OA4P: "Ethical" Investments? Updates and Upcoming, Nov 11
Teach-ins on Kashmir and Sudan // Ethical Investment Review Process
Welcome back to the Oxford Action For Palestine newsletter.
We’re glad to have you.
Coming up this week:
Kashmir and Palestine teach-in
Wednesday 13th, 18:30, Quaker Meeting House
Contextualising Sudanese Resistance
Friday 15th, 19:30, Online
Weekly Vigil
Sunday 17th, 18:00, Radcliffe Square
See all in more detail below.
Oxford “Ethical Investments” Review
Oxford University holds assets of £1.3 billion. Individual colleges also have their own endowments, collectively amounting to £5.06 billion. This makes Oxford’s the largest endowment in the country. It is also incredibly opaque, both in the way it is managed and the specificities of the investments that the University holds.
Oxford’s endowment is at the centre of many of OA4P’s six demands. Disclose where and how the University’s money is being invested. Divest from arms manufacturing of all kinds, investments which support the zionist state, and all companies on the BDS list. Overhaul the Ethical Investment Policy to reflect these demands, ensuring that it is not a one-time change but a permanent one.
In light of “concerns raised by members of the University community, in June 2024” the University Council agreed:
to lead an accelerated University wide review of the current prohibition on direct investments in companies manufacturing arms that are illegal under UK law (introduced in 2010) as well as investment in funds which invest primarily in such companies (introduced in 2021), and to discuss this restriction’s continued appropriateness or whether it should be extended.
EIRRS [the Ethical Investment Representations Review Subcommittee] will seek expertise and evidence from various representative groups across the University to hear diverse student and staff voices.
This is an opaque and slow process, but it’s still a route towards changing the way that the University invests its funds. It is the direct result of the pressure put on the University by OA4P and its allies over the last months, on top of years of hard work by those fighting for Palestine in Oxford.
Subscribe for updates and upcoming from OA4P
On Wednesday 13th and Monday 18th November, EIRRS is running webinars open to all Oxford staff and students explaining how the process will work. You can register here [about halfway down the page] and read more of the University’s official reporting on its own processes. Then, submissions will be made via a webform linked on the same page, a written representation on an individual or group basis. We will tell you more as we learn more — but the more submissions made to EIRRS, the more pressure we apply, and the higher the likelihood of change.
This is not where the fight for Oxford’s divestment from the zionist entity ends for OA4P. Far from it. But it is one part of the process; if you are a student or member of staff at the University, please register for a webinar if you are able, and keep your eyes peeled for more news on this process. All submissions must be in by Friday 16th December.
Coming up this week:
Kashmir and Palestine: connecting transnational struggles
Wednesday 13th November, 18:30, Quaker Meeting House - 43 St Giles
On Wednesday evening, please join us at the Quaker Meeting House on St Giles’ Street, for a teach-in on the transnational connections between the struggles for Kashmiri independence and a free Palestine. As well as a deep dive into the history of the Kashmiri struggle, the talk will examine the links between weapons manufacturing in India and israel. This will be a hybrid event, but please join us in person if you are able to!
Alternatively, register for the Zoom link here.
Contextualising Sudanese Resistance
Friday 15th November, 19:30, Online
On Friday, join us online for a teach-in on Sudan and the history of Sudanese resistance. The Sudanese and Palestinian struggles are intertwined and inseparable from the global fight to end colonial violence and topple Western imperialism. Learn to strengthen our cross-movement solidarities and organise together — none of us are free until all of us are.
Sign up here to receive the link to the teach-in.
Weekly Vigil
Sunday 17th November, 18:00, Radcliffe Square
On Sunday evening, we will be holding our weekly vigil to remember and honour the Palestinian and Lebanese martyrs killed by israel’s genocidal aggression. We will gather in Radcliffe Square, close to the Radcliffe Camera. Please join us at 6pm.
Further ahead
Saturday 23rd November - Community Day for Palestine
13:30-17:30, Ark-T @ TheVenue, 242b Barns Road
Save the date for our next Community Day, fundraising for Palestinian and Lebanese initiatives. There will be free lunch, crafts, a movie screening, and a children’s corner. Learn more here — and more information will follow next week.
Recentering the Struggle
From “Palestine Chronology” — reporting on the events of November 4th, 2024
In the West Bank, israeli settlers and soldiers raid al-Mughayyir, stealing olive harvests. israeli settlers also surround 2 homes in Arab al-Milehat with barbed wire. israeli forces shoot and kill a 14-year-old Palestinian during a raid in Halhul. israeli forces also arrest 16 Palestinians during raids in and around Ramallah, Nablus, Tubas, Salfit, and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, israeli authorities force a Palestinian family to demolish their own home in Isawiya.
In Gaza, israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Beit Lahiya, and Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 27 people. israeli forces also bomb the Kamal Adwan Hospital, hitting the children's floor, the nursery department, and water tanks, injuring 6 children.
In Lebanon, israeli forces bomb Burj al-Shemali refugee camp, Tyre, Sidon, Jebchit, Burj al-Muluk, and Mashghara, Hezbollah forces fire rockets at a military base in Haifa.
In Syria, israeli forces carry out a ground raid, capturing a Syrian national that israel claims is spying for Iran.
The team at Palestine Chronology capture a comprehensive timeline that includes snapshots of each day of the genocide, and where is being targeted. The work they are doing is vital, and we will transmit their reporting through a dedicated space at the end of each week’s newsletter.
In strength and solidarity,
Oxford Action For Palestine.
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