As Israel prepares its latest landgrab, solidarity activists in the UK are hitting back

The Israeli state is threatening another massive land theft in the West Bank. With the approval of US president Donald Trump, the Israeli government is planning to make its theft of the Jordan Valley official, and to annex Israel’s illegal colonies in the West Bank.
Decolonise our universities
Meanwhile, supporters of Palestinians in the UK have been campaigning with renewed urgency. And now they say some of that hard work has paid off.
The Apartheid Off Campus campaign has been calling on British universities to cut ties with the Hebrew university in East Jerusalem. Several British universities have connections with the Hebrew University, including exchange programmes where UK students are put up in halls of residence in Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus in East Jerusalem.
According to a press release from the Apartheid Off Campus campaign on 3 August:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem established its Mount Scopus campus in East Jerusalem in 1968, one year after the Israeli takeover of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights. Under international law, East Jerusalem is occupied territory. The expansion and maintenance of this campus in occupied East Jerusalem is part of the Israeli settlement project, pushing out the Palestinian population in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. By maintaining academic links with this institution, UK universities are complicit in war crimes.
The campus is located in an area of East Jerusalem which the campaign says regularly experiences colonial violence:
The Mount Scopus campus overlooks the Palestinian neighbourhood of Isawiyah which is regularly subjected to raids and violence from the Israeli police and army, who use the university buildings as a military outpost
Read on...
Support us and go ad-free
First campaign victory
Today the campaign announced a victory, as SOAS and the University of West London announced they would end their relationships with the Hebrew University:
We, the students of Apartheid Off Campus, are thrilled to report the first victory within our thriving academic boycott campaign. SOAS University of London have announced that they have finally terminated their contract with Hebrew University of Jerusalem, due to “concerns raised by the SOAS community.” This is a massive development in our academic boycott campaign for numerous reasons. First and foremost, this sets a precedent that universities in the UK can and will break their links with Israeli universities. This victory also exemplifies the effectiveness of BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) as a campaigning strategy.
The BDS campaign has been called for by hundreds of Palestinian civil society organisations. The campaign includes a call for international universities to boycott partnerships with Israeli universities.
However, the Apartheid Off Campus campaign says it won’t stop there. According to the campaign’s website:
The SOAS community have been calling on management for years to cut ties with Hebrew University. We demand that the nine other universities in the UK who still currently have partnerships with Hebrew University, come to their senses much quicker and take action immediately.
Manchester University divests from Caterpillar
Another campaign target, the University of Manchester, divested over $5m from two companies on 3 August. The announcement came after over four years of campaigning. The divestment was from US company Caterpillar, which supplies military bulldozers to the Israeli army, and also from the parent company of travel site Booking.com.
Booking.com advertises rooms for rent in occupied East Jerusalem, and has been listed on a UN database of companies complicit with Israel’s occupation.
Launch of Palestine Action
Last week, UK Palestine solidarity campaigners launched a new action network. Eliza Egret wrote for The Canary on 30 July:
Activists targeted Israeli arms company Elbit Systems’ UK headquarters early on 30 July. Elbit staff came to work to find the building covered in graffiti and splattered with paint. The action comes on the same day that a new network called Palestine Action was launched.
Since then, people across England have taken a succession of actions.
On Friday 31 July, a group of activists pushed their way into Elbit Systems offices in London chanting “your profits are covered in Palestinian blood”. They covered the reception area in red paint, and spraypainted “Shut Elbit” on the walls, before being pushed out by security guards.
This video of the action has had over 17.5 thousand views so far. Palestine Action tweeted:
Palestine Action visit Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems UK, who market their weaponry as 'battle-tested' on living Palestinians @RealMediaGB pic.twitter.com/6TOyLqeDu2
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) July 31, 2020
Taking action against complicit companies
According to the Palestine Action website:
Palestine Action is a grassroots, horizontally-led, direct-action network, focused on getting concrete results. We will take action against complicit companies, and we will pressure institutions to divest from them.
The network is planning to focus on campaigning against Elbit, Israel’s “largest privately-owned arms company”, and JCB. JCB is a British company that supplies bulldozers that have reportedly been used to destroy Palestinian homes. During 2019, incidents involving JCB machines affected almost 30,000 Palestinians, and JCB equipment uprooted over 6000 Palestinian trees.
Stop Arming Israel
Palestine Action also tweeted out pictures of several bus stop adverts that have been replaced with messages calling for action against Elbit:
Activists occupy London HQ of israeli arms firm Elbit to protest UK's complicity in Israel's crimes https://t.co/2FiO3jMfhU pic.twitter.com/y0YMwFYEmz
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) July 31, 2020
Bus stop posters in Oldham to protest Israel's field-tested weapons being made on our doorsteps #ShutElbitDown #StopArmingIsrael pic.twitter.com/7WrOaTxh8T
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) July 31, 2020
Bristol high street bus stop outside UK-based Israeli arms office Elbit Systems gets proper-Palestine-Actioned #PalestineAction #Adhack pic.twitter.com/dxcLWPalyZ
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) August 3, 2020
‘Adhacking’
The group also tweeted out a picture of a London bus bearing the slogan ‘Stop Arming Israel’:
Palestine Action goes the distance with an all-new look for London buses — the message is clear; end UK complicity #StopArmingIsrael pic.twitter.com/g1MknYpNNO
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) August 1, 2020
Huda Ammori, a Palestinian woman who is part of Palestine Action, told The Canary:
While the mainstream media continues to suppress activists’ voices and suppress the issue of Palestine, we will find new creative ways [to take action] and demand that our voices are heard. Whether that’s through ‘adhacking’ bus stops or other means, we will not rest and we will continue to take direct action until all complicity with Israeli apartheid ends.
Featured image via Palestine Action (with permission)
Get involved
Tom Anderson is part of the Shoal Collective, a cooperative producing writing for social justice and a world beyond capitalism. Twitter: @shoalcollective.
- Go to Palestine Action to find out how you can get involved in your area.
- If you’re a student, visit Apartheid Off Campus and take action at your university.
- Follow Palestine Action on Twitter.
We need your help to keep speaking the truth
Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.
Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.
We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.
In return, you get:
* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop
Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.
With your help we can continue:
* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do
We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.