A union for academics at the University of Oxford will hold a vote on declaring solidarity with the “Palestinian people” and calling for “intifada until victory.”
The University and College Union (UCU) scheduled a general meeting of its members for Thursday to vote on a motion related to the Israel-Hamas war, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and killed more than 1,400 people. Multiple members have pushed the union to issue a statement blaming Israel for the attack, according to the U.K. outlet The Telegraph.
A draft motion shared with UCU members calls the ongoing war “a direct consequence of decades of violent oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state,” according to The Telegraph.
“[O]nly a mass uprising on both sides of the green line and across the Middle East can free the Palestinian people,” the motion says. “[I]t is the duty of the international movement of workers and youth to support this struggle,” it continues, calling for “a Socialist Federation of the Middle East” and “intifada until victory.”
The UCU informed its members about Thursday’s vote on the motion in an email. “The Branch Committee has decided to call this meeting in response to requests from multiple members to discuss and debate solidarity motions relating to the ongoing war in Israel and Palestine,” the email said.
Oxford University condemned the Hamas assault in a statement last week issued after the university faced backlash over its initial response to the terror attack that left out any explicit denunciation of Hamas.
“The impact of the appalling attacks by Hamas, and the deep concerns for the civilian Palestinian population and hostages in Gaza itself are understandably being felt by communities across the world, including in our own. Our thoughts are with all those suffering and we stress that there is no place for antisemitism, Islamophobia or hate for any faith at Oxford,” the University’s new statement says.
The Israel-Hamas war has driven massive protests in nearby London. On Saturday, police estimated that “up to 100,000” pro-Palestinian protesters marched through the city for roughly three hours demonstrating against Israeli air strikes in Gaza.
Israel has pummeled Hamas military installations in Gaza since the October 7 attack. The locations are almost always in civilian areas because Hamas uses civilian deaths as propaganda against Israeli retaliation.
An Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip is expected to begin soon to clear out an extensive network of tunnels Hamas has built throughout Gaza. The terror group uses the tunnel network to avoid Israeli air strikes and smuggle and store weaponry.
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