YOUTH Demand have disrupted a talk by Peter Thiel at Cambridge University last night, suggesting his company is “profiting from genocide.”
Two supporters of the protest group disrupted the speech by the venture capitalist, PayPal founder and Trump donor.
Thiel is also the founder and chair of military AI tech company, Palantir which has done business with the Israeli military.
One of the disruptors said: “It’s embarrassing and appalling that anyone could even want to attend a talk by a man profiting millions off the backs of dead people.
“Palestinian lives are not disposable and I cannot stand for profit[ting] over human lives.
“Palestinians are being backed into Rafah, which is now also being bombed despite being a supposed safe zone.
“The lives of Palestinians are sacred and precious, billionaires profiting from killing children should not get out of this unscathed.”
This comes as students have been protesting all over the world in reaction to the war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with university chancellors today to discuss how student protests may be impacting on the safety of Jewish students.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7 2023 that killed 1,139 Israelis, there has been over 34,000 Palestinians killed, with more than 14,000 being children during the war in Gaza.
Youth Demand is calling for a two-way arms embargo on Israel and for the UK government to halt all new oil and gas licences granted since 2021.
A Youth Demand spokesperson said: “History will not be kind to those who [have] aided and abetted the crimes of the Israeli state.
“Palantir is proud to assist Israel in bombing hospitals, where the bodies of hundreds of Palestinian patients have been found in mass graves with hands-bound and medical tubes still attached.
“Instead of platforming those profiting from genocide, universities should be cutting ties with the Israeli death machine and calling on the UK government to demand an immediate two-way arms embargo.”
