UCL Marxist Society Suspended Over “Controversial” Posters
Photo Courtesy: UCL Marxist Society
A poster advertising an event for UCL Marxist Society titled "Intifada until Victory! The Fight for a Free Palestine." It depicts clipart of a soldier pointing a gun at a person holding the Palestinian flag on a background of the Palestinian flag.
On the 11th of October, the Student Union suspended the UCL Marxist Society on the grounds of “inciting violence” through their posters promoting an event for Palestinian solidarity. The posters were circulated on the 9th of October, immediately following the 7th of October Hamas attacks. In the hours after the attack, Israel declared a state of war and has since retaliated with numerous airstrikes on Gaza. This comes at a time where human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Btselem associate the unfolding events in Gaza with war crimes under international law including ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The society’s suspension was propelled by the use of the phrase “Intifada until victory” in their posters. Simply translated from Arabic, the word intifada (انتفاضة) comes from a word meaning “shaking off,” however, the word is more commonly associated with rebellion, uprising, and the Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation from 1987 to 1993 and the second in 2000. The Student Union called for posters and social media posts to be taken down, to which the Marxist Society refused to comply, resulting in their suspension.
When asked for a comment, the Student Union replied: “We received complaints about a poster Marxist Society had used to promote an event. On reviewing the poster and considering the current context, we felt the poster had the potential to be considered incitement.”
“At no point did we suggest the event the poster was advertising should be cancelled. Sadly, Marxist Society refused to engage with us on this matter after many attempts, so we were left with no choice but to suspend the society,” they continued.
The Marxist Society uses posters and social media posts as the sole means to advertise their events. In their statement, they commented, “This is outrageous and an attack on a fundamental democratic right: freedom of speech,” and that, “A title expressing support for an intifada in Palestine is therefore well within legal, moral, and the SU’s own accepted norms!”
Their suspension raises questions concerning censorship and how to navigate situations such as these while allowing individuals to express themselves. Despite the disaffiliation of the Marxist Society, solidarity events continue to take place around London, suggesting that resistance is far from over.