Bristol SU officer’s statement in solidarity with Palestine criticizes university’s approach

“We are disappointed by the approach taken by the University of Bristol in speaking about this issue”

Bristol University Students’ Union has today (17 May) released a statement on Palestine and student activism in response to the camp being held in the Royal Fort Gardens in solidarity with Palestine which started on 1 May.

You can read the full statement here.

SU’s team of full-time officers began the statement by encouraging students at Bristol Uni to exercise their rights to protest over the issue.

“Peaceful protest is a crucial way for people to make their voices heard by those in power.

“We continue to be devastated by the war in Palestine and Israel and hope to see an end to all violence, an immediate ceasefire, a return of the hostages and ultimately a free Palestine.”

The statement then assures that, in light of the “terrifying” events in America, where extreme hostility has been shown towards student protesters, that SU will “always seek to protect the welfare and defend the rights of student activists such as those at Royal. Fort Gardens.”

“No one should feel unsafe on our campus — to exist, to study, or to protest and speak.”

The statement then criticizes the university’s approach to the Israel/Palestine conflict.

“Whilst we understand the difficult position that British universities may be in at present, we are disappointed by the approach that the University of Bristol has taken in speaking about this issue.

“We agree with Vice-Chancellor Evelyn Welch that ‘more than ever we stand for our shared values ​​of mutual respect, support and compassion.’

“However, we know that many students affected by this tragic conflict do not feel that they have received enough support and compassion from the University since October 7; we demand that the university do more in the future.”

This refers to the Vice-Chancellor’s recent statement sent to students last week on May 8, which emphasized that the university must “remain impartial as an institution”. You can read the Vice-Chancellor’s full statement here.

SU’s statement then echoes calls for the university to sever ties with arms companies, which has been a key motivation behind pro-Palestinian student protests, including the Victoria Rooms and Wills Memorial Building occupations.

“As a team of officers, we fully support and abide by demands that our university sever ties with the defense industry.” SU has an active policy in this matter.

The vice chancellor’s recent statement did not include the word “Palestine” when talking about the conflict, which the US criticized.

“We continue to question why the University will not use the word ‘Palestine’ when talking about the conflict, something Palestinian students have pointed out feels like an erasure of their identity and their nation. We urge that the words “Palestine and Israel” be used in future, as opposed to “Middle East” and “Gaza”.

“The VC stated in his message that the university cannot “adopt an institutional position in relation to the ongoing conflict”, as “the role of the university is to allow staff and students to express themselves freely, not to become an advocate of a point of view or another. .”

“Whilst we understand this – we must recognize that not all students and staff feel able to express themselves freely on this matter, partly due to the university’s approach to date.

“We hope to see continued and hopefully increasingly productive conversations between the University’s executive team, including the Vice-Chancellor, and affected students, staff and activists as we all continue to learn how to adapt to the realities of this conflict and its sustained impact. on our campus.”

The officer team encourages students to attend the upcoming University Senate meeting on Monday 17 June. As mentioned in the VC message, the University has recognized the growing need to assess the appropriateness of third party relationships with a focus on the defense industry and this will be explored in this meeting.

Students can communicate their views through Senate representatives and a full list of members, including undergraduate and postgraduate representatives, is here.

A University of Bristol spokesman said: “We fully respect the rights of our students to protest peacefully in accordance with the law. Recognizing the distress and impact that the ongoing violence and conflict in Israel-Gaza has on staff and students, our role as a university is to support all those in our community who may be affected, while ensuring that members our community are able to express themselves. themselves legally.

“It is more important than ever that we maintain 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, bullying or harassment at the University of Bristol.

“We will continue to share information on how to get help and support where needed and are in close contact with all affected communities, including our student societies, to provide ongoing support as needed.”

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