Student activists fight for justice for Palestinians at university encampments
By: Global Justice Now
Date: 10 July 2024
Campaigns: Palestine
by Kate May
In recent months, many universities worldwide have become epicentres of pro-Palestinian activism. UK universities are no exception, with numerous encampments formed across the nation in response to Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Despite adverse weather conditions, opposition from management, and the stress of exam season, students have been standing in solidarity with Palestine and are demanding their universities do the same. They want their universities to divest from companies that are complicit in Israel’s assault on Gaza – especially arms suppliers who continue to send weapons to Israel.
The most recently available figures reveal that UK Universities collectively invest nearly £430 million in companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law, according to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Among the activists active in the encampments are members of Global Justice Now’s youth network, who have joined the cause, participating in the encampments.
They seek condemnation and acknowledgement of the war crimes committed by the IDF, divestment from companies openly complicit in the genocide, assistance in providing scholarships to Palestinian students, and a commitment to safeguarding students’ and staff members’ freedom of speech.
“Universities should be places of education, not places for war and destruction” – Student president of the University of Essex’s Palestinian Solidarity Society
At the University of Essex, the Palestinian Solidarity Society is demanding that their university commit to divestment, particularly from BAE Systems, a major arms manufacturer, to which the university has strong ties.
BAE Systems manufacture parts of fighter jets being used by the IDF in air strikes and supplies artillery shells and white phosphorous rounds to Israel. Horrifyingly, shares in the company rose 14% between 7 October 7th 2023 and January 2024.
As expressed by the society’s president: “Universities should be places of education, not places for war and destruction – it is completely inappropriate for the University of Essex to have ties to weapon manufacturers, like BAE Systems.
“When we know that BAE Systems have been involved with war crimes in Yemen, and are currently supplying weapons to the Israeli Air Force, who are committing genocide, why does Essex still have ties to such a company? Are we not a university which prides itself on its human rights department and parades its aims to decolonise the curriculum?
“How can we preach about decolonisation and human rights whilst simultaneously partnering with companies which are aiding in genocide and ethnic cleansing?”
Despite conducting peaceful protests and creating a petition that received over 1,000 signatures to sever ties with BAE Systems, both the university’s upper management and the student union trustees have resisted these efforts.
“How can we preach about decolonisation and human rights whilst simultaneously partnering with companies which are aiding in genocide and ethnic cleansing?” – Student president of the University of Essex’s Palestinian Solidarity Society
In April, the trustees blocked the BAE Systems campaign from passing, citing in their reasoning support for freedom of speech of external speakers, including BAE, promotion of academic funding freedom and complicity with the then-upcoming anti-boycott BDS bill. The Palestinian Solidarity Society requested a meeting to appeal this decision back in April but have yet to see this meeting come to fruition.
Encampments like these have also become hubs for learning, action and discussion supporting Palestinian liberation.
At the University of Reading, a library was set up at the edge of the camp with books on Palestinian history and wider resistance movements. One student camper comments: “We got the library out for people to take books and read them. We have lots of books on Palestine, resistance movements and revolutions … educating ourselves is our biggest weapon.”
Meanwhile, the encampment at Exeter University also embodied this spirit of intertwined learning and activism. Although they faced near constant pushback from the University’s upper management, their peaceful protest continued with study sessions, teach-outs, open dinners and weekly protests.
Following a protest on one of Exeter University’s open days, a strongly worded email was circulated to all students and staff. The email denied the camp’s allegations of the institution’s complicity in genocide and sent ambiguous signals regarding the willingness of the administration to negotiate with the camp.
However, this attempt to discredit the encampment seems to have had the opposite effect. As one camper put it, instead of smearing the reputation of the camp, the email spurred more members of the Exeter University community to extend their support and join the cause.
In a symbolic act of defiance, some students plan to take their graduation photographs in front of the encampments instead of alongside the University’s famous rocks.
Despite the looming threat of “repercussions” from upper management, the resolve of the students involved remains unshaken. Though vacating the encampment site early this month after 50 days, they state that “while our physical encampment closes, it does not signify the cessation of our protest activities”, adding that “we shall continue our advocacy through all possible peaceful means until our demands are met in full.”
In a symbolic act of defiance, some students plan to take their graduation photographs in front of the encampments instead of alongside the University’s famous rocks, as is the tradition. This move reflects the shifting allegiances of some students, as they choose to align themselves with the camp and what it stands for over the institution that they have lost faith in.
Similarly, SOAS University’s encampment has faced pushback. During a peaceful protest led by the SOAS Liberated Zone for Gaza, two Black protestors were reportedly assaulted by private security hired by the university. The victims required medical attention, and say they plan to take legal action.
Despite facing staunch opposition from the university’s management, the SOAS ‘Liberated Zone for Gaza’ is now, more than ever, unified and determined to expose what they see as SOAS’s complicity in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians. A message posted in their WhatsApp group chat stated:
“To students reading this: now is the time for you to join this movement. There is no education like education in action. Come get involved. Learn with us. Fight alongside us.
“Show our friends in Gaza, who we have built relationships with through teach-outs and public zoom meetings in the liberated zone, that students in London care. There is much work to do.”
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The movement has seen several victories. Goldsmiths University has become the first to offer undergraduate scholarships to Palestinian students and has also agreed to implement a new ethical investment policy.
Similarly, Cambridge University’s Trinity College, Swansea University, Trinity College Dublin, and Queen’s University Belfast have all pledged to divest from arms manufacturers. The students hope that more universities will choose to follow suit.
The movement has seen several victories. Goldsmiths University has become the first to offer undergraduate scholarships to Palestinian students and has also agreed to implement a new ethical investment policy.
It seems clear that these student encampments symbolise more than just protest. They are a testament to the unyielding spirit of young activists.
Despite facing formidable opposition from their respective institutions, these students are standing firm in their quest for justice, demonstrating that the struggle for global justice often begins at home, in their very own campuses.
Around a dozen encampments are still active, down from 36 at the end of May. But this is only the start of a wider movement for justice.
As articulated by the Student Union President at Exeter University: “Students have been at the forefront of social and global justice movements throughout history and it’s vital that this memory is continued into the present.”
Photo credit: Steve Eason / Flickr
