KCL students protest against professor accused of ‘handing out Hamas propaganda’

Students at King’s College London have protested on campus against a professor accused of “handing out Hamas propaganda.”

Earlier last month, on Thursday 13th February, a scheduled pro-Palestine protest was disrupted by external counter-protesters outside of Strand campus.

The professor is a lecturer in the history of the Middle East, who has been accused by students as “handing out Hamas propaganda” and expressing sympathy for terrorism.

This teaching material was brought to King’s attention after an anonymous student recorded Dr Baker’s lecture. This audio was then shared with other media outlets.

Allegedly, the lecture was said to be positively encouraging of Hamas propaganda and various other related materials.

There has since been significant pressure from students which has since sparked another investigation from a third party, but this has yet to conclude.

According to a spokesperson at King’s College London, an investigation into Dr Rana Baker is ongoing.

During the scheduled pro-Palestine protest on the 13th February, pro-Palestine demonstrators were holding signs written with “Killer’s College London”.

Chants of “Rana!” in support of Dr Baker were heard also. Dr Baker was present with the pro-Palestinian group.

The counter-protestors, consisting of groups named Students Supporting Israel and Stop the Hate, were also joined by various students from LSE and QMUL, demonstrated with Israeli flags and banners.

They were disrupting the pro-Palestinian demonstration, conducted by KCL Stands for Justice. According to their website, KCLS4J, a student run group, aims to hold King’s accountable for their “involvement in funding genocide.”

Their protest was to also to demand accountability for a lack of protection towards King’s only female Gazan lecturer.

Senior Vice President at King’s College London Professor Rachel Mills sent out an email on Monday 24th February with the subject: “Important reminder of peaceful protest.”

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In the email, Professor Rachel Mills wrote: “Freedom of speech for students and staff is a fundamental right, and we have and will continue to support the right to protest. However, the safety of our students and staff is our priority.”

KCLS4J didn’t respond when asked for a comment.

Dr Rana Baker declined to make a comment to The King’s Tab.

Featured image via K Ulysses-Ono on Creative Commons