The Oxford Union has voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of declaring Israel a “bigger threat than Iran”.
A debate took place at the society on Thursday evening discussing a motion which aimed to declare Israel more of a “threat to regional stability” than Iran.
Hillel Neuer, the Director of UN Watch, and Mohammad Shtayyeh, a Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister, spoke on two opposing sides on the topic, with the latter claiming “Israel is an expansionist colonial state that has been established by colonial powers”.
Mr Neuer, however, called the motion an “inversion of reality”, arguing: “Regional stability is measure by who starts wars, not by who stops them.
“Israel does not arm terror proxies in five Arab countries – the regime in Iran does that.
“The entire Middle East knows this, and that is why Arab states quietly depend on Israel for their own survival.
He continued: “One of the most powerful illustrations was when the Islamic regime in Iran launched an unprecedented attack on the people of Israel with 170 drones, 30 cruise missile and more than 120 ballistic missiles.
“The fact that Sunni Arab states provided a combination of air force interceptions… is a real-world vote on tonight’s motion.
“The Arab states know that Israel is a partner in survival and the Islamic regime in Iran is an existential threat.
“You don’t intercept missiles heading towards a threat to regional stability, you intercept missiles from one.”
The Oxford Union voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to declare Israel a ‘bigger threat than Iran’
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GETTYAccording to the Jewish Chronicle, Mr Shtayyeh, who was in office from 2019 to 2024, said: “Israel acts above the law and does not respect UN resolutions, and also we know this aggressive state of Israel is… nuclear armed and a centre of colonial regime that is based on apartheid against the Palestinian people.
“Brutal occupation, crime and genocide. [Israel is] dragging the region into repeated conflicts… Israel is causing misery, genocide.”
He ended by saying: “We all should say that Israel is the biggest cause of destabilisation in the region.”
It is understood that members of the union voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of the motion.
OXFORD UNION CONTROVERSY – READ MORE:
PICTURED: Missiles launched from Iran towards Israel
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Controversy hit the union earlier this year after president-elect George Abaraonye appeared to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk
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OXFORD ACSThe controversy not only cast the debating society into disrepute, but also had financial consequences.
According to The Telegraph, donations thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds were put on hold and speakers pulled out of debates.
An Oxford Union official told the newspaper: “Honestly, it feels like it’s [the union] lost its identity. We’re used to controversy but this has been complete and utter turmoil.”
GB News approached the Oxford Union for comment.
