Palestine Action and its supporters have taken the fight against Elbit to one of the world’s most famous universities. Oxford University got redecorated – not least because of its ties to Elbit Systems; the genocide-enabling Israel arms manufacturer.
Palestine Action: drawing attention to Oxford University
Locals and students worked with Palestine Action overnight on Tuesday 15 October. It was to target Oxford University’s administrative offices at Wellington Square. The building was left covered in red paint and windows were shattered:
BREAKING: Students and locals worked with Palestine Action to target Oxford University’s administrative offices.
The university invest in Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems, amongst other complicit companies.
Oxford, it’s time to divest from Elbit! pic.twitter.com/3paDZeFZdz
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) October 14, 2024
The university is an investor in Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems, despite intense student and community pressure in the past year.
Elbit provides over 85% of Israel’s drones, including the quadcopters used to assassinate countless Palestinian men, women, and children, and has publicly advertised its weaponry as being “battle-tested” on Palestinians. Its business operations are central to Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, and its technologies uphold the brutal occupation regime.
The campaign against Elbit’s backers has seen the likes of Barclays and BNY Mellon shut down repeatedly, to raise-the-stakes of their dealings with genocide.
Oxford University also maintains close ties to Israel by investing in similarly destructive companies. Meanwhile, vice chancellor Irene Tracey maintains a close personal friendship with far-right Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely.
As the Oxford Student reported:
This comes after last term’s encampments on the lawns of the Oxford National History Museum and the Radcliffe Camera, protesting Oxford University’s ties to Israel. The group which organised the encampment, Oxford Action for Palestine, are not believed to have been involved in this protest.
Earlier in the year, students set up an encampment at Oxford University – once again, over its ties to Israel.
A spokesperson for the group said:
No institution has the right to profit from the genocide of the Palestinian people. We encourage all students and citizens to escalate their actions against all institutions and companies who work with Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems.
Together, we will win.
Featured image and additional images via Palestine Action
