A leading university has been criticised for hosting the launch of a new book accused of “whitewashing” Hamas.

Understanding Hamas and Why That Matters, which claims the proscribed terror organisation is subjected to vilification, will be launched at the London School of Economics (LSE) next month.

Campaigners have accused LSE of disregarding the group’s violent history, including the Oct 7 massacre, and have urged it to cancel the event.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism claimed that the book is “an outrageous attempt to whitewash Hamas’ barbaric acts of horror”, and the LSE event itself is further evidence of how British universities “have become epicentres of Jew-hatred”.

Anti-Semitic abuse on campuses in the UK has reached record levels following the Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct 7, according to a report by the Community Security Trust (CST).

In December, the CST found that widespread pro-Palestine activism led to many Jewish students feeling university life had become increasingly “hostile” towards Jews.

Students at LSE slept in the university’s atrium for more than a month in support of Palestine and only left after losing a legal challenge.