Pro-Palestine protest: ‘Cambridge University cut ties with Russia, so why not Israel?’

By Aysu Bicer

CAMBRIDGE, England (AA) - Outside King’s College at the University of Cambridge, dozens of students have set up camps to protest Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, mirroring the protests sparked at American universities that have since swept across the world.

The scene here is vastly different from the images coming out of the US, where thousands of student protesters have been arrested in violent crackdowns at several universities.

Within the canvas walls of the Cambridge encampment, there are students working on their theses and fulfilling other academic responsibilities.

The area is decked with Palestinian flags and banners with messages such as “Divest From Genocide.”

A library has even sprung up, offering resources to students and visitors alike. Professors regularly stop by, engaging students in discussions on critical topics such as settler colonialism and other forms of oppression that rights groups and experts have repeatedly accused Israel of using against Palestinians.

Like their counterparts around the world, the Cambridge protesters want the university to sever all financial ties with Israel, and they delivered their demands directly to Bhaskar Vira, the pro-vice-chancellor for education, on Tuesday.

“We’re here to pressure the university to disclose and divest from any ties with genocidal entities. We have massive faculty support, with over 200 faculty members signing an open letter in our favor,” Mahmoud Atallah, a spokesperson for Cambridge for Palestine, told Anadolu.

“We are continuing for as long as long as the university refuses to disclose and divest from its financial and professional support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and reinvests in affected academics and protects all forced migrants and protesting students.”

- ‘Cambridge has divested before, so why the reluctance now?’

On the issue of divestment and cutting ties, one protester emphasized that it was something Cambridge had readily done in the past.

“Cambridge has divested before, so why the reluctance now? When Russia invaded Ukraine, Cambridge cut ties. Cambridge has also committed to diversity from fossil fuel,” said the student, who preferred not to be named.

“The ties between Cambridge and companies that are actively participating in the genocide of Palestinians are completely unacceptable … so I just don’t understand why they are being so reluctant to divest from such a horrifying and harmful industry.”

Among the Cambridge protesters are Jewish students who refuse to stay silent in the face of what they say is a genocide being carried out in Gaza, where Israel has now killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians and injured more than 78,200.

“I’m here to speak out against it and to join our friends of all ethnicities, to support them and be part of this,” a Jewish student told Anadolu, asking not to be named.

“We’re here because we feel we can’t stand by while this genocide is carried out under our name. We don’t accept that. We don’t stand for that.”