More than 30 universities across the UK on Monday faced calls from their students to divest from apartheid Israel, the Middle East Monitor reported.
In an effort to mark the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine, a National Day of Solidarity on Campus was organized by pro-Palestinian NGO Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), who launched a campaign for students to write to their Vice-Chancellors demanding that they divest from companies complicit in the oppression of Palestinians.
30 UK Universities Face Calls to Divest from Companies Complicit in Israeli Apartheid https://t.co/qAkKflL8oO via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/hW6EKFwL3Q
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 1, 2021
Citing the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that says Israel is committing the crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians, students at LSE, Nottingham, Birmingham, Plymouth, Glasgow, and others demanded their institutions withdraw investment from companies complicit in human rights abuses in occupied Palestine, particularly Rolls-Royce PLC, Hewlett Packard (HP), BAE Systems and Booking.com.
“Rolls-Royce manufactures parts of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters used by Israel to attack civilians in Gaza, and HP provides the technology for the control systems in Israel’s checkpoints, which violate Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” FOA said in a statement.
30 UK Universities Face Calls to Divest from Companies Complicit in Israeli Apartheid
More than 30 universities across the UK on Monday faced calls from their students to divest from apartheid Israel, the Middle East Monitor reported.
In an effort to m… https://t.co/ab4zOQRxY8— Amazon UAE (@AmazonUAE2) December 1, 2021
Ismail Patel, chair of FOA, has stated that “divestment (the withdrawal of investment) is an important, non-violent method to pressure a company to change its ways. When a university withdraws investment, it sends a powerful message to that company that the university community does not approve of its actions. Students have a huge amount of power here to hold their institutions responsible.”
“It’s hugely important that Labour continues to be a friend of Israel,” said Yvette Cooper, agreeing she opposes the boycott movement adding ''it is imperative Labour opposes counterproductive BDS campaign''https://t.co/LfRhEFi8X5
— Dick Mackintosh?#IStandWithJeremyCorbyn (@DickMackintosh) November 29, 2021
Hannaa, studying English and History at Queen Mary University says “as students, we find our institution’s complicity in human rights abuses appalling. We do not pay our tuition fees for the university to invest in companies complicit in apartheid. We call on the Vice-Chancellor to take immediate action.”
Governments have failed to hold Israel to account for decades of settler-colonialism.
— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) December 2, 2021
Palestinian civil society is calling for a response of global solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality through #BDS. https://t.co/EtEmJGvkLc
In 2020, the University of Manchester divested more than £10 million ($13 million) from companies complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine following years of campaigning by human rights groups. Companies affected include Caterpillar, a long-standing supplier of heavy machinery used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure by the Israeli army.
This article has been adapted from its original source
