Robert Jenrick’s Inquiry into Revoking Palestinian Student’s Visa Raises Concerns
Records have shown that Robert Jenrick, ex-immigration minister and prospective leader of the UK’s conservatives, evinced interest in canceling the visa granted to Dana Abu Qamar, a Palestinian law student, following her participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. For instance, Abu Qamar, 20, who was a leader in the Friends of Palestine Society at the University of Manchester, had her visa withdrawn in December 2023 after leading a protest and being interviewed by Sky News, where she explained how Gaza was fighting against Israel.
The UK government used this as a reason for revoking this permission on the grounds that her presence was “not conducive to the public good” because of her statements. An e-mail from October 2023, produced during the court hearings, revealed a member or employee of Jenrick writing an e-mail to the Home Office employees in which he inquired about the possibility of ‘revoking her student visa.’
The European Legal Support Centre, which helps those who stand up for the rights of Palestinians, condemned Jenrick’s actions as ‘unconscionable,’ particularly inasmuch as Abu Qamar’s relatives were being murdered in Gaza at that time. They pointed to Jenrick’s hypocrisy of free speech activists suddenly willing to silence protesters Critical of Israel for political gain.
Abu Qamar is a Jordanian-Canadian woman with Palestinian origins who drew a lot of criticism after her interview with Sky News, wherein the topics she discussed included Gaza’s stand against Israel in the wake of the October 7 Hamas-led attacks. Although twenty-two of her relatives were killed in Israel’s military operations, she also stated that her views were misunderstood, and she condemned violence against innocents and Hamas.
Jenrick had previously proposed that the antisemitism inciters could be deported and stated that procedures need to be ‘legal,’ especially for those on visas. He has been appealing the decision of the visa revocation through a human rights appeal, which has been to be presided over by the present Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, before September mid-2024.
This legal fight comes at the time of the new labor government, which changed the tendency of Great Britain in relation to the Middle East conflict, having recently terminated several licenses for the export of arms to Israel, fearing that they might be used in violation of the existing norms of international humanitarian law. The Home Office spokesperson refused to talk on the current case; the source close to Jenrick insisted that holding a visa is not a right, and those who ‘celebrate terror’ should not be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom.
