Oxford Union president suggested Hamas would be 'heroes'

The president of the Oxford Union debating society described the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 as "proportional" and said groups branded as terrorists were often later "lauded as heroes" in a student group chat.

Arwa Elrayess made the comments in messages to a Whatsapp group made up of more than 100 politics, philosophy and economics students at the University of Oxford.

Defending the comments, she said news coverage surrounding the messages had been "simply the latest example of the denigration and vilification of Palestinians".

The BBC understands a formal motion of no confidence was filed against Elrayess - who is the Union's first Palestinian president - on Thursday.

The motion requires signatures from 150 members by Saturday in order to proceed.

In a statement regarding the messages, a spokesperson for the Oxford Union said: "As this does not relate to the President's official role, we are unable to comment."

The union is student society dating back more than 200 years and is run completely independently of the University of Oxford.

In the past, many of those who have served as its president have often gone on to work in public life - including prime ministers William Gladstone, Edward Heath and Boris Johnson.

In a conversation about Hamas with other students on the group that has been seen by the BBC, Elrayess said: "Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a 'terrorist' organisation by the West until they achieve their liberation (by which time, they'll be lauded as heroes, as history has repeatedly proven)."

In a later message, she said: "I think the severity of resistance is often proportional to the severity of oppression.

"This is not to justify anything, but just to point out that it's quite rich to allow for decades of systematic oppression and massacres, only to act shocked when the resistance movement responds with proportional severity."

After being criticised in the group for this comment, she said: "In fact, some would argue it's less than proportional."

She then added: "Proportional does not mean 'right' by the way, just that [you] can't be shocked that it happened."

Another student then went on to mention the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, saying this was "not 'proportionality'" but "extremism and terrorist tactics".

Elrayess responded to this by saying she "refuses to narrow down the Palestinian movement" to the attack.

"If [you] can't argue whilst taking into consideration the entire history of the Palestinian struggle, the hundreds of thousands who have been slaughtered and the millions who have been displaced, then it's very difficult to have a constructive conversation about proportionality," she added.

About 1,200 people were killed in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war and 251 others were taken hostage.

Israel responded by launching a massive military campaign in Gaza, which reduced much of the Palestinian territory to ruins and left many of its 2.1 million residents displaced.

As of May 2026, more than 70,000 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza, according to its Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.

Elrayess said it was "categorically untrue to suggest that I have lauded a proscribed organisation in any way", and that to suggest this was a "mischaracterisation and a gross misquotation".

"During my campaign for the presidency of the Oxford Union I faced smear campaigns labelling me an extremist, with minutes of committee meetings manipulated and spread on social media," she said.

"I have been portrayed as inherently dangerous because of the values I hold and the beliefs I am outspoken about."

Elrayess said she had not been "shocked by the level of vitriol in student politics" as it was "the reality faced by many Palestinian voices".

"But what has shocked me was the extent to which major news outlets not only adopt this narrative without due diligence, but go further and construct some of the most outrageous allegations," she added.

One former Oxford Union committee member - who wished to remain anonymous - told the BBC that Whatsapp messages "expose a sickening disregard for human life".

"Elrayess isn't just defending a proscribed terrorist group, she is actively whitewashing atrocities," they said.

"This isn't student radicalism, it is the explicit normalisation of terror."

The Oxford Students Against Discrimination Group added in a statement that the comments were "a failure of basic humanity, and a betrayal of every Jewish student".

"Arwa Elrayess has chosen to minimise mass atrocities, argue that terrorist actions are 'proportional', and laud a proscribed terrorist organisation."

It said the union president was "actively contributing to a culture of fear and exclusion for Jewish members of the university".

Responding to the messages, a University of Oxford spokesperson stressed the union was an independent society that was not part of the institution.

"The university does not share or endorse the views attributed to an individual student, nor should they be taken as representative of the University or Oxford students more broadly," the spokesperson said.

"We are unequivocal in our rejection and condemnation of antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination and continue to work with Jewish students and staff to foster an inclusive environment."

This is not the first time that Elrayess has courted controversy during her tenure in charge of the union.

She encountered protests after inviting Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris to speak earlier this month, amid his country's ongoing bloody civil war.

Just weeks later, she was criticised by Oxford Faith leaders for inviting far-right activist Tommy Robinson - whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - to take part in a debate on Islam.

That debate was postponed "to allow time for planning of the event" and has now been rearranged for 17 June.