Today, students from the University of Sheffield and Hallam abandoned their lectures and joined an international call for an urgent ceasefire.
The University of Sheffield’s Palestine society organised the rally, located outside Sheffield’s town hall at 10.30 am, and had various demands for the two universities.
They called for all research done by the higher education institutions which have funding links to Israel to be ended and want all commercial/institutional partnerships with the nation disbanded.
On a global level, they called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to, what they view as, Israel’s ‘illegal occupation’ of Palestinian territory.
A high ranking member of the society, part of the protest’s leadership, spoke to Forge Press.
He asked students to: “Always educate yourself, understand the political and historical context of what is going on.”
He is confident that the Society’s current tactics of distributing flyers and participating in rallies will effectively raise awareness and grab attention of people in power such as Members of Parliament.
He points to the passing of a motion by Sheffield City Council, earlier this month, calling for a ceasefire as evidence that their tactics are working:
“If it hadn’t been for the protest that we helped organise on 1st November, I don’t think the motion in Sheffield city council would have passed.”
Speaking to the Sheffield Star shortly after the vote, Sheffield City Council’s leader Tom Hunt offered his thoughts on the situation:
“We have been discussing the appalling heartbreaking scenes in Palestine and Israel. Over the past three and a half weeks we have seen appalling tragedies and we know people in Palestine and Israel and in our city are suffering, grieving.
We as a city council will work for peace and we will call on UK and international politicians to do everything they can to resume the peace process and work for a two-state solution.”
He added that the council: “will be continuing to work together to bring us as a city together over the coming days and weeks.”
Some have accused recent protests of being intimidating or off-putting.
Jasmine, the Palestinian Society’s political advisor, offered this response:
“The point of a protest isn’t to make people feel comfortable, onlookers should feel uncomfortable.
“If it doesn’t disturb you, you may as well just ignore it. The point is to make people aware, upset and riled up; that’s how we persuade others to join the campaign and take forms of action.”
Students further called for an end to the University of Sheffield’s partnerships with BAE systems, Rolls-Royce and Boeing due to the companies’ involvement in the Israeli government’s military equipment procurement.
In a statement from the Students Union regarding the conflict: “We are deeply saddened by the violence taking place in Israel and Gaza…
“We stand in support of all of our members impacted by these tragic and distressing circumstances.
“Our thoughts are especially with those in our student community who have loved ones in the region, or who are grieving for those lost in the conflict.”
If the conflict has affected you in any way, the University of Sheffield’s support services can be found here.
Images credit: Ikmal Arif