Dear Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Schofield, 


You will no doubt have seen the recent widespread protests across the world in support of Palestine. This wave of international solidarity erupted following Palestinian resistance to ongoing ethnic cleansing, captured poignantly by the example of several Palestinian families being evicted from their homes in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. This move by the Israeli courts and the ensuing outrage sparked yet another wave of violence from the Israeli Defence Force. Peaceful worshipers have been attacked in the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah has been placed under siege, and Gaza has been subjected to a relentless bombardment. Eleven days of violence and bloodshed have drawn the attention and outrage of people across the world, and despite the ceasefire agreed on 21st May, the suffering of the Palestinian people is far from over. At least 243 Palestinians, including more than 100 women and children have been killed in Gaza, and 12 people, including 2 children, have been killed in Israel. According to the United Nations, 72,000 Palestinians have been displaced by the violence, mirroring the decades of suffering, violence, and hardship the Palestinian people have endured at the hands of successive Israeli governments. 

However, this violence has not gone without international condemnation. Millions of people from all over the world, united by a common sense of humanity and empathy for the Palestinian people, have taken a stand against Israeli human rights abuses and are standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine. On Saturday, thousands of people joined the largest pro-Palestinian protest in British history. With over 200,000 protestors in London, and thousands more in Cardiff, Manchester, and other cities across the country. This has contributed to a major awakening of public opinion and there are increasing calls for Palestinan human rights to be recognised and protected. The people of Lancaster, including many students from our university, have also joined this movement and expressed their solidarity with Palestinians. The Friends of Palestine Society have organised two protests in Dalton Square, with over 300 people attending on both occasions, including students, residents, Palestinian refugees - one of who is an alumnus of Lancaster University - and local representatives such as Cat Smith MP.

Following these protests, we are writing to you as our Vice-Chancellor to express concern over Lancaster University’s investments in companies that enable Israel’s violations of international law and of Palestinian human rights. According to Freedom of Information requests, the University invests over £58,248 in BAE Systems, G4S, and Caterpillar, among other companies complicit in Israeli apartheid. BAE provides the targeting displays in F-16 fighter jets, which Israel used extensively in its attack on Gaza in 2014, killing over 2,100 Palestinians, a third of them children. Caterpillar supplies armoured bulldozers to Israel that are used to facilitate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by continual demolition of their homes and communities. G4S is a British security company that helps Israel run prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are held without trial and subjected to torture and ill-treatment. G4S is also involved in providing equipment and services to Israeli military checkpoints, illegal settlements and to military and police buildings.
 
We believe, as we are sure you do too, that every human, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, should have their human rights respected. Israel has systematically violated international law and the rights of Palestinians. It is currently in breach of, or has been the subject of, over 30 United Nations Security Council resolutions. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have routinely highlighted war crimes committed by Israel during their many assaults on Gaza, an “open-air prison”. Illegal settlements continue to be built in the West Bank, and the UN recently published a report accusing Israel of imposing an apartheid regime.  
 
Our university prides itself on being a leader in creating a better world through sustainability actions, international engagement, and cutting-edge research. We hope that in taking on such a leadership role internationally, we consider the implications of our actions and inactions. Our university has a set of financial management principles for this very reason; because we know that our values and the way we manage our finances has an impact both locally and globally.

We call on you to use your power and responsibility as leader of this institution to make a difference. We call on you to make sure the tuition fees of students go towards creating a sustainable and just future, and to acknowledge our right to be proud students at Lancaster University without the burden of contributing to the death and destruction of an entire people. This goal can be achieved by standing in solidarity with international movement to divest from companies propping up Israel’s crimes. As the Chief Executive of the University with overall responsibility for its operation and strategic direction, it is within your power to direct the University towards divesting from BAE Systems, G4S, Caterpillar and other complicit companies and ensure that investment in companies such as these does not occur again. This should require the adoption of a stronger screening and financial management policy that excludes investment in any company involved in blatant human rights abuses. 

Under your predecessors, Lancaster University had a strong reputation for standing up against South African apartheid, with frequent student protests and the University itself offering assistance to student refugees fleeing the apartheid regime. We now urge Lancaster University to be part of the same movement that contributed to the end of South African apartheid and treat Israel in the same manner as South Africa was treated in the past, by adopting a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) policy until the aims of the BDS movement are achieved.

Taking such action would be a hugely significant and positive step from Lancaster University, but it would not be without precedent, even from other local academic institutions. Less than a year ago, the University of Manchester divested more than £10 million from investments in companies complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people. Other universities have recognised that their investment activities can have dire consequences across the world and have taken responsibility, turning towards a more ethical and sustainable investments policy. Despite student pressure for several years, including a motion at the 2019 Students’ Union AGM, our university still has no public ethical investments policy and does not openly disclose the nature of its investments. This is a breach of the University's own commitment to 'the highest standards of openness, integrity, impartiality and accountability' in 'all of its financial dealings' and we are writing to you to ask that you intervene to rectify this. We recognise and accept that all universities make significant investments of various types to protect and advance their future financial security, but Lancaster University’s investment should encourage sustainability and positive social impact, not the violation of human rights. 

We look forward to hearing your response to our concerns, and we can be contacted on lancsfop@gmail.com if you wish to discuss this further. We welcome any contribution you may wish to have to this discussion, and we sincerely implore you to use your voice to ensure that Lancaster University does not fund or endorse the oppression of the Palestinian people any longer.
 

Signed in the hope of a free Palestine in our lifetime,