https://arab.news/wkedk
- Activists plan rallies and encampments on campuses across the country
- They aim to persuade universities to divest from arms companies supplying weapons to Israel
LONDON: Students in the UK are launching a fresh round of demonstrations against the war in Gaza.
The latest protests were expected to begin on Wednesday on the campuses of at least six British universities, including Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds and Newcastle, The Guardian newspaper reported. They come at a time when authorities in the US are violently cracking down on similar demonstrations.
The British students are demanding that their universities divest from arms companies that supply weapons to Israel, and in some cases that they sever all academic ties with Israeli institutions.
In Britain, regular mass public marches in London and other cities have attracted most of the attention surrounding the pro-Palestinian protest movement, with little attention so far paid to demonstrations at universities.
However, recent events in the US, including massive protests at Columbia University in New York, have encouraged student demonstrators in Britain to ramp up their efforts.
A coalition of 鈥渟taff, students and alumni鈥� at Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam universities have established an encampment in solidarity with the Palestinian people, as part of a group calling itself the Sheffield Campus Coalition for Palestine. This week, students are expected to stage walkouts from lectures and take part in a demonstration in Sheffield.
Similar activities are expected in Newcastle, organized by a group called Newcastle Apartheid off Campus. More than 40 students at the city鈥檚 university reportedly have set up an encampment on campus and planned to stage a rally on Wednesday. Organizers said students are protesting against Newcastle University鈥檚 partnership with defense firm Leonardo SpA, which produces the laser guidance system for the F-35 jets that have been used by the Israeli military in Gaza.
They added: 鈥淎lthough the student union has passed motions with 95 percent of people in favor of calling for the university to end its ties with Leonardo, and multiple 鈥楲eonardo off Campus鈥� protests on its campus, it is clear that the university has not listened to students鈥� concerns.鈥�
Students in Leeds and Bristol are involved in similar activities, including rallies and encampments.
A spokesperson for Universities UK, which represents 142 academic institutions, said: 鈥淯niversities are monitoring the latest news on campus protests in the US and Canada.
鈥淎s with any high-profile issue, universities work hard to strike the right balance between ensuring the safety of all students and staff, including preventing harassment, and supporting lawful free speech on campus. We continue to meet regularly to discuss the latest position with university leaders.鈥�