expression within the law. This is formalised in our Code of Practice on Free Speech and in our Ethics Code.
“Central to our culture and protected in law is LSE’s responsibility to enable diverse individual views, including the voices of those who wish to peacefully protest. During protests, LSE’s security team work closely with relevant authorities to prioritise the safety of our community and campus.
“Bullying, harassment or discrimination are not acceptable, and we encourage any students or staff who have witnessed such behaviour to get in touch via one of our many channels, such as Report and Support.”
Daniel Levy, Betar spokesperson, told The Beaver that “Zionists stand strong against hate”. The spokesperson claimed LSE promoted a program with a “friendly depiction of Hamas, which is completely against all British values”. They also claim LSE “harbours” and “favours” Hamas. The spokesperson alleges that LSE staff made an “attempt to brand Hamas as a political movement”, which would make LSE a “pariah”.
Betar US did not provide any evidence to substantiate their claims.
LSE Liberated Zone did not respond in time for publication.
