Students protest against links with Israel

Louise Nousratpour
Thursday January 22, 2009
The Morning Star

STUDENTS at Oxford University joined the wave of occupations on campuses across Britain on Thursday demanding that the institutions sever their links with arms companies that supply weapons to Israel.

They joined students from the School of Oriental and African Studies, King's College London, Warwick, Essex, Birmingham, Sussex and Newcastle to demonstrate their disgust at British universities' support for Israel's war and occupation in Palestine.

Activists are calling on university authorities to issue a formal statement condemning Israel's brutal attacks on Gaza, which have left more than 1,000 people dead, including 300 children.

They also want the institutions to sever all links with arms companies such as BAE Systems, MBDA, GE Aviation and QinetiQ, provide fully funded scholarships for Palestinian students and establish links with educational institutions in Gaza.

Warwick University student Chris Rossdale said: "It is wrong that our university profits from the destruction in Gaza. Students pay a substantial amount towards our education and we expect a say in where that money goes."

National Union of Students executive member Rob Owen condemned his union's "neutral" stance on the Gaza issue as a "disgrace."

He said: "By refusing to take sides, the union has effectively taken a zionist position and has become more and more disconnected with its rank-and-file members. The leadership has even written a letter to the Stop the War Coalition, complaining that the recent demonstrations in support of Gaza were 'anti-semitic'."

Mr Owen vowed to continue to fight the "right-wing" tendencies within the NUS and urged other trade unions to support the university occupations.

Stewart Halfort of the Stop the War Coalition, which is involved in the students' occupations, hailed the event as "the rebirth of the student movement."

He pointed out that there had not been university occupations on this scale since the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s.

London School of Economics (LSE) students ended their seven-day occupation of a lecture theatre with a declaration of victory on Thursday after winning all of their demands.

LSE director Howard Davies will now make a public statement about the Israeli bombing of academic institutions, organisers revealed.

The LSE has also agreed to provide scholarships for students who have been affected by the Israeli occupation and to facilitate a charity collection for Medical Aid for Palestine.

King's College London students, who enter their fifth day of action today, want the authorities to revoke the honorary doctorate that was bestowed on Israeli President Shimon Peres last year.