Is anti-extremism a threat to liberty on campus?
At our next Living Freedom Forum on 14 April, Professor Michael Ben-Gad will reflect on being targeted by campaigners and the dilemmas extremism presents for tolerance and free speech.
Forum: Is anti-extremism a threat to liberty on campus?
Date: Tuesday 14 April
Time: 18:30 - 20:00 (doors open 18:15)
Venue: Central Westminster (details on registration)
Register: This event is free. Please register here.
Extremism on campus is back in the headlines. In the long shadow of October 7, one recent survey found half of students had heard slogans glorifying Hamas, Hezbollah or other proscribed groups, while 65 per cent reported teaching disrupted by protests. Some students describe threats and abuse, and referrals to the Prevent counter-extremism programme have gone up by 50 per cent in two years. After the recent revelation that one in five students refuse to live with a Jewish peer, one parliamentarian argued that anti-Semitism in universities has been ‘normalised’.
The Henry Jackson Society has identified dozens of universities hosting events mourning the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and campuses are ‘now used as platforms to spread extremist narratives’. Meanwhile, the government plans tighter oversight – including clamping down on ‘divisive content’ and plans to ‘strengthen monitoring’ of non-violent extremism. A Campus Cohesion Charter will help manage external speakers and events, and will risk-check free speech for signs of crossing into unlawful activity or support for terrorism.
Yet such moves pose real moral dilemmas for those who believe in free speech. After all, setting clearer expectations around conduct, respect and shared values across university life can easily spill over into wider restrictions on speech. How should we define extremism and should we be open to new constraints? Where do the boundaries lie between resisting intolerance and tolerating all views and ideas? Is ‘extremism’ being weaponised to undermine our freedoms?
To help us navigate our way through the issues, we’ll be joined by Michael Ben-Gad – professor of economics at City St George’s, University of London – who himself faced protests by students, calling him a Nazi, threatening violence and demanding his dismissal. Join us to work out how we defend liberty in an age increasingly inclined to police ideas.
Doors open at 6.15pm, with the discussion running from 6.30pm-8.30pm.
SPEAKER
Michael Ben-Gad
professor of economics; co-convenor, Academics for Academic Freedom (AFAF) at City St George’s, University of London
CHAIR
Alastair Donald
convenor, Living Freedom
READINGS
The targeting of Israeli Professor Michael Ben-Gad: Britain’s academic freedom crisis
Professor Ian Pace, Jewish Chronicle, 21 November 2025
Students given stronger protections against extremism on campus
Department for Education and Bridget Phillipson MP, 8 March 2026
What the government’s Social Cohesion Action Plan means for universities and students
Jim Dickinson, WONKHE, 9 March 2026
REGISTRATION
This event is free. Please register here. Venue details will be sent on registration.