The newly elected president of the Oxford Union has claimed that candidates who ran for the post and expressed solidarity with Palestinians were subject to “disproportionate scrutiny”, facing smear campaigns and attempts to remove them from office.
Speaking to Middle East Eye just days after she was elected president, Arwa Hanin Elrayess said that there have been repeated campaigns to ensure that “Arab presidents of the Union don’t remain in that position, especially if they have sympathy towards the Palestinian cause.”
“Reasons are found to ‘justifiably’ remove them from office,” she told MEE.
On Thursday, Elrayess made history as the first Palestinian, first Arab woman and first Algerian to be elected president of the Oxford Union, one of the world’s most influential student debating societies.
A second-year Philosophy, Politics and Economics student at St Edmund Hall and originally from Gaza, Elrayess said that whilst campaigning for the position there was an atmosphere in which speaking openly about Palestine invited institutional pushback, and that there were already attempts to delegitimise her leadership.
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“I knew the fact that I was Palestinian was going to be weaponised against me in some form,” she said.
“I faced countless smear campaigns. I was called an extremist. I was accused of supporting terrorist groups.
“People who wanted to run with my campaign were advised not to, told they would be investigated for counter-terrorism because apparently I was being investigated for counter-terrorism,” she added.
Elrayess highlighted that the moves taken against her echoed those taken against her predecessor, Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy – the first Arab president of the union – who was briefly disqualified before taking office and then reinstated before his term started.
Before he was reinstated, three former presidents wrote to the union and said that its procedures disproportionately targeted individuals from “non-traditional” backgrounds.
Later, Osman-Mowafy helped organise a debate on the motion: “This House Believes Israel is an Apartheid State Responsible for Genocide.”
Historic win amid heightened scrutiny
Elrayess said that despite the campaign against her, her victory could mark a watershed moment for representation within one of Britain’s oldest and most established institution.
“A lot of people here end up becoming part of the ruling class,” she said, adding that the union has hosted heads of state, world leaders, and influential thinkers for nearly two centuries.
“So when you give them [students] these perspectives… you contribute to a conversation that needs to happen.”
For Elrayess, ensuring the union allows Palestinians to speak for themselves – particularly on questions of self-determination and autonomy – is essential.
“Conversations about Palestine are happening without Palestinians even being in the room,” she said. “Bring the Palestinians here to speak about what self-determination looks like for them.”
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Elrayess’ win comes at a time of escalating repression of pro-Palestinian organising across UK university campuses.
Since October 2023, student groups acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza – including encampments, sit-ins and teach-ins – have faced heightened surveillance, disciplinary threats and police intervention.
At several universities, students have been suspended or subjected to investigations over social media posts. Events featuring Palestinian academics or activists have been cancelled on security grounds, while posters and leaflets expressing solidarity with Gaza have been removed by university staff.
In London and Manchester, students reported being questioned by counter-terrorism officers after attending demonstrations.
Muslim and Arab students, in particular, say they have been disproportionately singled out. Complaints submitted to civil rights groups detail accusations of extremism, referrals under the Prevent strategy, and targeted harassment following social media posts critical of Israel.
Despite the pressure she has faced, Elrayess said withdrawing from the union would mean conceding the very spaces that need transformation.
“If we allow obstacles like this to push us out of these institutions, then the status quo never changes,” she said.
“These institutions will continue to remain influential – and if we allow them to push us out, then we are never represented.
“It’s not just for the Palestinian cause, but for all causes we believe are unjust across the world,” she added.
MEE reached out to the Oxford Union for comment but did not receive a response by time of publication.
