The head of the prestigious Oxford Union debate club is under investigation by UK counter-terrorism police for WhatsApp messages calling Hamas terrorists “heroes,” according to an advocacy group.
Arwa Elrayess, 20, was elected president of the group in March after the previous leader George Abraonye was removed following texts mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination — only to find herself at the center of a firestorm after leaked messages showed her defending the terrorist organization.
Those texts have now been referred to the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police by advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel, which has called on authorities to investigate whether Elrayess violated Britain’s Terrorism Act, according to the organization.
Oxford Union President Arwa Elrayess, 20, is being investigated by UK police
over leaked text messages in which she lauded terrorist group Hamas. arwahaninelrayess/Instagram“We can confirm that we are aware of a complaint relating to an allegation of support of a proscribed terror organization in Oxford. We are continuing to assess this allegation and have been in discussion with Counter Terrorism Policing South East,” the Thames Valley Police told The Post.
In the WhatsApp group chat to more than 100 freshman Oxford University students, the third year philosophy, politics, and economics student whitewashed the terrorist organization as a “resistance group” and suggested that in the future they’d be considered “heroes.”
“Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a ‘terrorist’ organization by the West until they achieve their liberation (by which time, they’ll be lauded as heroes, as history has repeatedly proven),” Elrayess wrote in the September 2025 message chain reviewed by The Post.
“I think the severity of resistance is often proportional to the severity of oppression,” Elrayess continued.
“There were forms of resistance in the past that ended with nothing but massacres. This is not to justify anything, but just to point out that it’s quite rich to allow for decades of systematic oppression and massacres, only to act shocked when the resistance movement responds with proportional severity,” she wrote.
When another student expressed shock that Elrayess was arguing that Hamas’ actions were “proportional,” she doubled down.
“Some would argue it’s less than proportional. have u seen what Israel has put Palestinians through for decades???” she wrote.
Hamas fighters attend the funeral of three commanders in the Gaza Strip on Feb. 4, 2025. NurPhoto via Getty Images“Proportional does not mean ‘right’ by the way … just that u can’t be shocked that it happened,” she added.
Elrayess narrowly survived a vote of no confidence in the Oxford Union debate halls last week and has previously vowed not to resign from her position.
Elrayess claimed her comments were made in the context of a private conversation and that reporting her to police is merely an attempt to silence her.
“In my opinion, this is nothing more than an attempt to suppress voices like mine and to deny me the right to express my views — a strategy that groups like UK Lawyers for Israel have deployed for some time because they know they cannot successfully challenge the facts of the matter,” Elrayess told The Post.
Advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel slammed Elrayess for “normalizing” mass slaughter of Jews.
“The comments made by Ms. Elrayess in the WhatsApp group are deeply concerning. In our view, repeatedly describing Hamas as ‘the resistance movement’ and appearing to justify the atrocities committed on 7 October risks legitimizing a proscribed terrorist organization,” a spokesperson for the group told The Post.
Palestinian militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad gather next to Eid al-Fitr prayers in Gaza City, March 20, 2026. AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana“Freedom of expression is a fundamental value in a democratic society, but it does not extend to encouraging support for terrorism or excusing acts of mass murder,” the spokesperson said.
“Where statements appear to express support for a proscribed organization and are communicated to an audience of younger students, there are legitimate questions about whether such conduct falls within the scope of the Terrorism Act.”
The Oxford Union, the vaunted debate society founded in 1823, is comprised of standout students across from several member colleges in addition to Oxford University, and boasts notable alumni like former British prime ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair.
The Metropolitan Police referred The Post to the Thames Valley Police, which did not return a request for comment.
