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Oxford Union vote
The British Oxford Union Society resolved on Saturday, with a result of 278 to 59, to debate a proposition stating that “Israel” is an apartheid state responsible for genocide in the Gaza Strip of Palestine.
“Toggle Play Oxford Union’s first Palestinian president faces down smear campaign Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the Oxford Union debating society, tells Al Jazeera that British media falsely accused her of justifying Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel”
The Saba report says the vote followed the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant, and it adds that “Israel” is also under investigation by the International Court of Justice for genocide.
Saba says those speaking in favor included Palestinian writer and poet Muhammad al-Kurd, Oxford Union president Ibrahim Othman Mowafi, activist and writer “Israeli” American Miko Peled, and Palestinian-American author Suzanne Abu al-Hawa.
Saba also says Norman Finkelstein was to speak in favor of the proposition but withdrew before the debate.
The Le Monde article frames a different policy direction, urging the European Union to support “a confederation of the States of Israel and Palestine within one and the same country.”
Smear campaign response
Al Jazeera reports that Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the Oxford Union debating society, told the outlet that British media falsely accused her of justifying Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
Al Jazeera says she insists she will not be silenced and that remarks she had made were misquoted.
L’Humanité says that since December 11, Arwa Hanin Elrayess headed the Oxford Union and that she was born in Gaza.
L’Humanité also quotes her saying, “We advised those who wanted to join my campaign not to do so, telling them they would be subject to a counter-terrorism investigation,” and it adds that she became, on Thursday, December 11, the first Arab woman elected to lead the Oxford Union.
In the Saba report, the Oxford Union debate is described as taking place after the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant, linking the student debate to major international legal actions.
What’s at stake
Le Monde argues that “Condemning atrocities or expressing abstract support for a 'two-state solution' is no longer enough,” and it calls for concrete support for a “new political horizon.”
It says the confederation model would be founded on “full political equality, mutual recognition, freedom of movement, shared Jerusalem,” and a mechanism for the return of refugees through cooperation between the two states.
Saba’s report ties the Oxford Union debate to international legal processes by stating that the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Saba also says the Oxford Union Magazine reported the vote took place during a “boisterous debate” following those arrest warrants, and it names the Oxford Union Debating Society as founded in 1823.
Al Jazeera’s account of Arwa Elrayess’s response to a smear campaign places the focus on how she says she will not be silenced, while L’Humanité presents her leadership as the first Arab woman elected to lead the Oxford Union.
