Students at over 30 UK universities protest complicity in Israeli crimes during Israeli Apartheid Week
As part of Israeli Apartheid Week 2019, students at over 30 UK universities are taking action on their campuses on 20th March 2019 to protest their institutions’ complicity in Israel’s violations of human rights.
The national day of action, which was called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) as part of their ongoing “Apartheid Off Campus” campaign, seeks to highlight how universities’ investment and partnership policies tacitly support and enable Israel’s ongoing violations of international law and human rights.
One example being highlighted by students is the University of Manchester’s ongoing investment in the company Caterpillar, which supplies the armoured bulldozers for the Israeli army to demolish Palestinian homes, schools, olive groves and communities.
Another example is King’s College London, which has established a partnership with the Israeli Institute of Technology in Haifa, known as the Technion. This institution collaborates with arms companies on technological endeavours which have seen the creation of remote-controlled bulldozers used to destroy Palestinian homes, as well as the electronic surveillance system used for Israel’s illegal wall in the West Bank.
Actions will include rallies, marches and banner drops, as well as a range of creative actions such as the construction of an “apartheid wall” and the staging of a mock checkpoint.
This day of action comes four months after it was announced that Leeds University was divesting funds from companies that supply military equipment to the Israeli army. Students at other universities are hoping to replicate similar BDS victories on their own campuses.
Emilia Micunovic, chair of the BDS campaign at University of Manchester, said: “As students, we do not want our tuition fees invested in war and apartheid, and we should have the right to a voice in our institutions’ investment and partnership policies. We reject many UK universities’ hypocritical and shallow attempts to appear “socially responsible” whilst funding, facilitating or supporting Israel’s military occupation. ”
Huda Ammori, Campaigns Officer of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “Israeli Apartheid Week is an opportunity for us to amplify the voices of the Palestinian people and strengthen our movement which stands in full solidarity with them. The global community has a responsibility to hold Israel to account for its criminal actions, and universities are no exception. Students are doing vital work in highlighting complicity with Israeli apartheid on their campuses.”
ENDS
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Notes to editors
- Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It now takes place in over 200 cities across the world, where events such as lectures, film screenings, direct action, cultural performances, postering, among many more help in grassroots organizing for effective solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle. More information can be found here: http://apartheidweek.org/
About the Palestine Solidarity Campaign:
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is the largest UK civil society organisation dedicated to securing Palestinian human rights established in 1982. With more than sixty branches across the country, we campaign against Israel’s flouting of international law, the continued military occupation of Palestine, and systematic discrimination against Palestinians. We work to build awareness amongst politicians and the public of the continual injustices and advocate for peaceful and just solutions that respect the rights and dignity of Palestinians and Israelis.
For more information, visit https://palestinecampaign.org