UNIVERSITY of Edinburgh students from the Justice for Palestine Society shut down the Charles Stewart House finance building yesterday.
This was in response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire established two months ago, as air strikes and ground invasion resumed in Gaza this week.
The entrance to the building on Chambers Street was blocked off, and a demonstration was carried out.
This is amid ongoing action in Glasgow, where seven students are participating in a hunger strike, and many others occupied the James McCune Smith Learning Hub and blocked the road outside yesterday.
Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS) shared a video of protestors outside the finance building, holding up a sign saying, “Globalise the student intifada”.
The caption reads: “Breaking: Students shut down Edinburgh University finance building.
“In response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire and the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians in a single night, students at the University of Edinburgh have once again taken action.
“This morning, we blocked the entrances to Charles Stewart House, the university’s finance building, to demand an end to UoE’s financial complicity with Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.
“We refuse to stand by while our university funds apartheid and war crimes. We will not stop. We will not rest. Free Palestine.”
It has been reported that a ground invasion by Israeli military in southern Gaza is currently underway, with nearly 600 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire was broken earlier this week.
EUJPS are urging the University of Edinburgh to divest from their alleged investments in Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and the BlackRock fund, who are believed to provide software that Israel use to create “kill lists”.
They further state: “The University of Edinburgh also boasts its University Defence Research Collaboration, a nefarious project which invests in the development of sophisticated technology used to perpetuate the segregation and occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank, while recruiting and training students within these practices.
“The University of Edinburgh has been directly aiding the development of genocidal technology in the last six years, and its usage in the West Bank renders the university liable and culpable of aiding international criminal activity.
“The university’s recent attempts at budget cuts, whether it be in their plan to remove campus facilities or their direct divestment from Edinburgh’s Art College by cutting student budgets and removing professional opportunities, is particularly regressive financial behaviour.
“The hypocrisy is astounding.
“To act so irresponsibly, while nevertheless increasing space to continue to fund law-breaking projects like apartheid and genocide, is legally reprehensible, financially irresponsible, and completely untenable behaviour on behalf of the university’s administration.”
The university recently announced that they are in “severe financial difficulty” and have proposed large cuts to staff and schools.
EUJPS go on to say: “First and foremost, we demand that the University of Edinburgh publicly recognise and acknowledge its own direct and indirect financial involvement in crimes in Palestine, including in establishing the apartheid in West Bank through its research collaborations with AnyVision, and in the ongoing genocide in Gaza through collaborations with arms suppliers for Israel.
“This must be in the form of an officially published statement, and should consist of a sincere admission, eventually leading to forms of reparation for the Palestinian community it has harmed.
“We also strongly demand that the University of Edinburgh cease research collaborations with companies and entities perpetrating the crimes of genocide and apartheid in Palestine, and to stop any research collaboration on technologies specifically used for crimes against humanity, including genocide and apartheid.
“This includes cutting all ties with AnyVision pulling out of UDRC, and establishing a robust ethics guideline concerning the partner and content of research collaborations to prevent the university’s future involvement in aiding genocidal crimes.
“This new ethics guideline must be applicable to both defence and AI research at the university. Further, we demand the university’s immediate ceasing of all financial investments in Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, as well as divestment from the BlackRock fund worth approximately £58m.
“We will not rest until the university divests from all holdings complicit in genocide, occupation, and apartheid in Palestine.
A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said today: “Recent developments in the Israel-Gaza war are deeply troubling, and support is available for those affected.
“While we respect the right to peaceful protest, we do not support anyone preventing access to university buildings.
“The safety of our community and day-to-day running of the university is our priority and disciplinary action may be taken should anyone be in breach of the student code of conduct.
“We continue to engage and listen to those raising concerns about our policies, and have recently provided an interim update on our university-wide consultation survey and next steps for the responsible investment policy review.”
The university recently shared that they are updating their responsible investment policy, with considerations being made regarding the definition of “controversial weapons” and social positive investments.