Oxford Union restores uncensored Susan Abulhawa speech

The Oxford Union has restored the full, unedited video of a November 2024 speech delivered by Palestinian-American novelist Susan Abulhawa, following a legal dispute regarding censorship.

Abulhawa was invited to speak at the debating society in support of a motion arguing that Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide. While the motion passed with 278 votes to 59, the Oxford Union removed five passages from the original recording approximately one month after its initial release. The edited version omitted nearly two minutes of content, including remarks regarding Israel’s actions and references to supremacist ideologies.

Abulhawa, who had stipulated that her participation was conditional on the speech being published without edits, stated she felt “vindicated” by the settlement. She noted that the restoration of her intellectual labor aligns with the institution’s stated values of open dialogue and free speech.