SOAS vice chancellor on Gaza and UK politics' rightward shift

It has been almost two years since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel and the devastating retaliatory strikes by the Israeli military into Gaza, leaving nearly 70,000 people dead and countless injured. CGTN spoke with Vice-Chancellor of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Professor Adam Habib, who believes that Israel's actions are "genocidal," and the fact that the killings cannot be stopped is a damning indictment of humanity itself. 

"What we have is a politically orchestrated famine; it is unacceptable that we have the scale of murder broadcast on television. Israel is doing itself a disservice by doing this because if it continues to be a prisoner of right-wing chauvinist politics, which is reflected in its government today, it will be haunted by images of Gaza for decades to come," Habib warned.

"Its standing in the global community has been greatly diminished. If October 7 showed sympathy for Israel among Western nations, this genocide being unleashed has not only erased that, but it has also sparked enormous anger, not just in the Global South but also within Western communities, at what is unfolding. Additionally, many young Jewish people are disowning what is happening in Gaza," he said.

Reflecting on the modern tendency of Western educational institutions to remain silent on political issues like Gaza, Habib added, "Most universities in the UK, and definitely in the United States, have retreated into institutional neutrality, saying they cannot make comments on political questions, but we have spoken out against that. You can't, on the one hand, claim that you are progressive and then, at the same time, claim to be neutral on political questions. So, we were the first among universities to condemn the attack on civilians and on hospitals by Israel in Gaza."

British political parties not aligned with people

Working in central London, Habib has a close view of British politics, and CGTN asked him for his thoughts on the recent rightward shift in public opinion. Historically, middle-class voters have tended to vote Conservative, while the working class used to support Labour. This has changed, especially since the Brexit debate. Over the past year, opinion polls have been dominated by Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. A right-wing political group, originally called the Brexit Party, was renamed Reform UK six years ago.

When it comes to migration, he believes that "the progressive community (and political parties, like the Labour Party), which are pro-migration, have not sufficiently aligned the interests of the working class and the poor, white working class in the UK, with the legitimate cultural and identity interests of minorities. There has not been a successful integration of class concerns of the working-class British people with minority groups and communities of color in the UK. They should be integrated."

"A lot of British people feel political parties no longer prioritize their day-to-day interests. Inequality has increased," he continued. "The wealthy have become wealthier, and this may be the first generation that is likely to be poorer than their parents."

Habib and his team were in Beijing to launch a joint institute between the Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and SOAS, a university in London that largely specializes in the politics, law, development and languages of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Academics from London will teach at the BFSU-SOAS Institute in Beijing. The proposal is to have two Master's programs and one undergraduate program in area studies. Habib also met with Beijing's Tsinghua University, which is currently working on the digitalization of the SOAS library.

(Cover: An Israeli army soldier walks past a self-propelled artillery Howitzer stationed along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, September 30, 2025. /CFP)