Sussex students have set up a protest on Falmer campus, demanding that the university tell them what companies it is investing in, denounce Israel and fly the Palestinian flag over Sussex House.
The demonstrators have put up tents on Library Square, which they have renamed Liberation Square.
In videos from the camp posted on social media, calls of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” led by someone on a megaphone can be heard.
Mohammed Nasser, president of the university’s Friends of Palestine society told Brighton and Hove News: “This liberation zone is based on seven demands, which we have posted on our Instagram.
“Until the university meets out demands we will not leave here.”
The demands are that the University of Sussex:
- Disclose all investments
- Divest from complicity in genocide.
- Invest in Palestinian students, academics and institutions.
- Protect freedom of expression and END REPRESSION of Palestinian voices.
- Denounce Israel’s colonial genocide of Palestinians.
- Uphold the academic boycott and cut ties with Israeli higher education institutions.
- Fly the flag of Palestine over Sussex House
All power to @SussexUni students as they join the worldwide camps on campus! ✊🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/LpGLv77G4d
— Brighton PSC (@BrightonPSC) May 13, 2024
Last week, sussex’s Professor Sasha Roseneil was one of several vice chancellors who met with education secretary Gillian Keegan to discuss anti-Semitism on campus in the context of pro-Palestinian protests.
A University of Sussex spokesperson said: “The university has a foundational commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech within the law and is committed to an inclusive, respectful, and supportive learning environment.
“In light of, this we respect students’ right to engage in peaceful and non-disruptive protest.
“We ask those students who are protesting not to cause disruption or disturbance to other students during this vital time in the academic year nor to interrupt the wider work of the university.
“The university will not tolerate any expressions of antisemitism or any form of racism.”
I agree with opposition to war, but taking one side is not that. This is just supporting Palestine in a war.
Disclose all investments – The students have no business on how the university operates. If they have a problem with a particular university – why did they go there?
Divest from complicity in genocide. – Obviously OK
Invest in Palestinian students, academics and institutions. – Why? This is the UK. We will invest in the UK, and our economy is not here to serve Palestine, or anyone else for that matter.
Protect freedom of expression and END REPRESSION of Palestinian voices. – Certainly end repression of ANY voices, but the paradox here is that these students want to end freedom of expression, unless it’s their expression. Hypocrites.
Denounce Israel’s colonial genocide of Palestinians. – Denounce all genocide, certainly.
Uphold the academic boycott and cut ties with Israeli higher education institutions. – They want censorship and no freedom for some, then. That goes against all of their other demands. Hypocritical and really not very clever.
Fly the flag of Palestine over Sussex House – Occupation of our educational establishments by Palestine? How dare you!
Firstly student fees fund the University so they have a right to know how their money is being spent. The students’ demands follow what the University of Sussex did for Ukraine which is offer Ukrainian scholarships and support Ukrainian universities. They also flew the Ukraine flag in solidarity. Why not fly the Palestinian flag in solidarity against genocide? Also it’s all very well saying end the repression of any voices, but there are no universities left in Gaza after they were all destroyed by Israeli forces. You can All Lives Matter this all you want, but the students are doing the right thing.
If they fly the Palestinian flag to show solidarity against genocide, perhaps they should also fly the Israeli flag to show solidarity against terrorism?
They don’t have a right to anything of the sort. Their money gives them access to an education, nothing more. Anything the university provides beyond that is of its own volition.
Couldn’t agree more. These messages make me hopeful that people still have a brain. As a PhD in Sussex I actually find these ‘protests’ intimidating
Think Hamas has the answers to all your misguided concerns, typical ignorant students, they should all get a proper job.
The same students jump on any protest bandwagon be it Trans rights, global warning etc etc. But please next time you students go on a climate change protest take your rubbish home you left a right mess on Hove lawns last year.
Well most of them were going to get a useless degree anyway. Might as well just fail and then have fun eh ?
I bet the students would not be demonstrating if a family member was being still held as hostage. I am worried for the jewish community here in Brighton and Hove. Students should look at the slaughter that started this War. I do hope a solution is found soon to end the War, but supporting Hamas won’t help ending it.
Zio fascism meet islamo fascism, and the white middle class people in the UK jump on the band wagon to make themselves feel better, shame on you.
In his book 1984, George Orwell warns the reader that a malevolent entity seeks to change the language and mandates how it is used so as to shape the minds and culture of the people. So it is that Hamas and the Palestine Solidarity Campaingers have hijacked the meaning of the word “genocide’ and turned it against the Jews. The reality is that actual “genocides” in the 20th Century have occurred when the Turks killed millions of Armenians, the Germans killed six millions of Jews, plus Roma and Poles to steal their farm land for German farmers. And then there were a million or so Tutsis in Rwanda and Chinese and the Wegers. But no such intentions to kill all Palestinians exist in the minds and hearts of the Israelis. That much should be blindingly obvious. Hamas does have an explicit genocidal intent towards Jews however. Hamas, the PSC, Sourh Africa and. Ireland have debased the word at the ICJ. The latter, by the way, has NOT ruled against Israel; it has just put the question on a back-burner as pressure on Israel to behave within the “rules of war”.
I bet that Netanyahu is awake all night worrying about the UoS students’ protest…
Guilty of being white syndrome
Demand? Who are they to make demands? If they object to how the university is runz they can always leave. I doubt that they have time to study, so it’s all a bit pointless. Perhaps they could get a job and do something yseful. Just a thought, aare they going to give up their mobile phones, as the SIM card was invented in Israel?
The only genocide was by Hamas on Oct.7! Israel has the right to defend itself.
Shame on you letting these people act and influence in Campus with these lies and Antisemitism! Shame on you!