In the early hours of 4 March, a group of autonomous students took direct action at Cambridge University in solidarity with Palestine. It was over the university’s investments in Israel. The protest, carried out in collaboration with Palestine Action, involved painting the Old Schools building – the office that manages the University’s Endowment Fund – in blood-red paint:
This action follows a similar protest at Oxford University last week, as part of a growing wave of confrontational actions at the UK’s most prestigious universities. The activists demand full disclosure of the University’s investments and the immediate divestment from companies complicit in war crimes and the Israeli apartheid regime.
Cambridge University: complicit in genocide
“Each life lost in Palestine is a human being with dreams, loved ones, and a future stolen. As long as the university continues to profit from violence, we will continue to take action in solidarity with Palestinians who endure daily oppression and destruction,” said a spokesperson for the group.
The Cambridge University action comes on the heels of the high court refusing to grant an injunction to the university – an injunction banning protest – marking a moment of growing momentum against the University’s investments in the Israeli military-industrial complex.
The group has vowed to escalate direct actions, targeting the university’s financial interests and reputation in their call for full divestment and accountability.
“Now is the time to act,” the spokesperson continued. “The university must understand that its profits from war crimes will never outweigh the damage done to its reputation and bottom line.”
Cambridge University boasts major research partnerships with Israeli institutes, while Trinity College at Cambridge is refusing to divest from Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, despite ongoing protests against its involvement in the US-Israel and Elbit genocide. This refusal follows prior actions, including the spraying of red paint on the Institute for Manufacturing in November, which supports many Israel-supplying arms firms, as well as similar protests at the historical Senate House building in June 2024.
Trinity College, which held $78,089 in Elbit shares as of the latest disclosures, has faced multiple actions, including the slashing of a portrait of Lord Balfour in March 2024. Despite misleading its students about its investments, Trinity continues to hold these shares.
Holding institutions to account over Israel and Palestine
The Cambridge protest is part of an ongoing effort to hold institutions like Cambridge and Oxford accountable for their financial support of systems of violence and oppression. The call for divestment and solidarity with the Palestinian people grows louder, and the momentum for direct action continues to build. Last week, activists also targeted Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, spraying “DROP ELBIT” in response to the university’s refusal to divest from the Israeli arms giant.
Featured image and additional images via Direct Action Images
