Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in London
Protesters stand at the entrance to Downing Street, where the British PM’s office is located
SOAS Senate condemns Gaza scholasticide
The Senate at the UK’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the university’s academic governing body, has published a statement condemning what it describes as “scholasticide” in Gaza and demanding a complete government arms embargo on Israel.
Scholasticide refers to the systematic destruction of an education system through killing or detaining teachers and students, while demolishing schools and universities.
The governing body at Britain’s leading Middle East studies institution issued the declaration on Thursday, resolving to protect academics teaching about genocide and calling for international support to rebuild Gaza’s devastated higher education sector.
The statement notes that all of Gaza’s universities have been destroyed and more than 97 percent of schools damaged or demolished. At least 17,000 students and 226 academics were killed between October 2023 and August 2025.
UN experts raised concerns in April 2024 about whether there was an “intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system”.
