OXFORD — Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the Oxford Union, faced a failed no-confidence motion. The motion was initiated by 20-year-old Oxford student Ben Ashworth, who accused Elrayess of contributing to an atmosphere of hostility and harassment.
During the no-confidence forum, Elrayess responded to the accusations. "Not just in my career within the union but in my existence as a Palestinian, there seems to always be this post-mortem vilification of Palestinians," Elrayess said. "Palestinians, when they talk, are for some reason a danger. Our very existence is something that is scary." Allegations against Elrayess included publicly shared screenshots of text messages claiming she described the October 7, 2023, events in southern Israel as proportional. Elrayess stated this claim was misquoted. She also referenced a message she wrote in a student group chat nine months before her presidency: "Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a terrorist organisation by the West until they achieve their liberation, by which time they'll be lauded as heroes as history has historically proven." Analysing something is not giving it moral legitimacy, Elrayess said.
Elrayess issued a statement condemning Hamas. "I condemn Hamas' targeting of innocent civilians, just as I condemn the targeting of innocent civilians by the [Israeli army] or any other actor," Elrayess stated.
The motion for a vote of no confidence against Elrayess received 126 votes, including 116 online signatures. However, it failed to reach the threshold of 150 votes required to proceed to a formal poll. Ben Ashworth, who filed the motion, is not Jewish and visited Israel with the Pinsker Centre, a think tank formerly known as the Pinsker Centre for Zionist Education.
Opposition members brought charges against Elrayess shortly after her election alleging misuse of social media and antisemitism. An internal review in January found these charges to be unsupported by evidence. Additionally, an unattributed university article falsely alleged Elrayess had family ties to a Hamas leader sharing her surname and created antisemitic cartoons.
In October 2025, falsified Oxford Union meeting minutes were ratified, falsely alleging that Elrayess argued alumni should not vote and were incapable of rational judgment. An internal disciplinary process suspended the individual who falsified the minutes and de-ratified the document. Oliver Jones-Lyons, the Oxford Union finance director, who identifies as a Zionist, stated, "I have never felt oppressed, abused or discouraged from sharing my views openly, quite the opposite in fact."