Amid US arrests, UK students follow suit, start pro-Palestine protests
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Demonstrations are scheduled nationwide as a camp is established in Sheffield, and the vice-chancellor of UEA warns that situations similar to those in the US could occur here.
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Pro-Palestine protesters chant slogans with loudspeakers in front of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in central London on January 6, 2024, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. (AFP)
New protests and encampments by students are taking place at universities in the UK in response to the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, following unrest on US campuses where hundreds have been violently arrested in a police crackdown.
Demonstrations were planned at a minimum of six universities on Wednesday, such as Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, and Newcastle, with more anticipated to join, demonstrating solidarity with Palestinians.
Students are additionally demanding that their respective universities disinvest from companies that provide arms to "Israel" and, in certain instances, cut ties with Israeli universities.
While the protest movement in the UK has primarily centered on large-scale marches in London and elsewhere in recent months, students have taken over university buildings and organized demonstrations.
From US campuses to UK campuses: A unified solidarity
Nevertheless, the recent violent police crackdown at Columbia University and other campuses in the US, widely covered by the global media, has reignited anger among UK students and fostered a sense of unified solidarity.
David Maguire, the University of East Anglia's vice-chancellor, acknowledged that protests at UK universities have generally been peaceful but conceded that events similar to those in the US could occur here.
In Sheffield, a group known as the Sheffield Campus Coalition for Palestine, comprising staff, students, and alumni from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, initiated an encampment to express solidarity with Palestinians.
The SCCP reported a significant turnout for a lecture walkout followed by a demonstration, with many students expressing willingness to camp indefinitely in tents outside the student union. This action follows a similar encampment that began last week at the University of Warwick.
In Newcastle, a group called Newcastle Apartheid off Campus reported that over 40 students were participating in an encampment, with a day of events and a rally scheduled for 5 pm (local time) on Wednesday.
According to organizers, students were angered by the university's partnership with Leonardo SpA, a defense and security company accused of manufacturing the laser targeting system for F-35 fighter jets deployed in the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In Leeds, a student walkout in solidarity with Palestine took place on May Day, while in Bristol, university students created an encampment in Royal Fort Gardens opposite Senate House.
This recent surge of activism builds upon prior protests, which involved students taking over university buildings at the University of Manchester, Goldsmiths, and UCL.
In Manchester, demonstrators reported that 50 students had established a camp, calling for the university to terminate its collaboration with BAE Systems and other arms manufacturers, sever connections with Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and halt all research deemed unethical.
UK university vice-chancellors have been closely monitoring both domestic and international events on campuses, convening regularly to analyze unfolding situations. When questioned on BBC Radio 4 about the possibility of similar campus scenes occurring in the UK as seen in North America, UEA's Maguire responded affirmatively, stating, “Of course, it could happen here".
Read more: Washington U. prof. hospitalized after police brutality amid protests
