Hotovely – LSE Managers affirm rights of students to protest

JVL Introduction

The management of LSE have confirmed that the press reports and the politicians’ statements about the student protest against Tzipi Hotovely on 9 November were wildly inaccurate. More than 200 staff had written to the School seeking reassurance that freedom of expression and the right to protest were protected on campus. LSE management wrote to the staff, stating that there was “no evidence whatsoever of protestors having broken the law at last week’s event and no further action is being considered.”

LSE management go on to say, “All members of our LSE community have a lawful right to protest”. It should not be necessary to state this. It is self-evident that lawful activity is not forbidden. However, the aggressive behaviour of commentators who view any protest against a far-right, even by Israeli standards, politician like Tzipi Hotovely as antisemitic make it necessary.

The attacks on student political activity are a part of a wider campaign to silence criticism of Israel’s Apartheid regime. This is, in turn, only part of the assault on freedom of speech, academic freedom and freedom of association on issues that dominant interests would rather were not the subject of public debate and interest.

The LSE staff have been pressing their management to publish their useful clarification of events and their commitment to protecting normal activity on the LSE website They have declined to do this, so we are publishing their statement and the staff’s original letter here, in the public interest.

Letter from the LSE School Management Committee

Thank you for your message and for giving us the opportunity to respond. We appreciate that the recent Students’ Union event with the Israeli Ambassador has caused concern across our community.

As you outline, free speech and freedom of expression underpin everything we do at LSE. Our School is a place where staff, students and visitors are strongly encouraged to discuss, challenge and effect change through education practices, academic research and rigorous debate. This must always be the case and is something we as LSE’s School Management Committee are deeply committed to facilitating, and protecting, at all levels.

Discussions on the most pressing matters that affect our community will always be challenging, but it’s important that we come together to engage in dialogue with others, in an open and lawful way. This is set out in our Ethics Code alongside our Code of Practice on Free Speech.

We see no evidence whatsoever of protestors having broken the law at last week’s event and no further action is being considered. The Metropolitan Police confirmed everyone went home safely without incident or arrest. All members of our LSE community have a lawful right to protest, and we have updated our website to reflect this.

We were also made aware of some anonymous threats of violence on social media and these accounts were reported to Instagram to have them removed. We are seeking legal advice on this matter, but as yet we have no clear evidence of student involvement.

As always, our priority is our community first and foremost, and so further conversations will take place with members of our student body in the coming days. This is alongside reviewing processes on an ongoing basis to understand what lessons can be learned from any event and how to support students and staff. We urge any member of our School community impacted by the recent situation – or more broadly – to access the range of support services that are open to all at LSE. They can reach out through our online Report It. Stop It. tool, Safe Contacts Network, Faith Centre, or our Wellbeing Services, as a first point of call.

Thank you again for your message. We can assure you that LSE is, and will remain, a place where we can openly express views as we collectively promote and protect free speech, academic freedom and the right to lawful protest.

Original letter from over 200 staff to the Director of LSE about Hotovely visit

Jewish students protest against Tzipi Hotovely’s visit to LSE

We are writing as LSE Staff to share with you a serious concern about threats to freedom of expression and the right to protest on campus.

On 9 November 2021, LSE students peacefully protested at an event on campus where the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipi Hotovely, spoke for 90 minutes. LSE students who participated in the protest organized by the “LSE for Palestine” community were met with intimidation by the police and have since faced a backlash from the government calling for a police investigation into their peaceful protest.

We are gravely concerned about the dangerous precedent this unacceptable treatment of our students sets for freedom of expression, the curtailment of academic freedom, the right to peaceful protest, and the right to free speech without fear of persecution.

We are particularly concerned about the posture of LSE and the need to defend freedom of expression. We note that LSE has a duty of care towards all LSE students–regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion–who have the unquestionable right to express their political views and organize demonstrations on our campus. We also note LSE’s legal obligations to uphold academic freedom and freedom of expression on campus, including in the light of the current Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill.

We are seriously concerned that LSE’s statements to date can be read to imply that students have been guilty of violence and intimidation, and to imply that a police investigation may indeed be the appropriate response. We are worried about the chilling effect on freedom of expression, as well as the way that Arab, Muslim, Palestinian and minority students may face racial discrimination in this context.

We, on behalf of more than 160 LSE staff from across the School who have signed our Staff Statement, strongly urge that the LSE issues a public statement immediately affirming our students’ right to protest on campus without fear of police investigation.

Thank you for your attention. We look forward to hearing from you.