When we first heard about Dr. Amira Halperin’s story, we knew we needed to share it with you. An Israeli woman, a scholar, and a former BBC investigative journalist who spent over twenty years studying the communities and media networks driving much of the hate we monitor at FOA. She met people on campuses and in communities, speaking face-to-face with those on the other side of the conflict. And she did this not as a distant observer, but as someone who chose to be present, year after year, in spaces where her identity made her vulnerable.
Then October 7 happened, and hatred targeted her directly. A student threatened her, yet her university failed to investigate. The campuses where she had built her career became hostile territory, not because of her actions, but because of her identity.
Imagine spending twenty years building bridges, meeting others with curiosity and respect, and then being told through silence and inaction that your safety is less important. This is not just a policy failure. For Jewish and Israeli academics in the UK, this has become their reality.
This is the first of three conversations with Dr. Halperin.
We hope you will find, as we did, that her story is not only fascinating but also essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what is really happening in Britain right now.
In 2003, two British suicide bombers of Pakistani origin carried out an attack in Israel. At the time, I was an MA student in the UK. I was determined to understand everything about this story, so I directed a documentary about the bombers, conducting interviews with their friends and families, UK intelligence officers, and survivors. After completing my MA, the BBC hired me, and I worked on Panorama, exposing Hamas funding in London and terrorism threats in the UK.
What I learned during that time became the foundation of my understanding of media, political narratives, and conflict. This understanding remains directly relevant today, as we have seen a rapid rise in radicalization and threats since October 7.
The media can be dangerous when it conveys messages about Muslim communities that don’t feel fully integrated into British society. Many people in the Arab world consider the Palestinian issue a problem of the entire Muslim world, and they are ready to take action. Gaps in UK immigration policy can pose national security threats, particularly when asylum seekers pose a risk in their country of origin.
As an academic with a journalistic background, I see the bigger picture. Immediately after October 7, I wrote a report on radicalization in the UK and went on to speak at the Knesset, the European Parliament, and the UN Human Rights Council. I know the operations on the ground, and I use my knowledge and research to support the solutions of real-world problems.
You spoke publicly about a student threatening you after October 7, and that the university did not investigate. As a Jewish Israeli academic in the UK, did you already notice a change in the campus atmosphere before the attacks? When did you first see a shift in how Israel and the conflict were discussed in academic spaces?
When Hamas carried out the deadliest terrorist attacks on October 7, I was working as an Assistant Professor of Media and Communications at Coventry University. By then, I had spent twenty years researching the Palestinian community and other refugee communities, including the Syrian community in Canada.
I had always been exposed to BDS discussions in academic settings, to Palestinian scholars delivering presentations about occupation and genocide at the most prestigious conferences, and to academic collaborations between Gaza-based and UK universities. But after October 7, two critical things happened. First, terrorist organizations and radical extremists began actively recruiting on university campuses. Second, many university management teams turned a blind eye and failed to investigate terrorism threats in line with their own counter-terrorism policies.
The reality on the ground today is that many scholars and students are actively collaborating with extreme groups, mourning the death of terrorists whose names appear on Hamas’s shahid lists, and inciting against Israel.
On many campuses across the UK and other European countries, there is extensive use of social media to promote hate speech and incitement to terrorism. We have to remember that students and professors also follow the social media accounts of terrorist organizations, where they receive information about protests, and where they have been radicalized.
The problem is that organizations like Palestine Action, which the UK Government proscribed as a terrorist group in July 2025, use social media extensively against Israel and the UK Government. [Editor’s note: In February 2026, the UK High Court ruled that the proscription was disproportionate and therefore unlawful. The ban remains in place pending a government appeal scheduled for April 2026.] There is insufficient enforcement. Online messages calling for an Israeli arms embargo, genocide accusations, and “Death to the IDF” echo on campuses and in the streets. Palestine Action has been active on multiple fronts — attacking BICOM’s office in London, where I work, targeting Israeli-linked firms, and more.
Next in this series: What an Israeli scholar learned by spending years listening to the Palestinian diaspora, and why her findings are more relevant now than ever. Part 2 coming soon.
About Dr. Amira Halperin
Dr. Amira Halperin is an Israeli-born media and communication scholar, policy analyst, and former BBC investigative journalist based in the United Kingdom. She currently serves as Senior Research Associate at the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) in London, a Fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (LCSCA), a member of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) network, and, since January 2026, co- regional manager of Science Abroad – London*. She previously worked on BBC Panorama, where she exposed Hamas funding networks operating in London. She holds a PhD in Communication and Media from the University of Westminster and is the author of The Use of New Media by the Palestinian Diaspora in the United Kingdom (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018). Learn more about her work at londonantisemitism.com and find her book on Amazon.
*Science Abroad is the organization of Israeli scholars abroad, supported by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, with a community of 7.1k members