As Francesca Albanese heads to LSE, SOAS and QML, it’s time to #BanFran
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is going to be lecturing on British campuses. She has previously posted about “the Jewish lobby” and is alleged to have told a Hamas-organised conference that they have “the right to resist”.
We will be holding demonstrations at universities where she is scheduled to speak to make clear that she is not welcome. Even if the UN refuses to #BanFran, Britain’s leading educational institutions should. Join us at:
- London School of Economics (LSE), 11th November, 11:30
- School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), 11th November, 16:00
- Queen Mary University of London (QML), 12th November, 11:00
We are also writing to the universities which are planning to host her. Should they come to their senses and reconsider the invitation, our protests will be called off.
Sign up at antisemitism.org/BanFran
Here is just a selection of Ms Albanese’s past rhetoric:
- She has made innumerable comparisons between Israelis and the Nazis, in breach of the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the British Government.
- In 2022, she reportedly addressed a conference in Gaza in which she stated “You have a right to resist this occupation.” The conference was reportedly organised by Hamas and numerous spokespeople from both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were present. Both Hamas and the PIJ are proscribed as terrorist organisations by the UK Government.
- Earlier this year, she was condemned by the French Foreign Ministry after she posted on X: “The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism but in response to Israel’s oppression,” after President Macron described the 7th October attacks as “the largest antisemitic massacre of our century”.
- A 2014 open letter that she posted on her Facebook account read: “America and Europe, one of them subjugated by the Jewish lobby, and the other by the sense of guilt about the Holocaust, remain on the sidelines and continue to condemn the oppressed — the Palestinians — who defend themselves with the only means they have.” This is also a breach of the Definition.
- According to The Times of Israel, in 2014 in a now-hidden post on Facebook directed at the BBC, she wrote: “The Israeli lobby is clearly inside your veins and system and you will be remembered to have been on the big brother’s side of this orwellian [sic] nightmare caused once again by Israel’s greed.” Also a breach of the Definition.
Is this the kind of person that LSE, SOAS and QML want to be lecturing their students?
Do not let this go unanswered. Join us. #BanFran
If any students are concerned about antisemitism on campus or need assistance, they can call us on 0330 822 0321, or e-mail [email protected].
