Oxford Student Sings ‘Kill the Zios’ and Learns a Bitter Lesson

In a stunning crackdown that's rocked Britain's elite campuses and reignited fierce debates on free speech versus hate, Oxford University student Samuel Williams was hauled into custody this morning, accused of fanning the flames of racial hatred with a venomous anti-Zionist chant at a London pro-Palestine march.

The 20-year-old Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) undergrad from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, enrolled at prestigious Balliol College, now faces potential jail time after leading crowds in the incendiary slogan: "Gaza, Gaza, make us proud, put the Zios in the ground" during Saturday's October 11 rally in central London.

As video of the moment explodes online, Jewish communities decry it as a thinly veiled call for violence against Jews, while Oxford swiftly suspended him, slamming the door on antisemitism.

The arrest unfolded dramatically at an Oxfordshire address around dawn today (Wednesday) with Metropolitan Police swooping in after footage from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign-led demonstration, attended by thousands protesting Israel's Gaza operations sparked an urgent probe into incitement under the Public Order Act 1986.

"A 20-year-old man was arrested... on suspicion of inciting racial hatred. He remains in police custody," a Met statement confirmed, tying the action directly to the chants captured on viral clips.

Williams, clad in a keffiyeh and wielding a mock AK-47 prop in the video, boasted the rhyme was "workshopped in Oxford," fueling outrage over festering antisemitism at UK universities amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Oxford University didn't hesitate: "We have suspended the student pending the outcome of the police investigation," a spokesperson declared, emphasizing "there is no place for antisemitism or any form of hatred on our campus."

The move echoes broader crackdowns, like Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson's push for antisemitism training on campuses, as reports of Jewish students facing harassment surge since October 7, 2023.

The backlash was swift and searing. Jewish advocacy groups like North Western Friends of Israel branded Williams an "inciter of violence," demanding his expulsion: "As Mancunian Jews, we demand this inciter of violence be held accountable."

Prominent voices piled on, journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer urged the Met to "do your job and arrest him," while investigative reporter David Collier thundered on X: "He wanted me, my family & most other British Jews dead... He belongs in Jail or in Gaza."

Even legal experts weighed in, noting the chant's interpretation as antisemitic incitement could lead to charges, with precedents under hate crime laws.

This incident thrusts the UK into the global spotlight on protest limits, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government grapples with balancing Palestinian solidarity marches—drawing 100,000+ since the Gaza conflictת with curbing extremism.

With Williams in custody and his academic future in tatters, the case could set a precedent: Will it chill campus activism or finally draw a line against rising antisemitism? As one X user put it, "Enough is enough."

The Met's investigation continuesת watch for charges that could echo far beyond Oxford's spires.