Oxford University's Oxford Union, the 202-year-old debating society that has hosted Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein, is in turmoil. Its president, Arwa Elrayess, is facing a no-confidence motion after leaked WhatsApp messages, reported by the Daily Mail ,in which she described the October 7 Hamas attacks as 'proportional' and predicted the group would one day be 'lauded as heroes.' The controversy has drawn fresh attention to allegations of a hostile takeover by hardline activists and progressive radicals.

The 19-year-old president who called October 7 'proportional'

Arwa Elrayess, 19, a second-year student at St Edmund Hall, is the Union's second president of Palestinian descent. According to the Daily Mail, her great-grandfather was mayor of Gaza after Israel's founding. In leaked messages, she reportedly called the Hamas-led attacks of October 7—which killed 1,200 people—'proportional' and referred to Hamas as a 'resistance group.' She told Turkish media that her time in Gaza was formative, adding, 'You don't really forget what you see there.' The no-confidence motion against her was moved on Thursday, though the outcome remains unknown.

Cartoon targeting Jewish students Katie Pannick and Daniel Eldridge

A cartoon circulating after Elrayess's election, obtained by the Daily Mail, depicts her lounging in a keffiyeh with allies, crushing opponents beneath the armchair. Among them are Jewish student Katie Pannick, who was defeated as Treasurer, and Daniel Eldridge, who regularly attends synagogue on Shabbat. Another student, Liza Barkova, is drawn as a lizard—a Gen-Z conspiracy symbol for elite control. The cartoon raises questions about the university's climate: a survey cited by the Daily Mail found that 20% of students would not want to share a house with a Jewish person.

The 'Al Andalus' ball and its Hamas-linked partner

The Union's annual ball,themed 'Al Andalus'—referring to the medieval Islamic Iberian Peninsula—was organized in partnership with the Palestinian Forum in Britain. The Daily Mail reports that this forum has strong links to Zaher Birawi, described as a 'Hamas operative.' The partnership underscores fears that the Union is being used as a platform to normalize extremist rhetoric. as the Daily Mail noted, Elrayess's own words—calling the October 7 butchery, rape, and kidnapping 'proportional'—have amplified those concerns.

One in four undergraduates finds October 7 defensible

A survey released on Thursday, cited by the Daily Mail, reveals that more than a quarter of British undergraduates believe the October 7 atrocities were 'defensible.' Oxford has emerged as a particular flashpoint: the Union's once-bipartisan stage has hosted recent speakers such as Cenk Uygur, who was barred from entering Britain after calls to allow him to speak. The broader trend suggests that the Union's current crisis is not an isolated incident but part of a growing polarization on UK campuses over the Israel-Hamas conflict.