Amid ongoing pro-Palestine protests, students at Oxford and Cambridge have established encampments on their university campuses, protesting against Israel’s actions in Gaza. This mirrors similar demonstrations observed at American universities and Sciences Po in Paris, France.
Early Monday morning, protesters from Oxford Action for Palestine occupied the lawns of the Pitts River Museum, while Cambridge witnessed the construction of a “Liberated Zone” camp outside King’s College, an unidentified police official told media.
In Oxford, students and staff set up “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” tents and displayed posters reading “All eyes on Gaza”.
A joint statement by Oxford Action for Palestine and Cambridge for Palestine declared their refusal to accept the complicity of their universities in Israel’s actions against the Palestinians. They stressed that university profits should not come at the expense of Palestinian lives and demanded an end to the whitewashing of Israeli crimes.
The protesters outlined their demands, including getting rid of Israeli institutions involved in genocide, apartheid and occupation, as well as revising investment policies to support Palestinian-led reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
Oxford Action for Palestine called on members of the university to join the camp, urging Oxford to sever the institutional ties facilitating the genocide and occupation of Palestinians.
Oxford faculty and staff who supported the students demanded an immediate ceasefire and divestment of Israeli institutions, along with concrete support for the education of Palestinian scholars and the rebuilding of universities in Gaza destroyed by Israeli bombing.
A spokesperson for Oxford University affirmed the right to peaceful protests and urged participants to engage respectfully and empathetically.
Meanwhile, at the University of London, students and staff formed a “Liberated Zone for Gaza”, criticizing the institution’s ties to Israeli settler colonialism through investments in various companies.
Similar pro-Palestinian camps have sprung up at the universities of Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle.
Cambridge students Jews for Justice in Palestine rejected their university’s complicity in the Palestinian genocide, stressing their refusal to accept murder and bloodshed as the status quo. They condemned the armed association of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.
These protests at British universities parallel pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the United States. Columbia University recently canceled its major graduation due to security concerns stemming from weeks of pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
A Columbia spokesperson expressed disappointment at the cancellation, citing the inability to find a replacement seat. Protests at Columbia and other universities have drawn national attention and sparked calls for a Gaza ceasefire and divestment of Israel-linked companies, despite instances of police crackdowns.
