City St George’s, University of London, and Manchester Students’ Union have launched investigations following concerns raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) about student societies collaborating with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), an organisation accused of links to terrorism.

UKLFI wrote to five universities and their students’ unions on 15 October, raising concerns about affiliated student societies promoting PYM’s National Student Conference for Palestine, scheduled to take place in London on 24–25 October 2026.

The universities contacted were City St George’s, the University of Manchester, King’s College London (KCL), the London School of Economics (LSE) and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

The concerns followed joint Instagram posts advertising student delegations to the conference, published by PYM Britain alongside student groups at the five universities.

The groups involved include City Friends of Palestine and City Action for Palestine at City St George’s, Action 4 Palestine at Manchester, Students for Justice in Palestine at KCL, LSE and SOAS, and KCL Stands for Justice.

City St George’s responded promptly, confirming that it was urgently investigating the concerns raised by UKLFI. A spokesman for the university confirmed that the university would take action if its investigations identified unlawful conduct.

Manchester Students’ Union has also promised urgent action. Its Chief Executive, Ben Ward, wrote to UKLFI on 16 October:

“We will look into this as a matter of urgency and reply substantively by the date in your letter.”

UKLFI’s concerns are based on a report it compiled about PYM, which sets out evidence of alleged links between the movement and terrorist organisations.

The report identifies connections with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is subject to UK counter-terrorism financial sanctions, and fundraising partnerships involving organisations and individuals reported to have links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both proscribed terrorist organisations in the UK.

It also documents statements by PYM celebrating the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. On the second anniversary of those attacks, PYM described the breach of the Gaza border fence as “a prison break”.

UKLFI warned that collaboration between officially affiliated student societies and PYM raised serious questions about universities’ Prevent obligations, student welfare and the protection of Jewish students and staff.

The letters also highlighted the legal responsibilities of students’ unions as registered charities. Charity Commission guidance requires trustees to assess risks associated with external organisations, including the potential for association with extremism or terrorism, and to exercise appropriate oversight of affiliated societies.

UKLFI asked the universities and students’ unions to establish whether the proposed delegations and joint promotional activities had received the necessary approvals, whether appropriate due diligence and risk assessments had been undertaken, and whether student union funds or resources were being used.

It also urged them to consider suspending the joint promotion and student delegations pending satisfactory checks.

UKLFI has requested substantive responses by 21 October, three days before the conference is due to begin.

A UKLFI spokesperson said:

“Universities and students’ unions must take seriously the risks of allowing their affiliated societies to collaborate with organisations accused of links to terrorism and of celebrating the atrocities of 7 October.

“These are not simply questions of political opinion. They raise serious issues about charity trustees’ responsibilities, compliance with the Prevent duty and the safety of Jewish students.

“We welcome the prompt responses from City St George’s and Manchester Students’ Union and their commitments to investigate. We hope all the universities concerned will undertake thorough due diligence and take appropriate action to ensure that their student societies are not providing legitimacy, resources or institutional endorsement to organisations with troubling extremist associations.”