On Tuesday 22nd of April, a group of students and staff arranged a blockade at the front gates of Heslington Hall, the offices of the University Executive Board, in protest against the University’s “continued complicity” in the genocide in Palestine.
The protesters declared that their actions were a message to senior management, and that there can be “no business” as usual during a genocide.
The protestors claimed that, following the de-encampment of York Palestine Solidarity Encampment last summer, the University Executive Board has failed to uphold their commitments. In particular, they believe there has been no significant effort to review the University’s Research Reputation and Social Responsibility Framework. Consequently, they claim: “the University maintains its harmful and complicit ties with Israel’s genocidal war machine.”
Last July, The Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery reaffirmed his personal horror at the scale of civilian deaths in Gaza in an open letter published, writing: “I find the sheer scale of civilian harm caused by the Israel Defence Force to be beyond all comprehension.”
Last month, over 360 students signed an open letter demanding the University to cut ties with Cisco, the parent company of Duo Mobile two-factor authentication. All students are required to use this service daily to access online university services. Protesters labelled the University’s response to the open letter as “flippant”, failing to take students’ concerns seriously.
Cisco is an American multinational technology company with links to Israel. These include a longstanding partnership with the Israeli military, providing technology and surveillance systems. The company profits from this partnership and sometimes works on a pro-bono basis, according to the BDS movement. They also claim that Cisco has engaged in discriminatory practices, paying skilled Palestinian workers half the rate of their Israeli coworkers.
“I’m risking disciplinary action to be here. That risk is worth it because, unlike University Executives, I’m not afraid to be difficult when people’s lives and their sense of self continues to be subject to the sickening crimes of the Israeli Occupation.”
Anon Student Protester
The group blockaded the front entrance to Heslington Hall and handed out leaflets to inform passers-by of the need for action. They also staged ‘die-ins’ – where protesters simulate being dead to highlight the lives lost. The demands they communicated to Senior Management are as follows:
- The University will immediately investigate continued commercial ties with Cisco as part of a review of all investments in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians
- The University will commit to demilitarising campus by banning all arms manufacturers and armed entities from campus, including software developers and firms who do business with the illegal Israeli Occupying Forces as well as the British Armed Forces, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
- The University will suspend academic and careers activities sponsored by weapons manufacturing companies or companies complicit in weapons manufacture. This includes but is by no means limited to BAE, MBDA, Lockheed Martin, JPG and Aviva
- The University will amend their ethical investment policy to include companies complicit in war crimes and genocide, and to cover all areas of the University, including careers and catering on campus.
- The University will guarantee no disciplinary action will be taken against members of this group for this or any other action relating to these demands. This includes unnecessary surveillance and referral to any third parties.
The University of York has stated that they are committed to taking action to respond to the crisis. Following discussions with student groups, including the encampment, the University agreed to take action in four main areas: sanctuary and scholarships, supporting Gaza’s educational sector, evaluating research responsibilities and ensuring responsible investment.
As a University of Sanctuary, York has an ‘Equal Access Scholarship’ for students seeking refuge in the UK from any conflict. To date, one Palestinian MSc student and one online student have accepted scholarship support.
“Students have been dismissed, brushed aside, and needlessly punished by Gradgrindian changes to rent, wellbeing services, and institutional links to war criminals. This is the apotheosis of eighteen months of hardship for not just me but my brothers and sisters in Palestine. The message is clear: open the door for negotiations, or we will escalate.”
Anon Student Protester
We reached out to the university for a comment, but they declined.
The University’s action response can be found here: https://www.york.ac.uk/about/sanctuary/israel-gaza-response/