London university described pro-Palestine protesters as 'dressed as terrorists'
Students at the London School of Economics 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 seen by Middle East Eye.
The comment was made in messages between management staff discussing the university's response to the protest, which took place during a registration event for a summer school at the central London campus on 7 July 2024.
In one email on the same day as the protest, Elizabeth Aitken, who heads the LSE's summer school programme, wrote that "staff and students thought that it was a terrorist attack as the protestors [sic] were wearing full face masks and carrying rucksacks".
Other staff members in the email thread, including LSE's president, Larry Kramer, sympathised with Aitken without questioning her recollection of events and recommended possible expulsion and involving police to stop student activists from disrupting future events.
In a subsequent email Aitken suggested that "it may be possible to identify these particular 'protestors' [sic], whilst they were dressed as terrorists with balaclavas".
Read more: London university described pro-Palestine protesters as 'dressed as terrorists'
