Students Take Action Against University Of Manchester’s Ties To Tel Aviv University

Last Wednesday, Israel broke the ceasefire with multiple airstrikes on Gaza. The University has consistently ignored students’ demands to cut all ties with Israel, including Tel Aviv University, which is a nodal center for research and development of intelligence, weaponry and surveillance technology for the Israeli military, and is essential to the ongoing genocide of Palestinian lives by the Zionist entity.

Most importantly, the University of Manchester has had a joint research partnership fund with Tel Aviv University since 2021. UoM puts forward a total of forty thousand GBP annually for up to 8 short- term research projects, along with 17200 NIS (approximately thirty-six thousand GBP) from TAU. The 2023 call for proposals stated that projects which “demonstrat[e] strong relevance to strategic priorities at the participating institutions” would be preferred. So far, the University has spent eighty- nine thousand, two hundred and forty- eight GBP towards the fund. It plans to re- open applications for the fund this month, despite multiple direct actions from the students reminding the administration to discuss and consider ending the fund and other research ties that the UoM faculty has with Tel Aviv University.

To honour Israel Apartheid Week and in remembrance of nearly fifty thousand lives lost in Gaza since Israel broke ceasefire last Wednesday, the students are occupying the Simon Building in protest of the University’s complicity in the ongoing genocide. Our demands are as follows:-

1) Cut ties with Tel Aviv University and all Israeli institutions

2) End the partnership with BAE systems

3) Adopt an ethical research policy

There will also be a demonstration on Thursday, joined by members of the larger Mancunian community. The demonstration will take place Thursday at the Whitworth Hall Arch, M13 9PL, at 5pm.

Students are especially protesting the University's ties to Tel Aviv University, demanding that these ties are cut and that UoM adopt ethical research and financial policies. UoM talks of academic neutrality and their commitment to excellent research output and training students facilitate positive social transformation. Yet, it shamelessly and loudly associates itself with TAU, which since its conception, has had an active central role in the war crimes and injustices that the IDF commits. There are no Universities in Gaza, no one has started term in Palestine as students have in Britain and institutions like Tel Aviv University are directly contributing to that.

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