UK: Concern over extermist speakers on campus

The Jewish Chronicle reports:

Ismail Patel

London universities hosted a series of controversial speakers in the first months of the current academic year, including one who had tweeted that “Jews are evil”, a counter-extremism group has revealed. [...]

In November, London South Bank University hosted an event featuring Abu Bakr Islam, the founder of the Roadside2Islam media channel.

Mr Islam had posted a tweet in 2011 in which he wrote “Jews are evil” before linking to an article about claims Israeli settlers had attacked Palestinians in the West Bank.

The following month, on December 17, UCL in London hosted Ismail Patel, the founder of the Leicester-based Friends of Al-Aqsa group.

Mr Patel was a leading supporter of blood libel cleric Sheikh Raed Salah who won an appeal against being deported from Britain in 2012.

Friends of Al-Aqsa has published work by Holocaust denier Paul Eisen and antisemite Gilad Atzmon. 

Mr Patel himself has previously said Hamas is not a terrorist organisation and said he “salutes” the group for “standing up to Israel”.

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