Newcastle students protesting for Palestine felt ‘intimidated’ by campus chaplaincy staff

Students and lecturers protested on campus in support of Palestine on Wednesday, February 28th.

The sit in situated on King’s Gate stairs saw students holding banners and chanting for Newcastle University to take action in support of Palestine.

Students attending the protest claimed to have been intimidated by a member of the Chaplaincy team for their beliefs in regard to the situation in Gaza, claiming that a pattern of Jewish students in attendance had been harassed.

Organised by Newcastle Palestine Solidarity group, the sit in began at 1pm on Wednesday and was stewarded by the Newcastle Amnesty Society.

Organisers protested for Newcastle University to divest from arms researchers and provide support for those impacted by the “plausible genocide in Gaza”.

Protestors shouted “shame” and chanted that Newcastle University had “blood on its hands”. Students held banners that read “Geordies against genocide”, “Shut down Rafael” and “Newcastle stop the war”.

A spokesperson for Newcastle Amnesty Society said: “Amnesty has been in talks with both NUSU and the University to provide stewarding for the sit-in on Wednesday. We offered this as we believe that direct action on campus should be safe, fun and inclusive.”

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“Amnesty has been, and will continue to be at the forefront of ensuring that Newcastle University divests from arms researchers, and provides needed support for those impacted by the plausible genocide in Gaza.”

The group claimed that they were “intimidated” by a member of the university Chaplaincy team while protesting at the sit in.

“On the day of the protest, people were intimidated by a member of the Chaplaincy team for their beliefs in regard to the tragedies occurring in Gaza, including a pattern of Jewish students in attendance being harassed. We repeatedly say that these protests are about freedom for all, and love not hate – nor is it a religious matter.”

A spokesperson for Newcastle University said: “We respect the right to peaceful protest and freedom of speech, however, we do not tolerate the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, distress.

“As a university, one of our legal obligations is to uphold freedom of speech within the law and this includes allowing individuals or groups to host events or protests, and say things, that the University and others do not agree with. 

“The university does not invest in companies making armaments. We have no current research with Leonardo or Rafael.

“We are investigating the claim made by the protestors. Any student who experiences or witnesses harassment on our campus is encouraged to make a report via our disclosure and support system. Hate Crime | Student Wellbeing | Newcastle University (ncl.ac.uk). ”

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