‘SOAS Student Union is supposed to be independent, but it has been completely silenced’

In the months since Israel’s escalation in Gaza since 7 October, a chilling wave of repression has swept across UK universities, targeting pro-Palestine activists with alarming severity. At the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), a historic hub for progressive thought, this repression has been starkly visible.

Students have faced suspensions, bans and intimidation for daring to speak out against the genocide in Gaza and the University’s complicity in systems of oppression. Activists describe a climate of fear, where standing in solidarity with Palestine is met with heavy-handed reprisals and institutional stonewalling.

Abel Harvie-Clark, a recent graduate and a central figure in SOAS’ student activism, highlights the hypocrisy at the heart of the University’s policies. SOAS prides itself on its commitment to anti-colonialism, but its actions suggest otherwise, he argues. “They claim to be an authority on decolonisation, yet they support a settler colony. The Haifa University partnership, which is involved in military research, really stands out,” Abel said.

Despite its self-proclaimed progressive stance, SOAS has been complicit in maintaining and legitimising oppressive systems. Students like Abel and Alexander Cachinero Gorman – who were elected to serve in leadership positions in the Students’ Union (SU) – have been at the forefront of efforts to expose this complicity, only to face severe reprisals.

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Abel, co-president of Democracy & Education, was permanently excluded from campus, and both Abel and Alexander, who served as Co-President of Welfare & Campaigns, were dismissed from their positions in the SU on their very first day in office, 15 July. “We were fighting against it because of the precedent it sets for others as well,” Abel reflected, describing the harsh treatment they and their peers endured. Their expulsion and suspension were part of a broader strategy to silence any form of resistance on campus.

The SU, once a vibrant hub of student resistance, has been systematically undermined under Adam Habib’s leadership. Abel described it as a “key space of resistance” that has now been co-opted by management. “The SU is supposed to be independent, but under Habib and the current CEO, Irfan Zaman, it’s been completely silenced. It’s just a tool for the administration now,” Abel said.

For years, the SU had been a space where students organised for justice on issues like Palestine solidarity, workers’ rights and welfare reforms. But, today, it operates under a culture of fear and intimidation. According to Abel, the SU’s leadership and independence have been intentionally eroded to suppress dissent. “They wouldn’t be able to get away with so much oppression if we had our union as a way to organise students,” he said.

Alexander has spoken extensively about the welfare crisis at SOAS and the role the SU should have played in addressing it. “Prior to my election, I had seen how dire the welfare crisis at our University was,” they explained. “Therapeutic services and Disability & Neurodiversity teams were barely scraping by, students and staff were being recklessly denied reasonable adjustments for serious bereavements and health conditions, and outright experiences of harassment and discrimination were present at every level of the institution.”

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As a disabled student himself, Alexander felt compelled to act after years of experiencing structural discrimination at SOAS. “After nearly two years of seeing the violent repression of my Palestinian peers and anyone supporting them, and seeing students being shut out and even actively harmed, I decided to run for the position of Co-President of Welfare & Campaigns,” they said.

Alexander’s and Abel’s election campaigns were grounded in transformative change, resonating with students who yearned for substantive reform. “If you look at the radical, optimistic and uplifting campaigns that we ran for our elected positions, you can see why we won: there was—and remains—a thirst for substantive, transformative change at our University,” Alexander explained.

However, this potential for change made them targets. “I believe because we not only ‘promised’, but demonstrated in our actions in prior student campaigns that we could organise and win, that we were targeted by the SU CEO and Board of Trustees for removal,” Alexander said.

Abel described how SOAS’s administration has weaponised disciplinary processes against activists. “SOAS’s management has flat-out refused to engage with protests, even when they’ve been peaceful. Instead, they’ve relied on heavy-handed tactics like securitising the campus, blocking access and using ID checks to intimidate students,” Abel said.

“They’ve placed tons of students on ‘final warnings’ to either intimidate us or guarantee we’ll be disciplined for the very next thing. When I was shown CCTV footage for the protest I was being disciplined for – one where security attacked protestors – it was so shaky and circumstantial I thought, ‘This is what I was fired for? Seriously?’” Alexander added.

The connection between SOAS’s senior leadership and the SU has also raised serious ethical concerns. The Board of Trustees, which oversees the SU, includes members who sit on senior university committees, creating conflicts of interest. Alexander and Abel’s Employment Tribunal complaint now names both the University and the SU, alleging potential data privacy breaches during their disciplinary processes.

For Alexander, the consequences of their removal from the SU have been devastating. “As for the personal impact, I can unequivocally say that my unfair dismissal by the SU has destroyed my mental and physical health. It very nearly ruined my life. Were it not for good friends and allies who supported me while I was in Jordan when I received my dismissal letter, I believe I would be even worse off,” they said.

Alexander explained how the administration timed the dismissal to inflict maximum harm. “Our employer was fully aware of my challenging circumstances—including the reasons for the timing of my study abroad programme, which I had to postpone due to my wife’s very serious, life-altering illness. And yet, they chose this moment to dismiss me, while I was out of the country and Abel was banned from campus.”

Despite the repression, Alexander and Abel remain determined to fight back. They have filed legal action against their dismissals, arguing that they were targeted for their anti-Zionist beliefs and Palestine solidarity protests. “Our employer improperly cited disciplinary procedures against us for Palestine solidarity protests at SOAS,” Alexander explained, and therefore the fight goes beyond personal justice.

“We do not simply want to win the damages we are rightfully owed—we want to be reinstated so we can begin the urgently important work of change at our SU and indeed at our University,” they said. This includes severing SOAS’s ties to the Israeli military, reinstating suspended students and rebuilding the SU as a truly independent, democratic institution.

Abel echoed these calls, urging students, staff and allies to resist the administration’s tactics. “This repression sets a chilling precedent – not just at SOAS, but across the entire education sector,” they said.

As Alexander concluded, “We remain ready to serve the SOAS community as we always have, and I hope that other students, university workers and members of the public will see the chilling precedent our cases set as the hostile environment extends even further into the classroom and the workplace, and join us in our campaign for justice.”

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