Wave of protests against Gaza war at universities across UK
Words by Daniel Boal, video report by George Hancorn
A fresh wave of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations and encampments have taken place at UK universities over the war in Gaza.
It comes after violent scenes on campuses in the US, where over a thousand people were arrested in police crackdowns.
Footage from Columbia University and UCLA showed pro-Palestinian and Israel supporters using fireworks, throwing objects and physical violence against each other.
The violent US clashes have triggered renewed anger among UK students and a shared sense of solidarity.
Demonstrations were due to take place in at least six UK universities on Wednesday, including Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds and Newcastle, with others expected to also join.
Student activists have also held marches and one-off protests around the country.
The groups have called on their universities to divest from Israel in response to its military operation in Gaza.
This would mean selling off stock in Israeli companies or otherwise dropping financial ties.
The students have asked for supporters to donate food, drinks and hygiene products.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, speaking in Parliament, warned that protesters should be met with “an extremely strict response” if they tried to replicate what she called the “disgusting” scenes happening in the US, where 1,000 students have been arrested.
Edinburgh
A group of students from Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS) have been on hunger strike for much of this week.
They are protesting outside the university’s Old College for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict and said they refuse to be educated by a university that “directly contributed to the colonialisation of Palestine through its close ties with Lord Arthur Balfour”.
Lord Balfour was a former British prime minister who, in 1917, said in the Balfour Declaration that the UK Government supported the “establishment” of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the university, said it supports the students’ right to protest and fully recognises the “strength of feeling that you have demonstrated with your actions”.
In a statement issued on the university’s website, he thanked the group for having led a peaceful protest and for not creating obstruction for staff and other students.
Warwick
An encampment at Warwick University began last week with students calling on the institution to divest with military firms who provide funding for the university.
Speaking to ITV News, one Warwick University student said: "We set up on the in the early hours of the 26th April and we're here because, we have, for the past over six months been campaigning, against the Warwick management.
"We have done sit ins, we've done protests, we've done open letters, we've passed some motion and the university has continued to ignore us."
Students at Warwick spoke to ITV News anonymously, worrying that they could be disciplined by the university.
However, the university has since confirmed that students participating in protests won't face disciplinary action.
A spokesperson for Warwick University said: "This demonstration is being managed in line with our legal duty and commitment to allow freedom of speech on campus.
"The University of Warwick will not initiate any disciplinary action against any protesters, organisers or students involved in the ongoing demonstration unless the University receives complaints that would have to be reviewed under the Duty of Care owed to all students."
Cambridge and Oxford
Students and staff at Oxford and Cambridge have set up camps on their university campuses to protest against the war in Gaza.
The so-called “Liberated Zone” encampments were created in the early hours of Monday in front of the Pitts Rivers Museum in Oxford and outside King’s College in Cambridge.
In footage posted to social media, students can be seeing setting up tents and carrying sleeping bags.
In a joint statement, Oxford Action for Palestine and Cambridge for Palestine said they “refuse to accept our universities’ complicity in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people”.
Leeds
Students in Leeds have announced their intention to camp "indefinitely" outside of the student union.
Protesting under the name Leeds Students Against Apartheid Coalition, they began a walkout for Palestine on May Day.
Manchester
Protesters have said that 50 students had set up camp, demanding that the university end its partnership with BAE systems and other arms companies.
They have also demanded that the university cut ties with Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
University of Manchester registrar, secretary and chief operating officer, Patrick Hackett, said: "We fully recognise the right of students and staff to protest within the law, however, setting up camp in a city campus raises potential health and safety concerns, risks disruption to staff, students and our wider community and ultimately is an unauthorised and unlawful use of the University’s campus."
Newcastle
Apartheid Off Campus Newcastle said its demonstration was to “highlight the institution’s investment strategy and its complicity in the Israeli military’s war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank”.
Bristol
Students in Bristol are staging action "in protest of the university's complicity in Israel's genocide of Palestinians".
Sheffield
University of Sheffield receives funding from a number of defence contractors, some of which make and supply components used by the Israeli military.
This has formed the main point of contention for students at the university.
Students have begun organised campouts in a bid to push the university to divest in the defence industry.
A spokesperson for advocacy group Universities UK said: “Universities are monitoring the latest news on campus protests in the US and Canada.
"As with any high-profile issue, universities work hard to strike the right balance between ensuring the safety of all students and staff, including preventing harassment, and supporting lawful free speech on campus.
"We continue to meet regularly to discuss the latest position with university leaders.”
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