Pro-Palestine camp in King’s Parade to close as agreement reached with University of Cambridge

The pro-Palestine encampment, which has been in place outside King’s College since 6 May, is set to close by “within three weeks” after discussions between the University of Cambridge and the student activists.

They have been calling for the university to divest in companies connected to the arms industry and Israel’s war in Gaza, reconsider its academic partnerships and provide support schemes for Palestinian students and scholars.

The university has now agreed to set up a self-governing task force as part of a new working group, which “will be expected to make recommendations to subsequent meetings of the relevant governance committees that oversee policies in relation to research, investments and partnerships”.

In a statement, the university said: “We have been in dialogue with our students for several weeks about the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza. We have respected their right to protest within the law and in line with the community guidelines they set out. At all times we have been aware of the impact of the encampment on our wider community and provided support and reassurance during what has been a difficult time.

“The group has asked several questions about university policy, and we have agreed to explore a number of these through our governance processes.”

The statement, signed by Prof Deborah Prentice, the vice chancellor, Prof Kamal Munir, pro vice chancellor for university community and engagement, and Prof Bhaskar Vira, pro vice chancellor for education, added: “We will treat the opinions of the students on the taskforce with respect, and expect the working group to develop consensual approaches to arrive at their recommendations.”

The Cambridge University Endowment Fund’s (CUEF) currently invests via third-party fund managers.

The process of reviewing responsible investment and research relationship policy “will take place rapidly during Michaelmas Term 2024, with the aim of arriving at initial positions by the end of the term”. The university will also keep the community updated on progress.

On its research relationships, the statement said: “The university commits to reviewing the guidelines that inform academic and industry research ties and collaborations with companies including those falling within the arms/defence category, working through the relevant university committees, and in dialogue with the working group and task force.”

The senior leadership conclude: “Our thoughts remain with all those who are affected by the tragic events taking place in Gaza, other parts of Palestine, Israel and elsewhere, and we hope that the painful process of rebuilding lives and institutions can start in earnest. This will be a long journey, and we are committed, as an institution, to playing our part in these processes.”

The university has also established the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF), initially contributing £100,000, “to help to meet unexpected shortfalls in living costs, as well as exceptional caring responsibilities associated with conflict or crisis, including that in Gaza”. Colleges and departments have been encouraged to contribute to the fund, which will offer grants to support living costs of up to £5,000.

The Cambridge Encampment for Palestine members, who have maintained a continuous and disciplined presence at the King’s Parade site for 82 days so far, responded through the Cambridge for Palestine group, and described the measures as a “first step”.

They said: “In the next three weeks we will move towards a new phase of Cambridge for Palestine organising. This will include closing camp on King's Parade, working on the Concrete Camp project (a permanent physical space for Palestinian liberation organising in Cambridge), finalising the task force, organising a negotiations handover, and setting a first meeting-date for the working group.”

In their statement, on what they called “day 291 of the genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza”, the group said: “For over nine months, Israel has relentlessly destroyed life in Gaza.” It described how “UK universities collectively invest nearly £430m in companies complicit in Israeli violations of international law”.

Cambridge, says the group, has a particular responsibility because “at Cambridge, this historical complicity dates back at least to Arthur Balfour, the former chancellor whose declaration in 1917 laid the groundwork for the Zionist colonial project in Palestine”.

Describing the university’s new commitments as “insufficient”, the statement nevertheless applauded “a long-overdue step toward building an academic institution that has no ties to genocide”.

The working group “will develop and propose to the administration a definition for the arms and ‘defence’ industry”. This definition “will allow the university to rigorously assess any complicity in the genocide through its current investments and will open the door to disclosing aggregate investments in the arms industry”.

The working group will also “review and amend the university's ‘ethical policy’ on academic and research partnerships”. Moreover, “​these processes will not end until all parties are satisfied” - and by “satisfied” Cambridge for Palestine, on behalf of and in cooperation with the students camped at King’s - who will continue their protest in other parts of the city - means “full disclosure of any investments in genocide-enabling companies and institutions, and divestment from such investments”.

The protest group recognised that the University of Cambridge has taken serious steps to assist students and scholars caught up conflict zones through the Humanitarian Response Fund (HRF) - applications have been open since 4 June.

The role of the pro-Palestine task force is not limited to engaging and negotiating with the working group on the definition of arms and defence portfolios. It will also help set up and develop the university’s initiative for “multiple funding schemes for Palestinian students and scholars, including clinical placements for medical students, and an expansion in its support for the Council for at-Risk Academics’ fellowship programme”. Other task force functions are expected to include a review of the university’s definition of antisemitism.

The group cites concerns about the university’s refusing to adopt any terms of the likes of “genocide”, “war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law” in describing Israel’s military occupation and near-destruction of Gaza, where the number of Palestinians killed since the October 7 attacks by Hamas now stands at more than 39,000.

The activities of the Cambridge pro-Palestine protest camp - “a space to mourn the ongoing destruction of life, and grieve that we live in a world where our protest is necessary” - will continue until mid-August.