A planned screening of “Militant Palestinian Cinema” by UCL’s Communist Society, due to take place on 22 May 2026, has been postponed following urgent representations from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).
The event was advertised as a screening of “revolutionary short films from the 1970s” produced by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Promotional material for the event included imagery of terrorists carrying assault rifles and statements praising “Fedayeen fighters” and “armed struggle”, alongside calls to “educate, mobilise and build international solidarity”.
UKLFI wrote to the University’s President and Provost, Dr Michael Spence, when the event was drawn to its attention three days before the planned screening. UKLFI’s letter raised legal and safeguarding concerns. UKLFI argued that the screening, as promoted, risked glorifying terrorism, creating a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students, and potentially breaching the Equality Act 2010 and Terrorism Acts, as well as requiring intervention under the Prevent duty.
UKLFI also drew attention to the broader context of sharply rising antisemitism in the UK since 7 October 2023 and expressed concern that university-hosted events presenting armed anti-Israel movements in celebratory terms contribute to intimidation and marginalisation of Jewish students on campus.
In a reply sent on the morning of 22 May, Dr Spence confirmed that the event had been postponed pending “a proper risk assessment and examination by the SU”, and that the organisers had been informed “it will not go ahead today.”
Dr Spence wrote:
“This event has now been postponed pending a proper risk assessment and examination by the SU, and the society has been informed that it will not go ahead today… the context in which [the films] are presented is clearly highly relevant. I completely understand why this has caused concern.”
Shortly afterwards, the organisers published a notice on Instagram stating that the screening had been cancelled after being designated a “high risk event” by the Students’ Union. They wrote on Instagram: “Tonight’s screening of Palestinian Militant short films has been shut down with less than 24 hours notice. This is part of a trend at UCL of backing Zionist agitators and shutting down pro-Palestine events and silencing pro-Palestinian students. We wholeheartedly condemn this hypocritical act!
Free Palestine!”
Jonathan Turner, Chief Executive of UKLFI, said:
“We welcome UCL’s prompt and responsible response. Universities have important duties to protect freedom of speech, but those duties do not extend to facilitating events that glorify or encourage support for terrorism or create an intimidating and hostile environment for Jewish students and staff. We are grateful to Dr Spence for taking these concerns seriously and acting swiftly.”
UKLFI remains committed to ensuring that universities uphold both freedom of expression and their legal obligations to provide a safe environment for all students, including Jewish students.