Internal emails obtained by Al Jazeera show that leaders of the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS), the United Kingdom's most senior military educational institution, sought to shield the college's reputation after the government barred Israeli officials from attending its courses. The ban was announced by the Ministry of Defence in September 2024, following Israel's plans for a major ground offensive on Gaza City, with the government calling the assault "wrong." RCDS commandant George Norton privately asked a senior British army general to help shape public messaging, stressing that course invitations are a "government-to-government matter" and that the college itself plays no role in selecting participants — a distinction he felt had been largely absent from media coverage.