An Oxford University student who led chants calling for the killing of Zionists was charged on Tuesday for stirring up racial hatred, London’s Metropolitan Police announced.
Samuel Williams, 20, was originally arrested on October 15 after videos of him circulated online, chanting, “Gaza, Gaza, make us proud; put the Zios in the ground.”
Williams said at the October 11 Whitehall protest that the chant was inspired by the Gazan “resistance” and had been “workshopped” by activists at Oxford.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“A chant that we’ve been workshopping in Oxford”:<br>“Gaza, Gaza, make us proud,<br>Put the Zios in the ground.”<br><br>Bridget Phillipson has a great candidate here from yesterday’s London hate march to lead her campus antisemitism training.<br>Britain’s elite education. <a href="https://t.co/WoFP83qOna">https://t.co/WoFP83qOna</a> <a href="https://t.co/3svU8DHJN0">pic.twitter.com/3svU8DHJN0</a></p>— Starmer Sycophant (@sirwg202110) <a href="https://twitter.com/sirwg202110/status/1977389672050352459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The University of Oxford's response to 'put the Zios in the ground' chant
The university said in an October 16 statement that it could not comment on individual student cases but suggested that it could suspend the student.
“Oxford University is unequivocal: There is no place for hatred, antisemitism, or discrimination within our community, and we will always act to protect the safety and dignity of our students,” the academic institution said.
Some pro-Palestinian groups, such as Direct Confrontation Media and Cardiff Students For Palestine, endorsed the chant, explaining that other chants, like “Death to the IDF,” had global resonance but drew a distinction between civilians and soldiers.