Imran Mulla
Middle East Eye / July 23, 2024
University says demonstrations and appeals by the student union and in colleges prompted it to consider whether policy ‘in line with our institutional values’.
The UK’s University of Cambridge has announced it will review its approach to “responsible investment” in response to a months-long pro-Palestinian student encampment at the university.
The university administration said in a statement on Tuesday: “The Students’ Union approved motion, various college-level approved motions, and the students protesting with the Cambridge Encampment for Palestine have expressed a concern to us that our current investment may not be in line with our institutional values, especially in relation to the arms/defence industry.”
It promised to consider “ways of defining and monitoring defence exposures within investment portfolios” as part of the review.
This comes after Middle East Eye revealed in May that the council of Cambridge’s wealthiest constituent college, Trinity, voted to divest from all arms companies, but that it later decided not to announce the decision.
Trinity refused to confirm or deny this in response to multiple requests for comment in May.
On 6 May, around 100 students gathered on the lawn outside King’s College. They erected tents and demanded the university commit to divesting from companies involved in Israel’s war on Gaza.
The protest picked up support from students and staff members, and negotiations between the university and protesters began in late May.
The university administration said on Tuesday that it has had a “constructive dialogue” with delegates on behalf of the protesters.
As a result of the negotiations, it has also committed to funding Palestinian academics and students to go to Cambridge and said that “a Palestinian scholar has already been accepted to come to Cambridge shortly with their family”.
The university has also committed to forming a working group, including student representatives, which it will work with to review investments and propose further steps.
The encampment, meanwhile, continues to attract new protesters. A spokesperson for the encampment told MEE that negotiations with the university on the protesters’ demands are ongoing.
Imran Mulla is a journalist at Middle East Eye
