Edinburgh University says that ‘no site will be provided’ for Palestine memorial

Edinburgh University has told pro-Palestine protesters that “no site will be provided” for their memorial space.

A space “dedicated to the martyrs of Gaza” was created in the Old College Quad and has been “built, removed, and re-built” three times by students and staff.

The decision comes after a year of protest from EUJPS, involving sit-ins, encampments and hunger strikes in protest over the university’s stance on the conflict in Palestine.

The memorial was built next to the war memorial in the Old College Quad

However, EUJPS claimed that “less than 24 hours after the student encampment disbanded on June 9th, the entire memorial was removed.”

It said: “Students found images of the martyrs, as well as the notebooks, thrown carelessly and unabashedly in the dustbins of Old College”.

Components of the memorial were found in bins nearby

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In response to the removal of the memorial, the university said: “We do not have permanent memorial sites for any other ongoing conflicts around the world, including the war in Ukraine.

“Specific to the dialogue with EU-JPS, we made clear that any consideration of an approach to a memorial would only be possible if it can reflect the views of all in the University community, however impacted by conflict. This was not supported by EU-JPS.”.

EUJPS has built and re-built the memorial three times, first on June 3rd, then again on June 10th following the removal on June 9th, and most recently on September 20th, before it was taken down on September 24th.

The university maintains that it “continues to support those in its community affected by conflict.”

It said: “Last week the first anniversary of the conflict in the Middle East was marked with a multi-faith vigil hosted by The Chaplaincy, offering a safe space for those affected by events to come together. A similar vigil was held last year to mark the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine.”.

In an email to EUJPS, Vice President Students Colm Harmon said: “On the matter of a memorial site, the University Leadership have discussed this matter.

“No site will be provided.

“We continue to promote the need for the university to be a community for all, and a memorial of this nature is not in line with this. We remain open to further consideration of the archival record briefly discussed at our last meeting, mindful that any such archive would gather testimony from all voices”.

An Edinburgh University spokesperson told The Tab Edinburgh: “We view protest and the impact of protest on university practice to be an important part of the life of a university, and the potential to reflect this in a curated digital archive in our university collection, mindful that any archive would gather testimony from all voices, was raised.

“We respect the choice of EU-JPS to not engage further in discussions on this option. “.

The spokesperson said: “We continue to respect the right to peaceful protest within the bounds of our student code of conduct. We have also been clear that disciplinary action may be taken should this be breached”.

The full statement from the university can be found below:

Professor Colm Harmon, Vice-Principal (Students) at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We do not have permanent memorial sites for any other ongoing conflicts around the world, including the war in Ukraine. Specific to the dialogue with EU-JPS, we made clear that any consideration of an approach to a memorial would only be possible if it can reflect the views of all in the university community, however impacted by conflict. This was not supported by EU-JPS.   

“We view protest and the impact of protest on university practice to be an important part of the life of a university, and the potential to reflect this in a curated digital archive in our university collection, mindful that any archive would gather testimony from all voices, was raised. We respect the choice of EU-JPS to not engage further in discussions on this option. 

“The most recent materials that had been put in place were safely removed by university staff and are available for collection by student organisers.  

“The university continues to support those in its community affected by conflict. Last week the first anniversary of the conflict in the Middle East was marked with a multi-faith vigil hosted by The Chaplaincy, offering a safe space for those affected by events to come together. A similar vigil was held last year to mark the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine.  

“We continue to respect the right to peaceful protest within the bounds of our student code of conduct. We have also been clear that disciplinary action may be taken should this be breached.”   
  
For more information on how the university is supporting students and staff and taking action in response to the conflict in the Middle East, please visit: Israel and Palestine | A University of Sanctuary (ed.ac.uk).”

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