The University of Edinburgh has announced it will reassess its investment in companies associated with Israeli arms sales, following protests by students and staff.
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Peter Mathieson announced the formation of a working group to review part of the institution’s responsible investment policy relating to armaments.
A three-month consultation is due to begin on May 31 where students and staff members may share their views on updates to the policy.
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The university’s responsible investment policy currently includes a commitment not to invest in “controversial weapons”.
However, an open letter signed by the University and College Union (UCU) on May 8 demanded that the university divest from companies they say have directly and indirectly supported Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Edinburgh Live spoke with student protestors camped in the Old College.
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One protestor, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We’re specifically targeting Edinburgh because as students here, it’s important for us to challenge investment at the institution that’s most directly facing us.
“But at the same time we’re coordinating with other encampments across the UK and internationally, in the United States. It’s definitely situated within the broader movement.
“We are in communication with the sabbatical officers of EUSA (Edinburgh University Student’s Association), and they released a statement in support of this camp.”
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The Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS), who organised the encampment, claim to have received support from members of staff and EUSA.
Protestors say previous conversations between with the university executive had not led to a constructive outcome.
Another protestor said: “I would not say it was extremely productive. It felt quite bureaucratic. The decision to take this action did not come out of a vacuum.
“This comes as a result of, just in the most recent stage, months of previous actions, negotiations and we feel we were put into a position where we had to escalate to an action of this type to get action to be taken by the university on divestment.
“The many, many other avenues that we’ve been trying to pursue for months prior to this have not resulted in any substantive action.
“We have tried to communicate with higher executives in meetings, and we were only met with a bureaucratic response.
“Divestment is not something new that’s been argued for the university. EUSA has been trying to argue for it for months, if not since October 7, and so have staff. It’s a unified front.”
Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur Balfour was chancellor of the university when he signed the ‘Balfour Declaration’ in 1917, which supported the creation of the state of Israel.
In their official response to EUJPS’ demand for divestment, university deans said: “We accept that some of the companies in which our investment managers or their agents have made minor investments can be shown to have indirect links to Israel but these do not include directly funding weaponry or the armed forces. We do not agree that the university’s investments make us ‘complicit in genocide’.
They added: “We have a responsible investment policy which includes not investing in controversial weapons (as well as considerations on the tobacco industry, fossil fuels etc).”
When Edinburgh Live contacted the university for a response, a spokesperson said: “We have reaffirmed our commitment to divesting from armaments and have commissioned a small working group to consider the scope of that commitment.
“There will be further opportunity for all staff and students to share their views on our responsible investment policy through a university-wide consultation that will launch later this month.”