On Tuesday 24 March, the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society began an occupation of the Gordon Aikman lecture theatre that would last until the following Friday. On the same Friday, they also occupied Appleton Tower, disrupting teaching until the following Tuesday. These protests against the University of Edinburgh’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza had a great effect, disrupting teaching across multiple weeks. They were also very visible on campus, raising awareness among the student population. I spoke to a member of EUJPS to get an inside perspective of the occupations as they happened.
EUJPS began these occupations with specific demands of the university: immediate divestment from Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft, an end to the Leonardo PhD programme, reparations for the university’s complicity in genocide, and the right to free speech on campus. Leonardo is a weapons company that provides arms to Israel, and Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft all facilitate Israel’s continued genocide by providing cloud services. The desired reparations come in the form of scholarships and continuous financial aid for Palestinian students. The right to free speech is of particular importance to EUJPS, as their protests are often “disproportionately” policed, with the student I spoke to claiming that their demonstrations are overpoliced, always facing a heavy security presence.
EUJPS made the decision to rename both occupied buildings, something this student described as common practice among activist movements, with the purpose of creating liberated spaces on campus and “honouring Palestinian martyrs.” Gordon Aikman lecture theatre was renamed in honour of Adnan Al-Bursh, a doctor who was tortured and eventually killed by Israeli forces after refusing to evacuate a hospital in Gaza. Appleton Tower was similarly renamed after Jawad Abu Nassar, an 18-month-old toddler who was detained and tortured by the Israeli Defence Force. Giving these liberated spaces to the memory of Palestinians is an important tool in the activism of EUJPS.
However, the decision to replace Gordon Aikman’s name may have been considered disrespectful to his memory by some. Gordon Aikman was a political campaigner who lobbied the Scottish government to improve provision for those suffering from motor neurone disease (MND) and raised over £500,000 for medical research. He suffered from MND himself, ultimately passing away from the disease at age 31. While honouring the memory of Palestinians is undeniably important, some would argue his name shouldn’t have been removed, and that one person’s memory shouldn’t override another’s. A different student I spoke to from EUJPS didn’t feel the renaming was disrespectful at all, and made the point that this renaming was only for the duration of the occupation, and that they weren’t calling for the building to be permanently renamed.
This student said they had no contact with the university during the occupations, and that neither side wanted to negotiate. They claimed that negotiating deradicalises the movement and alienates Palestinian supporters. Negotiation was not a goal of the occupations, with the primary aim being to levy continuous pressure against the university and cause as much disruption as possible. The goal was to create a situation the university “has to deal with.”
On the experience of occupying the buildings itself, this student described it as “high adrenaline,” with nerves running high. They mentioned difficulties like “sleeping in freezing rooms” and getting food and water into the buildings. By the end of it, they were exhausted but felt satisfied by how well the action had gone. They said holding two buildings at once was “powerful,” and that it was rewarding to see the solidarity and support they received from students and staff alike. While EUJPS has occupied buildings on campus before, this was the first time they held two buildings at once.
Reflecting on the occupations as a whole, this student was positive. They see all of the action that EUJPS undertakes as steps towards achieving their goals, emphasising that “divestment is inevitable.” They remarked on the importance of highly visible action like this, commenting that tangible action shows that “stuff can be done” in the face of the despair and powerlessness to make meaningful change that many students feel. These occupations were part of a “continued strategy” towards divestment – by creating a culture of liberation on campus and applying consistent pressure on the university, this student believes: “we can do it.”
Image by Cordelia Murray-Brown for The Student.