Pro-Palestine protesters block entrance to University of Edinburgh finance building

Edinburgh University’s Justice for Palestine society has blockaded the entrance to the University of Edinburgh’s finance building.

Protesters formed a picket line earlier this morning outside Charles Stewart House on Chambers Street to demand the university divests from companies alleged to have ties to Israel and the war in Gaza.

The group has previously blockaded the building as part of a long running protest campaign against university investments. Previous protests have involved sit-ins and occupations of university buildings, marches and demonstrations on campus and a hunger strike and encampment in the Old College Quad.

In a statement on their Instagram EUJPS said: “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”.

They also posted an Instagram reel where they said: “We students at the university of Edinburgh are picketing this finance building in the wake of Israel’s untenable renewed genocide of Gaza which the university is financially tied to as long as it continues to invest in complicit companies.”

“We will not stop until we get divestment. We will not stop showing up. We will not stop picketing finance buildings and disrupting life on campus until we get divestment.”

Previous protest action resulted in the university temporarily freezing purchases of Amazon stock while a review of its responsible investment policy was undertaken. A renewed policy will be released in summer 2025.

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“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 adminstration.

“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… 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.”

A university spokesperson responded to the protest action saying: “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.”

EUJPS’ full statement can be found here.

Image via EUJPS.