The University of Edinburgh has cancelled a proposed event promoting a “Zionist Free Zone”.   UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) wrote to the University raising serious legal and equality concerns regarding this event.

The event, which had been advertised on Instagram as taking place on University premises on 29 January 2026, caused significant alarm within the University’s Jewish community. The promotion of a “Zionist Free Zone” would reasonably be experienced by many Jewish students and staff as creating a hostile and exclusionary environment.

UKLFI wrote urgently to the University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, on the morning of the planned event, setting out the University’s legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

UKLFI explained that targeting “Zionists” frequently operates in practice as a proxy for targeting Jews, the overwhelming majority of whom identify as Zionist, and that permitting such an event on campus could amount to unlawful harassment and discrimination.

In a response sent later the same day, Professor Mathieson confirmed that the University had not been made aware of, nor approved, the event, and that it had now been cancelled and would no longer take place on University premises.

The University stated that it has policies in place requiring events to be reviewed to ensure they can take place safely, lawfully, and in accordance with University policy, and that those procedures had not been followed in this instance.

A spokesperson for UK Lawyers for Israel said:
“We welcome the University of Edinburgh’s decision to cancel this event. Calling for a ‘Zionist Free Zone’ on campus would inevitably have been experienced by Jewish students and staff as exclusionary and hostile. Universities have a clear legal duty to ensure that Jewish members of their community are not subjected to intimidation or discrimination, and we are pleased that the University acted promptly once these concerns were brought to its attention.”