London School of Economics resists Israel ambassador's call to cancel event on Hamas book
A leading British university has resisted a campaign by pro-Israel groups and the Israeli ambassador to cancel the launch of a new book about Hamas.
The book, Understanding Hamas and Why That Matters, which is edited by Helena Cobban and Rami Khouri, was launched on Monday afternoon at the London School of Economics amid widespread outrage, with a pro-Israel protest held outside the university.
The Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, wrote to LSE vice-chancellor Professor Larry Kramer asking him to cancel the launch, organised through the university's Middle East Centre, accusing it of platforming "Hamas propaganda".
She claimed that the launch could "serve to grow support for a brutal terror organisation among your students and beyond".
But the university did not back down, with a spokesperson saying: "Free speech and freedom of expression underpins everything we do at LSE. Students, staff and visitors are strongly encouraged to discuss and debate the most pressing issues around the world.”
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The book's description says that it "provides much-needed insight into a widely misunderstood movement whose involvement in a just resolution of the Israel/Palestine conflict will be critical".
"This book does not advocate for or against Hamas. Rather, in a series of rich and probing conversations with leading experts, it aims to deepen understanding of a movement that is a key player in the current crisis," it continues.
"It looks at, among other things, Hamas’s critical shift from social and religious activism to national political engagement; the delicate balance between Hamas's political and military wings; and its transformation from early anti-Jewish tendencies to a stance that differentiates between Judaism and Zionism."
'Misrepresentation' of Hamas
Contributors to the book include Jadaliyya co-editor Mouin Rabbani and academic Azzam Tamimi, author of Hamas: A History from Within.
The event, chaired by the Middle East Centre's director Michael Mason, was addressed by Rabbani and co-editor Cobban, as well as Jeroen Gunning, a founder of the field of critical terrorism studies, and international relations lecturer Catherine Charrett.
During the event, all speakers condemned war crimes committed by Hamas and the targeting of civilians.
Cobban said during the event: "It's crucial for us to recognise how complicit corporate media in this country have been in the misrepresentation - and I would even say the 'disrepresentation' - of both Hamas as a movement and its actions."
She added that "resistance to occupation" is "permitted in international law".
"I am definitely prepared to condemn all attacks that violate international humanitarian law, whether on 7 October or any other day," she said. "However, it's important to note that much of what Hamas did on 7 October involved attacking military targets inside Israel."
Gunning argued that labelling Hamas terrorists "erases the historical context of the 7 October attacks... It allows Israel to claim these were irrational, evil, unprovoked attacks, and that it’s about hatred and nothing else."
LSE has previously been embroiled in controversies related to pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
In January, Middle East Eye revealed that students who staged a protest to draw attention to the university’s investments in Israel were described as being "dressed as terrorists" in emails between senior staff.
Footage of the incident analysed by MEE showed that some protesters had covered their faces with the Palestinian keffiyeh.
Last year, the LSE became the first British university to evict its students from an encampment for Gaza after securing a court order to disperse them.
LSE reportedly has £89m ($113m) invested in 137 companies involved in possible war crimes in Gaza, the arms industry and fossil fuels.
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