University of Bristol student camp to stay until institution ‘ends ties with Israel’

Students who set up camp at Bristol University in protest of the war in Gaza say they will remain there until “the university ends its complicity” with Israel. The students, who are camping at Royal Fort Lodge, said they have already been asked to leave by university security but have yet to receive any official notification.

The students, who were inspired by protest camps at US universities, including Columbia University, arrived in the early hours of Wednesday, May 1. Over the next two weeks, the protest camp grew from four to twenty-four tents.

As with previous student occupations of the Vice-Chancellor’s office and the Victoria Rooms, students are calling for the University of Bristol to cut ties with defense companies. In addition, the camp also wants the institution to cut ties with Israeli universities.

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The Bristol camp attracted the support of the wider Bristol Palestine solidarity movement. On Friday (10 May) there was a large rally outside the camp.

Those living in the camp have the option of extracurricular learning, with lecturers visiting the camp to deliver sessions. They have a daily program of workshops which have included sessions on the history of Israel and Palestine and a detailed look at the defense companies that have partnerships with the university.

Large protest camps in the US have attracted international attention, and in the UK, university students have set up camps on more than 15 campuses, including Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle.

After just five days of a student camp at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, senior management made a commitment divest Israeli companies – starting with those “from the occupied Palestinian territories and appearing on the UN blacklist”.

Students at the camp said that although University of Bristol vice-chancellor Evelyn Welch recognized the camp, she did not visit or engage with the students. In a recent statement, Professor Welch said the university must remain impartial on the Israel-Gaza conflict and therefore will not take any institutional position.

As for any links to defense companies, Prof Welch added: “We live in a complex and increasingly insecure world, with wars going on in Ukraine and elsewhere, as well as in Israel-Gaza . When we discuss our partnerships, we want to be open about who we’re working with and why.” The open letter published on the university’s website has a link to their current one investment policy which is to be discussed in the Senate meeting in June.

Students at the Bristol camp told Bristol Live they will stay at Royal Fort Lodge until “the university ends its complicity” with the war in Gaza. But previous occupations at the university, in response to the Gaza war, left after receiving written notice of legal action.

The student, who did not want to be named, said the occupation of the vice-chancellor’s office ended after 28 days because they were given a possession order. A spokesman for the university denied this had happened, previously saying Bristol University had no plans to take legal action against its own students.

The spokesman added: “The students did not receive a possession order – they were notified of a hearing on the possession order and then decided to leave before the hearing took place.”

A University of Bristol spokesperson added: “We fully respect the rights of our students to protest peacefully in accordance with the law. We recognize the distress and impact on all University staff and students of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict and violence.

“It is more important than ever that we uphold our shared values ​​of mutual respect, support and compassion for each other, regardless of our individual views on the conflict. Every member of our community should feel safe and included on our campuses, and we ask that everyone respect and support each other at this time.

“There is no place for any form of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, discrimination, incitement, intimidation or harassment at the University of Bristol. We are in close contact with all affected communities, including our student societies, to provide ongoing support as needed.”