In the Heart of Cambridge: Encampment Emerges as Symbol of Resistance Against Genocide
Mila Edensor reports on the ongoing encampment outside King’s College, Cambridge, in protest to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the university’s investments into the Israeli military-industrial-complex.
Photo by Mila Edensor
A global movement has made its way to the University of Cambridge. At the time of writing, students have set up an encampment in opposition to the University’s continued support for Israel as the government wages violence, enflames a man-made humanitarian crisis, and inflicts a genocide on the Palestinian people.
If Cambridge were to concede to the protesters’ demands, this would arguably be one of the most impactful symbols of Western opposition to the genocide in Gaza on both a symbolic and a material level. Not only does the University of Cambridge have a direct connection to Palestinian displacement, exemplified in the 1917 Balfour declaration expressing British support for the establishment of an Israeli state (Lord Balfour, the then-foreign secretary, is a Trinity College alumni), but the University is also understood to maintain a sizable financial relationship with weapons companies and technologies currently used to exact Palestinian slaughter.
In a report by the Middle East Eye, it was uncovered that Trinity College, Cambridge has £61,735 invested in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company that produces 85% of drones and land-based equipment used by the Israeli army. The college also has £2.5 million invested in Caterpillar, a construction company that sells equipment to the Israeli government, which, according to Amnesty International, has been used ‘to demolish wide swathes of homes, factories, agricultural land and civilian infrastructure, including water pipes and networks needed for basic survival.’
And yet, despite Caterpillar technologies being used in all Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, the University itself has partnered with the company via the Cambridge Service Alliance, which allows companies to influence and commission research, as well as promote their brand.
“The contrast between the University’s tranquil decadence and the violence it funds across the globe is stark.”
The contrast between the University’s tranquil decadence and the violence it funds across the globe is stark. But this illusory sense of tranquillity is being broken. While at the back of King’s College, one finds a picturesque view of its famed chapel, adorned underfoot by beautifully cultivated flowery lawns, at the front, impassioned students are showing the public that which the University would prefer to go unseen and ignored.
In an email sent to all students on Tuesday the 7th of May, 17:56, it reads: ‘I am sure that by now you are aware that a group of protesters is occupying the lawn in front of King’s College. Given the situation in Gaza and subsequent protests in the US and at several other UK universities, this was anticipated.’ Considering this prediction, the fact that the University made no preemptive action towards divestment is telling of its desire for the issue to simply go away. TCS reached out to the encampment for comment. We were directed to speak to ‘Cici’, an encampment spokesperson and a third-year PhD student.
So why do you think that Cambridge University hasn’t come to the idea of divestment on its own accord?
‘The University of Cambridge has been historically instrumental in the colonisation of Palestine; look at the Balfour declaration in 1917, propagated by Cambridge alumni stealing Palestinian land for the Zionist project. Also, they profit huge amounts from investing in arms companies, which is why they haven't divested by themselves.’
‘For example, three colleges out of the thirty-one, Trinity, King’s, and Christs, invest £17 million in companies such as Caterpillar, Elbit and Lockheed Martin, and that’s just three… so it's estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. Also, the University of Cambridge failed to meet its Freedom of Information request*, so we have no idea how much money they are actually investing in arms companies but also from research collaborations on weapons that are slaughtering children in Gaza.’
*The Freedom of Information Act (2000) gives individuals the right to request any information recorded by a public authority
‘So yeah, our first demand is for the University to disclose, so we're demanding that they conduct an ethical audit*, and let us know all of the companies and institutions that they're investing in and have research ties with that are connected to the Israeli genocide.’
*an examination of processes or systems to ensure compliance with ethics-related requirements
“Most would agree that students who contribute towards University funds in the form of tuition and accommodation fees have a right to understand how that money is being spent.”
Most would agree that students who contribute towards University funds in the form of tuition and accommodation fees have a right to understand how that money is being spent. Furthermore, University support for a regime, that as of yesterday, rejected the peace deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and has begun distributing flyers in Rafah, informing Gazans to evacuate the region or face ‘extreme force’, is absolutely something to be interrogated. However, this is not to say that this reflects the views of all students. Outside of the encampment, a few counter-protesters were noticed. One of them, Ari Vladimir, spoke to the Daily Mail and the Telegraph about the moment his Israeli flag was taken from him. In an interview with Daily Mail, he said: ‘A lot of Jewish students on campus feel quite scared. They are just keeping their heads down. But I had to take a stand… This encampment is going to make Jewish students even more concerned. How would you feel walking past people who are supporting Hamas?'
TCS reached out to him for comment:
‘I fully support the right to protest, both for those in the encampment and for myself as a counter-protester, although I am unsure of the exact regulations that the University has in place regarding this. I firmly disagree with what the protestors are calling for, and I felt the need to put my views and the views of many people I know out there. In particular, I wanted to make sure that it is known that Jewish people are willing to take a stand, that I hoped to demonstrate that the Jewish people will not be intimidated and that we are willing to stand up for ourselves.’
Antisemitic attacks have increased by 598% in the wake of the October 7th atrocities. It is a deeply entrenched form of racism that endangers Jewish lives across the globe. But, it remains unclear how the encampment embodies this form of prejudice. Of the three most prominent signs erected on the walls of King’s College, one reads ‘Cambridge Jews for Justice in Palestine’, demonstrating how there are also Jewish people taking a stand within the protest rather than against it. This is not to say that Jewish people should only be respected when they adhere to a specific political ideology, only to point out that there is evidence against the notion that the encampment has the intention of intimidating Jewish people.
Marginalised individuals face greater risk when partaking in protest action, irrespective of their political stance. The fact that Islamophobic hate crimes have also increased by 600% within a similar time frame is a testament to the fact that minority groups involved in the conflict are being disproportionately prosecuted and held responsible as representatives. It is wrong for the media to push black-and-white narratives that paint an easy picture; to lose the nuance is to lose the complexity and humanity of the people involved. We asked the encampment spokesperson the following:
A lot of mainstream news media has alluded to the idea that the protests, in particular the American protests, harbour antisemites: how would you respond to that idea?
‘So yeah, that comment you bring up is completely outrageous; we act out of love and solidarity for the Palestinian people. Our movement grows from the foundations of equality and antiracist principles, so this includes all forms of racism and discrimination, including antisemitism and islamophobia. People of the Jewish faith form an integral part of this movement across the globe, and we have the absolute pleasure of chanting and camping alongside those of the Jewish faith.’
As is with any group of people, there exists a diversity of opinion. However, given the overt Jewish presence within the protest itself, action taken against symbols of the state of Israel seems more likely to be a response to violence inflicted by the IDF rather than expressions of hatred towards the Jewish people. Equally, the person who took the flag could not be identified, and therefore, their motives could not be understood with 100% certainty. On the other hand, what can be certified is that encampment organisers have a policy of non-engagement with counter protesters. Therefore, to use this event to wholly characterise the encampment as antisemitic, and the protesters as supporters of Hamas, represents a dishonest rendition of what the protesters are saying, and a warped interpretation of their actions and stated goals. TCS also reached out to a Jewish protestor to ask about their opinions on the unsafety of Jewish students evoked by Ari, and their motivations for joining the protest:
‘I have not set camp with the students but joined the two rallies that have been organised in the past by students. As a Jewish student, I find it important to be engaged in the protest, as Israel has often justified its actions on the basis of protecting Jews around the globe. I do not agree with this statement, nor do I find there to be any justification to the actions of the Israeli government. I think it is essential not to disregard any accusations of antisemitism as simply attempts to hijack Palestinian movements, but I can affirm that in the case of the Cambridge encampments, I have found no trace of antisemitic behaviour. The main goal of the protest is for the University to divest from its involvement in the current assault on Gaza, and to focus our attention on this deadly catastrophe. It is also for this reason that I have joined the protest, to put into action my opposition to the amount of death and violence that we have seen unfold in recent months. ’ As a final question to the encampment, we asked:
How hopeful are you in terms of the University conceding to the demands?
‘We will not rest until our demands are met. So… I'm hopeful.’ Goldsmiths, University of London, has provided a template for what can be achieved when universities choose to engage with students rather than turn their heads to genuine dialogue. As a result of six weeks of student protest, amongst many other agreements, the University has agreed to adopt a new ethical investment policy and has written a statement condemning the genocide in Gaza.
The largest financial contributors are yet to budge. Columbia University has reiterated that it will not divest. Furthermore, in both the USA and Germany, student protesters face intense police response, with an estimated 2,300 arrests total in the USA alone. And yet, despite this, student action and defiance in support of a people facing genocide stays strong. For example, at Princeton University, students have launched a hunger strike after university administrators ignored their calls for dialogue. One hopes that such a state of affairs does not take place here, but with millions of lives on the line, strong resistance can be assured.
“One can only envision the power that divestment in Cambridge would have; imagine the symbolic impact it would have if an institution so deeply intertwined with the state of Israel recognised that the atrocities being committed are simply unconscionable.”
One can only envision the power that divestment in Cambridge would have; imagine the symbolic impact it would have if an institution so deeply intertwined with the state of Israel recognised that the atrocities being committed are simply unconscionable. This university wields outsized international attention, not only as the third oldest university in the world but also the wealthiest in Europe; the influence such an action would have is desperately needed.
Rafah has been encircled. Israel has seized and closed the border, and the IDF has begun its assault. One million Palestinian lives are trapped, and the few opportunities for escape are quickly slipping away. There is not enough time to allow for avoidance and complicity. The students have made their demands clear.
The University of Cambridge needs only to listen, and to act.