‘Zionist free’ universities – we knew this day would come

This week in Camden Town, London, campaigners declared a “Zio Free Zone” by hanging posters around the venue hosting a Bob Vylan gig. Last week, masked men spent the early hours of the morning doing similar on a far larger scale around Villa Park, Birmingham, hanging “Zios Not Welcome” signs in the windows of shops or restaurants. “Zio,” of course, is a not-so-coded word for Israelis and/or Jews. The masks have been ripped off: they are no longer asking for a free Palestine, but rather a UK – and probably a world – free of Israelis and Jews.

This is an escalation from the past two years. We have become accustomed to anti-Israel and/or pro-Palestine protests on our streets. Palestinian flags, signs equating Israel with Nazism, paintings of Netanyahu eating babies, Hamas headbands, Hezbollah flags, amongst others, have been routinely seen, often accompanied by masked protestors marching through our cities. But many people are surprised by the escalation to wanting to remove “Zios” altogether.

Jews and Israelis in UK universities are not surprised. 

Since October 7, the movement to de-Zionize UK universities has gone into full swing.  The demands were never only about ending the war in Gaza, or even about a Palestinian state. For many, it was about Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) – that is, removing all ties with Israel, Israelis, and anyone who has any connection to that country or those people. Given that 7 million of the world’s 15 million Jews live in Israel, and given that the vast majority of Jews globally identify as Zionist, Jews are clearly a main target of the BDS movement. And we have seen this playing out in our universities for more than two years.

This was never just about a ceasefire, or about Palestinian self-determination. For many, it was about delegitimizing and eradicating the state of Israel, and about isolating and ostracizing Israelis and Jews around the world. Crowds have blocked libraries or marched in public areas demanding “No Zios on Campus.” Jewish student societies and Israel student societies have been targeted, their events threatened, their members doxed. Jewish academics have seen their faces plastered on posters around campus with the accusation “Zionist.” Israeli professors have had masked men and women storm into their lectures threatening violence.

The heart of the BDS movement is within universities. It is students and academics who beat the drum demanding that institutions cut all financial, research, teaching, or other ties to Israel, Israelis, and anyone who has any connection to them. This would mean no more Zionists on staff at these universities, and presumably, students being vetted before being admitted. It would mean no more research projects on medicine or science with Israeli institutions. It would mean University College London capitulating to nearly 1000 staff members who pressured their Provost to cut all ties with parts of Google. It would mean no more teaching texts from Zionist scholars in classrooms, and no more using or learning from Zionist Nobel Prize winners’ work. 

If all of this sounds rather disconnected from what is going on in our streets, then please think again. The Iranian Revolution was led by Islamists and left-wing, liberal academics and students. They came together to defeat their perceived common enemy, the Shah. The universities were central to that revolution, and they soon met a bitter fate. With the Shah overthrown, the Islamists then turned on their progressive counterparts. Those who did not flee the country were routinely tortured and killed. And the universities were then staffed by Islamists who set about shoring up the new regime. 

Just to be clear, I am not equating what is happening in Britain with the Iranian Revolution. I am equating the alliances within UK universities with the alliances seen in similar Iranian institutions during that revolution. The left-wing, liberal students and staff may claim that their aim for BDS is not to de-Zionize the UK. Indeed, they may even claim that they don’t use “Zio” to mean Israeli or Jew. Even if they are telling the truth, we need to listen to their Islamist counterparts who make no pretense about what they mean. 

They threaten to behead Israeli staff. They demand Zio-free zones. They hold up pictures of the Star of David being put in the bin. At their demonstrations, they chant: “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud! Jaish Muhammad soufa yaʿoud!.” I know enough Arabic to know the warning. At the seventh-century Battle of Khaybar, a Jewish community was besieged by Muhammad’s army. Today’s protestors are saying: “Oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!”