Izabella Hanifah / Izabela Hanifah Was
Associate Muslim Chaplain at the London School of Economics and Political Science | Muslim Associate Chaplain and Multi-Faith Support Coordinator at the London South Bank University | London, England, UK
Background information
A university chaplain entrusted with supporting students has posted “Fake Jew Alert”, blamed Zionism for antisemitism and shared a tribute honouring Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Izabella Hanifah, also known as Izabela Hanifah Was, is originally from Poland and currently lives in London. She is a convert to Islam and is listed as a Muslim Chaplain at the London School of Economics and Political Science. At London South Bank University, she is listed as the Muslim Associate Chaplain and Multi-Faith Support Coordinator.
Her public posts raise serious questions about her fitness for those roles.
“Fake Jew Alert”
On 17 January 2026, Hanifah replied to Jewish journalist Adam Cailler with:
Fake Jew Alert
She added a clown emoji.
This was not an argument about Israeli government policy. It was an attack on a Jewish man’s identity.
A chaplain working across faiths should understand the problem with declaring someone a “fake” member of their own community.
On 19 February 2026, Hanifah wrote:
Israeli national anthem is ‘Lie and steal then pretend we are Jews’
The post portrayed Israelis as dishonest thieves and questioned their Jewish identity.
The IHRA examples identify stereotypical and demonising allegations about Jews as forms of antisemitism. Hanifah’s wording invokes those stereotypes while presenting Jewish identity as a fraud.
Another post, dated 17 February 2026, read:
Isra*ll is telling people what their faith should be about. Because pedofila is part of theirs.
The post plainly uses an accusation of paedophilia to smear the faith of the people she is attacking.
That is not serious political criticism.
In a Facebook post dated 4 November, Hanifah wrote:
For decades Judaism was hijacked by Zionism. Zionism is not a string of faith, it is an ideology that carries racism but above all it is also the cause of antisemitism.
She shared this above an exchange in which a Jewish man expressed fear about antisemitism.
Her response shifted responsibility away from antisemites and onto Zionism.
Describing Zionism as “the cause of antisemitism” turns hostility towards Jews into something evil rather than Jewish national aspirations.
Glorifying terrorism
On 7 October 2023, the day of the Hamas massacre Hanifah reposted Francesca Albanese’s statement that the day’s violence “must be put in context”.
When Arsen Ostrovsky accused Albanese of excusing Palestinian mass terror and the murder of Jews, Hanifah replied:
Shame on you for trying to downplay the whole world by portraying yourself as a victim. Stealing land and murdering civilians for decades is done by Israel
A Jewish man condemned the murder of Jews. Hanifah accused him of “portraying yourself as a victim”.
According to the translation, a video post she also shared that day stated:
By God, had it truly been their land, and had there been any genuine bond connecting them to it, they would not have fled in such a shameful manner. #AlAqsaFlood
That message mocks people fleeing an attack and treats their flight as proof that they have no genuine connection to the land.
Running for your life does not erase your history or your rights.
Honouring a terrorist - Sinwar
On 24 January 2025, Hanifah reposted a tribute comparing Yahya Sinwar with Omar al-Mukhtar:
If we did not live in the time of Al-Mukhtar, we lived in the time of Al-Sinwar.
The post placed photographs of the two men side by side and included a celebratory Arabic hashtag, #نتصرت_غزة_ا (“Gaza has triumphed” or “Gaza won”).
This was not neutral reporting. It presented the Hamas leader as a revered historical figure of resistance.
Sinwar was a central architect of the 7 October attacks. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. Sharing a tribute that elevates a terrorist into a heroic figure is a serious matter for someone entrusted with student welfare.
Assassinated by "zionists”
On 20 March 2026, Hanifah shared a post about the death of French journalist Marine Vlahovic and added:
Assassinated by zionists.
There was no evidence for that accusation. More importantly, the authorities had already announced findings contradicting it.
Vlahovic was found dead in Marseille in November 2024. By December that year, Marseille prosecutors had publicly stated that the autopsy had ruled out the involvement of another person. The investigation was closed in October 2025 because no offence had been established.
Months later, Hanifah presented an invented “Zionist” assassination as fact. This was not criticism of Israeli policy. It was a conspiracy allegation blaming an undefined collective of “zionists” for a journalist’s death.
The IHRA examples identify demonising allegations about Jews and Jewish power as forms of antisemitism. The word “Zionist” is not automatically a substitute for “Jew”. But here, read alongside Hanifah’s posts about “fake” Jews and Israelis who “lie and steal”, the accusation fits an antisemitic pattern: a sinister collective blamed for murder without evidence..
LSE and LSBU need to answer
How can students trust a chaplain at Faith Centre who posts “Fake Jew Alert”, questions Jewish identity, and blames Zionism for antisemitism? How does sharing a tribute to Sinwar fit with a role in multi-faith support?
Legal Disclaimer & Public Interest Notice
This website archives and analyses publicly available social media posts strictly for the purposes of critical commentary, political discourse, education, and holding individuals accountable for public statements regarding antisemitism, hatred, or terrorism. Content is published in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of U.S. copyright law and the Fair Dealing exceptions of UK copyright law (specifically for the purposes of criticism, review, quotation, and reporting current events), both of which protect the use of copyrighted material for news reporting and public criticism. Statements are documented exactly as authored by the public accounts in question to ensure a factual record. We disclaim any liability or responsibility for the original messages or any subsequent interpretations.
Support GnasherJew
Help us maintain this public record. Your financial backing keeps this archive online, ensuring we can continue the critical review and documentation necessary to expose online antisemitism and hold hate speech accountable.
SUPPORT OUR WORK