New footage has emerged showing the man who attended a recent pro-Palestine protest at Edinburgh University with a “knife”.
The man, 37, is said to have slashed an Edinburgh University student with a blade at the rally on Friday 28th March. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court charged with assault
Images and videos taken by passersby and other protest members appear to show the man engaged in arguments with the protesters.
In one video seen by The Edinburgh Tab, the man appears to say “they’re all against me” about protestors.
The man is then seen being ushered away from the protest by a group of activists while he films the encounter on his phone. The video of protesters confronting him at the side of the demonstration is said to have been filmed after he used a blade towards Ben Law, a third year philosophy and politics student.
EUJPS, the organisers of the protest, claims that the man could be heard calling Ben a “Jew”. The society also claims while he repeatedly called members of the protest “terrorists” and chanted “fuck Palestine” at the crowd.
Ben released a statement intended for the university, where he criticised security present at the protest. He told The Edinburgh Tab: “The university deals with pro-Palestine protests differently than any other protests” and “interacts with [the student protesters] completely differently” to other protest groups because of the financial pressure they are placing on the university with their demands for divestment.
He continued: “They’re making it a JPS (Justice for Palestine) issue, it just frankly isn’t [only] a JPS issue” arguing that the ‘maniac’ didn’t come on campus solely to attack Palestinians, but to incite violence where he could.
“[The university] knows there are people out there who just want to cause harm, and they’ve been taught to be angry at certain groups, especially right now students, and especially right now student protesters, and in today’s climate, especially right now pro-Palestinian protesters”.
In a statement on Instagram, he accused university security of failing to protect students on campus. He said: “I saw the man shouting hatefully as he approached the crowd – security must have seen him too, given that multiple students repeatedly warned security about the escalating threat from the second he arrived.
“From that moment, at the very least, he should have been under constant watch. The fact he was not is indefensible.”
He claims that even when a “knife” was visible to the protesters, and security were made aware of the threat, “still nothing was done”.
“Let me be clear: If campus security cannot – or will not – intervene when someone who is armed attacks students or staff, then they serve no function. What are they protecting? And crucially, what will stop this from happening again—next time with even graver consequences?”
In his statement he outlined a list of demands he wishes the university to commit to, firstly: “A public statement issued by the University of Edinburgh taking responsibility for the attack on me, and how that clearly could have been prevented through security intervention.”
Secondly: “The university to publish its protocol that supposedly is in place to protect its staff and students at campus protests, and most importantly, taking responsibility if this protocol was not adhered to.”
On the condition that one does not exist, Ben said: “University Security should establish a protocol to protect students in campus protests.
“If one does, its inefficiencies should be immediately addressed. However, this change cannot be determined solely by university leadership.
Ben was left with a gash on his cheek after being ‘slashed’ by the man
He concluded his statement calling for solidarity, saying: “This institution is a community of many amazing people who want to cultivate bright futures for each other. As we are the university, how security operates is of our concern.
“Therefore, it is of utmost importance that this is done in collaboration with grassroots student groups, EUSA, and those from marginalised groups most affected by hate crimes on campus.”
Police Scotland confirmed last week: “A 37-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with an assault of a 24-year-old man at George Square, Edinburgh on Friday, 28 March, 2025.
“He was released on undertaking and is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.”
Professor Colm Harmon, vice principal students at the University of Edinburgh said: “I want to underline how seriously we are taking the appalling episode that led to one of our students being assaulted last Friday.
“We understand how upsetting this is, and I urge anyone affected to access the range of support we have available to you. We are assisting Police Scotland in its enquiries, and we are also looking to ensure that we learn and improve from experiences.
“Edinburgh is a safe city and university to study, work and live in, which makes dreadful incidents such as this all the more shocking. Our hardworking teams are highly experienced in managing security across our city-wide campus, ensuring members of our University can carry out their day confident in their safety.
“We are limited in what we can say pending further police investigation, however we will continue to listen and engage with our community. At this time, we ask that everyone respects the processes in place to safeguard students and staff, and to treat everyone with understanding.”
The university also directed students to their webpage which outlines “relevant updates” on the university’s response to the war.
The university did not respond to Ben’s demands when approached for comment.
