Pro-Palestine protesters occupied the Edinburgh University Main Library on Saturday 2 November.
Originally starting outside the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre at 14:00, protesters moved towards the library and occupied the foyer of the ground floor.
The protest marked the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration signing in 1917. The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 announcing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population.
Arthur Balfour, the former foreign minister and Prime Minister, served as Chancellor of Edinburgh University from 1891 to 1930, the second-longest serving Chancellor in the University’s history.
Protesters occupied the library one year ago to similarly commermorate the 106th anniversary of the Balfour declaration.
Drawing attention to the University’s continued delays to address calls for divesting funding from companies involved with the Israeli military, masked speakers at the protest continued to apply pressure.
“This legacy ends with us” said one speaker, saying the protest was important at the date to ensure that people do not forget the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Refusing to reference Israel by name, the speaker alleged that the “Zionist entity” has violated international law and the University ethics guidelines.
“The University has promoted to abide by its own ethical positions, which then continue to violate”.
Speakers frequently referenced the lack of action from the University’s leading officebearers, specifically referencing Principal and Vice Chancellor Peter Matheison.
“Think of the thousands murdered with your tuition” said another speaker.
“There is no business as usual under Israeli apartheid”.
In the year since Israel has retaliated after Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks, Edinburgh University has experienced significant Pro-Palestinian activism.
At the end of the 2023/2024 academic year, an encampment was established on the Old College quad to draw attention to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Early this academic year, the University Court (Edinburgh University’s governing board) delayed a decision to change the definition in the University’s Responsible Investment policy.
Protesters were also demanding that the University provide a permenant space for students to mourn the loss of Palestinian lives in the conflict.
“Decolonization is not a metaphor, it is a verb” said one speaker, highlighting the need for Edinburgh University to be more action-oriented to address calls for divestment from Israel.
“We need to remember the crimes that were done our ancestors centuries ago and to us to this very day,” said another.
It has been nearly 13 months since the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,200 Israeli citizens. The Israeli government has responded with a brutal military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
The United Nations and other international organisations have condemned Israel’s invasion of Gaza which has killed upwards of 40,000 people. The United States and the United Kingdom have expressed continued support for Israel despite expressing caution against the high civilian deaths of Gazans due to Israel’s military actions. Several high-ranking UN officials and international organizations have called Israel’s invasion of Gaza a genocide.
One speaker remarked that the demonstrators “are here and have no intension to stop” as the wider conflict carries on into its 14th month.
The protestors have since dispersed.
Images via Sam Marks