12 Feb 2022; MEMO: A young doctor and father of two has condemned how he was racially profiled and humiliated when he turned up to attend a lecture by Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely at the University of Cambridge last Wednesday.
Dr Zeshan Qureshi, a Cambridge Union member of good standing, said he had acquired a ticket to attend the event through official processes.
He recalled: "After going past the CCTV camera and through the scanner, an unfamiliar security individual, not directly employed by the union, told me that I needed to come with him."
The doctor was then taken aside and interrogated. "I was asked if I was a member of any Palestinian organisations and whether I was planning to cause trouble at the event."
He added that the security personnel told him that the Cambridge Union would revoke his membership for life if he stood up to talk.
"I am lucky to have been highly trained in self-advocacy, and I made it clear to my interrogator in a very polite manner that they had no legitimate reason to interrogate me or label me as a risk."
The incident calls into question the widespread practice of silencing critics of Israel on British campuses. Dr Qureshi has since filed an official complaint to Cambridge Union, who have been sympathetic to his concerns.
