Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
29 November 2024 | 13:40 CAT
3 min read

Cambridge University students have reignited pro-Palestine protests, accusing the institution of stalling on its promised review of arms investments linked to Israel’s actions in Gaza. Demonstrators occupied Greenwich House, demanding divestment from arms companies and stronger action from the university.

A representative from the student-led coalition ‘Cambridge for Palestine’ (C4P), who has played a key role in the encampments since their inception, provided insight into the ongoing situation at Cambridge University. To protect the student’s identity, the C4P member will be referred to by the alias [Ismael].

[Ismael] explained that the protests have been ongoing for all 418 days of the genocide in Gaza. He emphasised that over 186,000 Palestinians, including 44% children, have been slaughtered during this period. “We as students, we as the global Ummah cannot see the images of people being shot multiple times in the head and students being burned alive in hospitals and do nothing. We are complicit; we feel like we have a moral responsibility to use our position to stop this slaughter,” he said.

According to [Ismael], they had previously camped for 100 days outside the Chapel of King’s College in the center of Cambridge. After this period, they negotiated a settlement with the university, which agreed to meet with a task force composed of student and staff representatives. This task force would work collectively to review Cambridge’s investments, ultimately leading to a program of divestments. “They have since gone back on those promises, and they are now promising to have two student representatives on the working group rather than the whole task force, which is sidelining student pro-Palestine voices. They have erased all mention of Palestine from their discussion around divestment and trying to make it something that is not specific to the genocide,” he said.

He noted that the university has yet to have a single meeting, and they have delayed the timeline, pushing it closer to the end of this academic year. “Every day they are delaying, more children are getting slaughtered,” he added.

He said that the students now occupy the heart of the university’s finances, taking over its central iconic headquarters building in the heart of Cambridge. “We are prepared to keep going and keep fighting until they agree to meet with us and actually divest,” he said.

[Ismael] pointed out that Cambridge does not disclose the list of arms companies it invests in, nor does it have a specific category for such companies in its investment policies, which he described as “absolutely ridiculous.” He further noted that, based on what they do know, the university has research partnerships with companies like BAE Systems, which sells weapons used to kill children in Gaza, and Caterpillar, which manufactures bulldozers used to demolish Palestinian villages in the West Bank. “We know that having these partnerships with such companies in the face of this genocide is simply morally unacceptable,” he said.

[Ismael] acknowledged that many universities worldwide have successfully divested, describing it as an amazing step in a global struggle. He mentioned that several universities in the UK have hosted encampments, and while a few have been able to engage in positive discussions, proposals for divestment have been put forward. However, he expressed uncertainty about the specifics of how far those processes have progressed at other institutions. “But I certainly do know that the University of Cambridge is one of the most influential academic institutions in the world and the reason why the Apartheid and genocide is continuing is because those institutions are shielding Israel from public pressure and financially and academically assisting it. If this massive institution like Cambridge is capable of divesting, that would be absolutely huge in terms of the pressure that would then put on other institutions to divest, the diplomatic pressure it would put on the Israeli state as a whole,” he said.

He stated that the university has yet to respond to any of their formal channels of communication. A meeting with members of the task force a few days ago did not result in anything positive or concrete, so they are still waiting for a response. In the meantime, the university is beginning legal processes to evict them. “We are not backing down. We are waiting for them to actually show up, negotiate with the students, and get on the right side of history,” he said.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and a student representative from Cambridge for Palestine, here.