Dozens of students and staff members have erected encampment outside the Students’ Union building since May 1 to show solidarity with Palestinians, in the midst of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The encampment is viewed as replicating the wave of demonstrations on college campuses across the United States, where riot police cracked down on pro-Palestine protests and arrested more than 2,000 people.
Sheffield Campus Coalition for Palestine (SCCP) organised the protest outside the Students’ Union.
The group is a coalition of staff, students, and alumni from Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield who are critical of Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
Betty, a research student at the University of Sheffield, spoke on behalf of SCCP.
“We’re here as an escalation in existing campaign against the university’s entanglements with Israel,” she said.
“Obviously, we’ve been inspired by what comes out in the US. I’ve been doing particularly due to the bravery of students at Colombia University and UCLA.
“We very much see ourselves as part of a national and international movement. That’s what we draw strands from.”
SCCP is demanding the University of Sheffield to financially divest from arms trades with Israeli companies.
The group is against of Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s involvement in enhancing the production of F-35 fighter jets, in particular.
It also calls for an academic boycott of Israeli education institutions and urges the University of Sheffield to listen to students’ demands.
She said there were several lectures and talks held in the last three days at the encampment, as well as banner-making sessions and Friday prayer.
People were also offloading supplies and food for protesters as they plan to stay over a long period of time.
Julie Pearm, who was giving out leaflets of a pro-Palestine march in Endcliffe, said: “I’m here to support the students. The encampment is wonderful.”
During a rally on May 2, protesters also chanted pro-Palestine slogans, such as “In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, latter of which the American Jewish Committee says is offensive.
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UPDATE: The pro-#Palestine encampment at the University of Sheffield has moved to the field to clear the paths going to the SU building and Firth Court. #Sheffield pic.twitter.com/eACcZQNb2d
— Siuho Tung (@tshtung) May 2, 2024
Similar protests are taking place in other higher education institutions in the UK, including Bristol, Newcastle, Warwick and Edinburgh.
In an email sent to all students, Professor Mary Vincent, the Vice-President for Education, said: “We respect the right of our students to protest peacefully and within the law, and teaching continues as normal.
“While we encourage and support the right to freedom of speech, it is important to reiterate that it is never an excuse for bullying, harassment, discrimination. This includes any incidents of racism, antisemitism or Islamophobia.”
Community guidelines at the encampment advise protesters not to smoke by the tents or consume drugs and alcohol. They are also told not to talk with security guards and the media.
Betty said the university has not contacted the coalition over their demands.
She added: “We aim to hold out for as long as possible. We’re not going away until our demands are met.”
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