UK universities have sanctioned students and academics for donning keffiyehs and using the watermelon emoji as part of a crackdown on Palestinian solidarity protests, a report from Amnesty International has warned.
The human rights charity has warned that universities including Cambridge, Oxford, LSE and Birmingham have taken extreme measures to restrict solidarity with Palestinians amongst students and academics.
Students and academics have faced suspensions, campus bans and threats to visa status for chanting, clapping and wearing keffiyehs, the report outlined. Some institutions used legal and bureaucratic means to restrict protests and events on campuses relating to Palestinian solidarity, they said.
The University of Birmingham, for example, withdrew approval for a staff-student listening session on the legal and humanitarian situation in Palestine in November 2023, citing the appearance of a watermelon emoji in promotional materials.