Meet Arwa Elrayess—the first Palestinian elected president of the Oxford Union in its 202-year history.

Husam Zomlot & Arwa Elrayess

Husam Zomlot

Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the UK. Former Ambassdor to the United States. 

@hzomlot

 

Meet Arwa Elrayess—the first Palestinian elected president of the Oxford Union in its 202-year history. 

 

I’ve known Arwa and her family since she was a teenager. 

 

She is from #Gaza, and now she’s making history at #Oxford, championing open debate on human rights, justice, and equality. 

 

Despite silencing campaigns against her, her election shows the power of young Palestinian talent and a growing global movement for justice. 

 

From Zohran Mamdani in New York to Arwa Elrayess at Oxford—it’s the same movement, the same demand. And it is unstoppable. 

 

 #ArwaElrayess #OxfordUnion #Palestine #FreePalestine #Justice #StudentMovement #PalestinianVoices.

 https://x.com/hzomlot/status/1997694456691122591

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Palestinian writer and journalist Plestia Alaqad paints a stark portrait of life for Gazans under siege with The Guardian, describing a world that is both physically and symbolically shrinking...

Palestinian writer and journalist Plestia Alaqad paints a stark portrait of life for Gazans under siege with The Guardian, describing a world that is both physically and symbolically shrinking. 

She writes, “In my homeland, I’m trapped by bombs. Outside, I’m trapped by identity,” highlighting how Gaza’s relentless bombardment, displacement, and starvation leave Palestinians confined within a tiny, ever-diminishing strip of land. 

Even beyond Gaza’s borders, Palestinians face systemic barriers, from visa rejections to intrusive scrutiny of their passports, exposing the global double standards that treat their identity as a security threat while ignoring the ongoing genocide. 

 Alaqad underscores the human cost of this isolation, noting how international attention often only recognizes Palestinians in moments of suffering. 

She observes that the so-called ceasefire does little to relieve the reality of displacement, destruction, and exposure to the elements. 

Reflecting on winter in Gaza, she writes of families shivering in tents, children without shoes, and lives perpetually on the edge of survival. 

For Gazans, safety is measured not in distance but in minutes, in the path of a drone, or the direction of the wind, as the world largely looks away. 

Her testimony calls for a reckoning with the persistent injustice, asking with Mahmoud Darwish: “where should the birds fly after the last sky?”

 

https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1997829483642966394

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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/13/poetry-forged-in-war-palestinian-exile-plestia-alaqad-wows-sydney-audience 

This article is more than 1 year old

Poetry forged in war: Palestinian exile and social media sensation Plestia Alaqad leaves Sydney audience in tears

On 9 October, a video which captured her unflinching composure as bombs fell nearby saw her Instagram followers swell from about 3,700 into the hundreds of thousands. She now has 4.8 million subscribers.

With her influence came concerns about the safety of her family and in late November, with the help of an uncle in Melbourne, she fled with her mother, sister and grandmother, arriving in Australia 45 days after the war began. She is now living with relatives in Melbourne.

Before she had said a word as the poetry competition’s feature performer, the audience was on its feet, giving Alaqad an enthusiastic standing ovation... READ MORE 

December 8th 2025 in Jerusalem: The United Nations flag was pulled down & replaced with an Israeli flag

Philippe Lazzarini

@UNLazzarini

Today in the early morning, Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the @UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem. 

 

Police motorcycles, as well as trucks & forklifts, were brought in & all communications were cut. 

 

Furniture, IT equipment & other property was seized. 

 

The @UN flag was pulled down & replaced with an Israeli flag. 

 

This latest action represents a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect & respect the inviolability of UN premises.  

 

Following months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations & intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations, UNRWA personnel were forced to vacate the compound at the beginning of this year.   

 

However, whatever action taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference.  

 

Israel is party to the Convention on the Privileges & Immunities of the UN. The Convention makes UN premises inviolable - in other words, immune from search and/or seizure - and makes UN property and assets immune from legal process.  

 

The International Court of Justice has also underscored that Israel is obliged to cooperate with UNRWA & other UN agencies.   

 

There can be no exceptions. 

 

To allow this represents a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world.

 

https://x.com/UNLazzarini/status/1997985397440172110

 

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