Over 100 people gather to protest the University of Bristol’s ‘funding of genocide’

Over 100 people turned out to protest yesterday against the University of Bristol’s various partnerships with companies that are thought to assist Israel militarily.

According to @bristoloccupy4palestine, who organised the rally, the value of Bristol military partnership stands at over £92,000,000.

Protesters, including students and some young children, gathered on University of Bristol campus, calling for the uni to to “divest from genocide.”

Named “End the Educide”, the protest began on Tyndall Park Road yesterday (24th November), at 12:30pm where the executive management building is located.

Protestors held a banner which read “UoB defence partnerships, £92,809,934”, claiming that this is the value in the military partnership with the university.

Despite the weather, many people, young and old, turned out to call on Bristol University to cut its ties with the offences that continue to be launched against Palestinians. The protest occurred in the same week the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister.

In light of the ICC’s arrest warrant, @bristoloccupy4palestine released an open letter, setting out its aims and calling for commitment to “financial transparency and full disclosure in documenting its relationship with arms manufacturers and other companies profiting from Israel’s human rights breaches and its illegal occupation”.

The letter also called for “divestment from companies operating in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, and from companies involved in the supply of weapons to Israel” and “commit to documenting the steps it has taken thus far to ensure its investments in this area are compliant with international law.”

It added how Bristol University is more “implicated in the global arms industry” than other UK universities, explaining that it is the arms industry that is responsible for the Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

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The University of Bristol refutes the “£92 809, 934” figure and has not directly responded to yesterday’s protest that made sure to take place in the heart of the university campus.

Attendees of the protest included the National Education Union and CND, as well as other smaller companies and charities.

The protest comes six days after the Bristol Palestine alliance hung a large Palestine flag from Cabot Tower and displayed a large poster with the “£92,809,934” figure beneath.

Commenting on the protest earlier last week, organisor Alex Wolfe-Warman wrote on Instagram: “We hung the Palestinian flag from Cabot Tower and reminded people of this huge amount of money and called for divestment and demilitarisation of education.

“All the schools and universities in Palestine have been destroyed. End the Educide, divest now. One love. Peace.”

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, the Bristol Palestine alliance have engaged in mass demonstrations, including a long-term encampment in the summer term and myriad open letters demanding all ties are cut with the Israeli occupation. The group has also repeatedly called for a mass boycott of the check-in app.

A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “We support the right to freedom of expression and to engage in lawful, peaceful protest and understand the deeply held concerns that many in our community feel about the situation in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

“The university’s association with a wide variety of organisations helps drive innovative research and improves our students’ future careers. All our partnerships undergo stringent diligence checks and ethical reviews.”

Featured image via Instagram @cambridgeforpalestine