The rector of St Andrews University has been dismissed from the institution’s governing body and her position as a trustee after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid.
Stella Maris criticised the decision to remove her from the two roles, which came after the university commissioned an investigation into an email she sent in November to all St Andrews students calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The investigation by Morag Ross KC, published on Thursday, said it would be “disproportionate” to dismiss Maris. But the university court – St Andrews’ governing body – said it had acted because she repeatedly declined to accept Ross’s conclusions, including that she had made some students “fear for their safety”.
Ray Perman, the senior lay member and chair of university court, said: “Under charity law and the Scottish code of good HE [higher education] governance, regrettably, court has no choice but to discharge Stella Maris from two of the administrative roles that are traditionally associated with being rector of a university.
“Court wishes to stress that this decision has no bearing on Ms Maris’s freedom of speech, to which she is entitled and for which, like everyone else, she is personally accountable. We recognise that parts of the rector’s statement were an important source of comfort to students affected by the conflict in Gaza.”
In her message to students, Maris described Israel’s attacks on Gaza as “genocidal” and condemned practices including “apartheid, siege, illegal occupation and collective punishment”. Maris also denounced “war crimes” by Hamas, “notably the taking of hostages and deliberately targeting civilians”.
In her report, Ross said some students, especially Jewish students, were distressed and “feared for their safety”, while other students felt “validated and heard”. There were open letters both supporting and criticising Maris.
The senior barrister said there was a “clear tension” between “forceful criticism of the Israeli position”, including the use of the terms genocide and apartheid and the rector’s stated objective to emphasise that “people must come together and that all forms of bigotry and hatred are to be condemned and that peace is the goal”.
The report said terms such as apartheid and genocide were “contested” and that at the time of the statement “there were increasing numbers of people calling for a ceasefire, although it was a politically controversial matter”. Ross said Maris’s statement “although not itself antisemitic … might, directly or indirectly, encourage the expression of antisemitism by others”. Her subsequent social media posts responding to criticism were described as “ill-judged”.
However, the KC concluded: “Dismissal would interfere with Ms Maris’ rights to freedom of expression in an unjustified way.”
Maris, who will remain as rector until her term expires in October 2026, said she was disappointed by the decision, “which shows a lack of respect for the role of the rector in speaking independently for students as their elected representative and sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of speech in higher education.
“It is clear that I have been removed from university court because I called for an end to Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians, and I will not apologise for doing so. As a young, neurodiverse Black woman with limited financial resources, I have faced the full force of the university, including a KC investigation, all because I made a statement supported by the overwhelming majority of students, calling for an end to a genocide.”
She highlighted the international court of justice (ICJ) advisory opinion that ruled Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violated international law and the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ, alleging genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies.
Maris said she “fully intended to appeal the decision” with the support of the European Legal Support Center, adding: “The idea that Palestinian human rights and the war crimes of Israel in Gaza cannot be discussed in higher education is deeply concerning.”
She was backed by Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah, the rector of the University of Glasgow and a surgeon who provided testimony on Israel’s war in Gaza after operating during the conflict, who said: “The silencing of pro-Palestinian or anti-genocide voices is the reason why this genocide is still going on after 10 months.”
