University College London (UCL) has reported academic Samar Maqusi to police following a lecture in which she repeated the centuries-old blood libel against Jews and promoted conspiracy theories about Jewish control of finance and information, the Telegraph reported.
The university described her remarks as “heinous antisemitism” and has banned her from campus.
Maqusi, a former fixed-term researcher now pursuing a PhD in architecture, delivered the lecture as part of a five-part series hosted by UCL’s Students for Justice in Palestine. In her talk, she referenced the 1840 Damascus Affair - where Jews were falsely accused of murdering a monk to use his blood in religious rituals - without clarifying the case was a fabrication used to persecute Jews. Instead, she told students to “investigate” and “draw your own narrative.”
She claimed, “This is a Jewish feast… the story is that drops of blood from someone who’s not Jewish… has to be mixed in that bread,” and alleged that Jews in Syria admitted to kidnapping and murdering Father Thomas to obtain blood for “holy bread.”
Maqusi also stated, “The Jews pretty much controlled the financialization structure,” and suggested Zionism operates within a system that “controls a lot of what is within our hands.”
Israeli student Mark Mikhelson, 19, who attended the lecture, said he walked out after 45 minutes: “The acceptance by my fellow students of antisemitic blood libels and conspiracy theories was a chilling moment… This was genuinely shocking.”
Isaac Zarfati, UK executive director of Stand With Us, which obtained the audio recording, condemned UCL for “providing a platform for long-debunked racist conspiracy theories.”
UCL President and Provost Dr. Michael Spence issued a strong statement: “I am utterly appalled… Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our university.” He confirmed the university has launched a full investigation, reported the incident to police, and suspended the student group responsible for hosting the event.