Members of the Oxford Union delivered an "overwhelmingly" favorable verdict Thursday for a motion declaring Israel represents a greater "threat to regional stability" than Iran, The Telegraph reported. Thursday evening's debate at the historic society pitted Hillel Neuer, who serves as director of UN Watch, against Mohammad Shtayyeh, who previously led the Palestinian Authority as prime minister, with the latter declaring that "Israel is an expansionist colonial state that has been established by colonial powers. Shtayyeh proceeded to characterize Israel as a "pariah state" that "should be stopped," The Telegraph noted.
The Jewish Chronicle reported his additional remarks: "Israel acts above the law and does not respect UN resolutions, and also we know this aggressive state of Israel is... nuclear armed and a centre of a colonial regime that is based on apartheid against the Palestinian people." Shtayyeh, whose tenure ran from 2019 through 2024, told members of the 202-year-old institution that certain Israeli legislators envision national boundaries stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates. His closing statement declared: "We all should say that Israel is the biggest cause of destabilisation in the region."
Taking the opposing position, Neuer characterized this framing as an "inversion of reality." Neuer argued that "Regional stability is measured by who starts wars, not by who stops them," adding: "Israel does not arm terror proxies in five Arab countries – the regime in Iran does that. The entire Middle East knows this, and that is why Arab states quietly depend on Israel for their own survival," The Telegraph reported. Neuer continued: "One of the most powerful illustrations was when the Islamic regime in Iran launched an unprecedented attack on the people of Israel with 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles," according to The Telegraph. "The fact that Sunni Arab states provided a combination of air force interceptions... is a real-world vote on tonight's motion. The Arab states know that Israel is a partner in survival and the Islamic regime in Iran is an existential threat." Neuer concluded by noting: "You don't intercept missiles heading towards a threat to regional stability – you intercept missiles from one," The Telegraph reported.
The Telegraph confirmed that union members supported the motion, while the Jewish Chronicle characterized the margin as "overwhelming."
In my debate tonight at the Oxford Union, I said that their proposition—"Israel is a greater threat to regional stability than Iran"—struck me as deep satire, but then I recalled that 501 of their members voted to back the student chair who cheered the killing of Charlie Kirk.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 13, 2025
Following the debate, Neuer wrote on X: "In my debate tonight at the Oxford Union, I said that their proposition – 'Israel is a greater threat to regional stability than Iran' – struck me as deep satire, but then I recalled that 501 of their members voted to back the student chair who cheered the killing of Charlie Kirk," The Telegraph noted. The October controversy surrounding George Abaraonye, who held the title of president-elect at the Oxford Union, resulted in his removal following widespread criticism of his apparent approval of Kirk's shooting death, The Telegraph reported.
Previous voting at the Oxford Union saw members approve by a 278 to 59 margin that "Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide" during 2024, according to The Telegraph.
