Written by Harry Law
On 7 October 2026, a pro-Palestine march took place in close proximity to the LSE campus. The march was in dissent of the actions of Israel in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and the investment by London universities in companies linked to these actions.
The march took place between 12:30 and 14:00, and involved a procession from the north-west corner of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, along Remnant Street, Kingsway and Southampton row, concluding at Russell Square. The Metropolitan Police imposed stringent conditions on when and where the march would assemble and conclude, and prohibited participants from wearing face coverings that concealed their identity.
The march was organised anonymously but promoted by the University of London coalition, a network of London-based student activist groups in support of Palestine, which claims to include the LSESU affiliated Students for Justice in Palestine society. Instagram posts by the coalition stated that the purpose of the march was to, “demand a free Palestine and an end to the ongoing occupation” and to protest against London universities’ “continued investment” in Israel and its actions in Palestine.
According to the BBC, five people were arrested for breaking march conditions imposed by the Met, including one counter-protestor. One participant in the march was arrested on suspicion of common assault.
The march attracted controversy in the preceding weeks due to its positioning on the three-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. In a press release on the day before the march, Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman described the anniversary as “a day of mourning and reflection for many in London” and called on protestors to “reflect on the impact and distress” the march would cause and to “exercise your right to protest on a different day.”
In his 5 October all-School message, LSE President and Vice Chancellor Professor Larry Kramer stated that “it is understandable why those who support Palestine want to protest, and why they want to do so on this day in particular – to force people, even as they mourn the victims of Hamas, to condemn what the protesters view as a genocidal Israeli response on top of years of repression. On the other hand, it is equally understandable why Jewish and Israeli students might view this as an unseemly effort to deny or minimize what to them was nothing less than a pogrom”. He expressed hopes that protestors would conduct the march “in a way that is sensitive to the realistic fears and honest feelings of their Jewish and Israeli fellow students and staff.”
In a comment to the Beaver following the march, LSE reaffirmed its commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression, but made it clear that “any harassment or discrimination are wholly unacceptable at LSE.” The University of London coalition and the Students for Justice in Palestine Society did not respond to requests for comment.
