Oriel JCR TT24 wk 7 - Motion 4

OA4P Support Motion

See the motion document or the attached document in the email named "OA4P Support Motion" for the full motion.

Oriel JCR supports the demands of the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) encampment, as of May 6th 2024, and calls on the University of Oxford and Oriel College to implement them as soon as possible. The demands are as follows:

 

  1. Disclose University-wide assets (including those of Oriel College specifically)
    1. Annually disclose a comprehensive account of University-wide assets, including direct and indirect investments, land holdings, donations, and grants.

 

  1. Divest from Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation
    1. Immediately divest University-wide direct and indirect holdings in all arms companies.
    2. Publicly pledge to completely divest University-wide direct and indirect holdings in all companies that are complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation of Palestine within the next 5 years.

 

  1. Overhaul the University Investment Policy
    1. Expand the ethical restriction on arms manufacturers to cover direct and indirect investments in all arms and military technology companies.
    2. Add an ethical restriction to the Investment Policy on direct and indirect investments in companies that are complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation.
    3. Integrate community stakeholders in ethical investment review processes to ensure that all investment decisions adhere to justice-based guidelines.

 

  1. Boycott the Israeli government’s genocide, apartheid, and occupation
    1. Suspend all current, and pledge not to enter into future, institutional relationships with Israeli universities that are complicit in  the Israeli government’s apartheid, occupation, and Palestinian genocide, as long as Israeli genocide, apartheid, or occupation is ongoing.
    2. Suspend research, career, and procurement partnerships with companies and institutions that are complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid, or occupation.

  

  1. Stop banking with Barclays 
    1. In light of Barclays bank’s extensive investments in companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology [1][2][3], the University of Oxford and its Subsidiaries must stop banking with Barclays.

 

  1. Support the Palestinian-led rebuilding of education in Gaza
    1. Publicly commit to supporting, through financial and material means, the Palestinian-led rebuilding of the twelve universities that have been completely, or in part, destroyed by Israeli aggression in the last year.
    2. Establish and support a long-term task force composed of staff, students, and relevant Palestinian community members who will recommend how best to meet the call issued by Palestinian higher education institutions to rebuild the higher education sector in Gaza.
    3. Publicly commit to allocating resources in the interim to support scholars at risk in Palestine through, but not limited to, exchanges, joint projects, academic fellowships and partnerships, and scholarship programmes.

 

Oriel JCR supports these demands in rejecting and fighting against the complicity of this university in the unfolding genocide;

 

Oriel JCR believes that when the demands reference “Israeli universities”, this should read “Israeli universities that are complicit in Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation”. 

 

Oriel JCR believes that when the demands refer to Barclays “extensive investments in companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology”, the phrase ‘extensive investments’ should be more explicit in its meaning. 

 

Oriel JCR notes that accusations of genocide are alleged, and when the demands refer to ‘genocide’, this should be phrased as a ‘risk of genocide’. 

 

This JCR condemns the University’s refusal to engage in negotiations with OA4P, and their decision to instead escalate the situation and call the police on protestors.

 

We call on Oriel College to delink from all banks that extensively invest in companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology. 

 

We call for senior college officials, and the college itself to support the six demands for divestment through voting for such at the conference of colleges or other relevant university-wide bodies.

 

[1] https://www.palestinecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/Barclays-Arming-Apartheid-FINAL-1.pdf

[2] https://palestinecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/Barclays-report-May-2024-v3-FINAL.pdf

[3]https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023_DBIO-III-Report_11-December-2023.pdf