The Gulf Coalition Against Normalisation (Gulf CAN) wrote to ten UK universities notifying them of being boycotted by prospective students from the Arab Gulf due to their role in the genocide in Gaza.

The letters informed the universities’ vice-chancellors that the boycott is taking place in response to the insistence on maintaining ties with enterprises that play an essential role in the genocide and occupation. This includes funding, research and other kinds of joint collaborations with weapons manufacturers, companies, universities and institutions that benefit from the ongoing genocide and occupation. It is also a consequence to the failure to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza despite the persistent student protests.

The boycott list has been recently announced by Gulf CAN and include Newcastle University, University of Manchester, University of Liverpool, Coventry University, Northumbria University, Queen Mary University of London, University of Nottingham, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Portsmouth, and University of Leeds. These universities were amongst the most popular destinations for students from the Arab Gulf, and they were all alerted by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and issued with a criminal liability warning.

The stance of UK’s higher education institutions from the ongoing genocide in Gaza reflects severe disregard for the dignity and safety of students in Palestine, the UK, and across the world. Many international and local students have previously reported on how UK universities safeguard the occupation from public critique prior to the current episode of the genocide. Over the past few months, however, many UK universities have also authorised the use of violence against its own students who demanded an end to their university’s role in the genocide. Videos from UK campuses have shown students assaulted physically, sexually, and even forced removal of hijabs.

This level of violence is reflective of how involved the UK higher education sector is in the genocide, vis-a-vis research collaborations with the military and surveillance industry which have close ties with the occupation forces. BAE Systems, QinetiQ, Thales, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, and others, operate their research and development projects within UK educational institutions and incorporate the outcomes of this research in the weaponry used by the occupation.

A spokesperson from Gulf CAN stated: “We are well aware that in the backdrop of the current normalisation deals between Gulf states and the so-called ‘Israeli’ state, lies the intensification of surveillance and military research which contributes to the repression not only of the people of Palestine but also of communities across the world. Our call for a targeted boycott of UK universities accentuates that prospective students from the gulf have a pre-designated role in such pipeline, and thus could intervene to block the support to the occupation. We sanction those universities not only to ensure that our communities remain sound, but more importantly, retain their dignity”.

The campaign launched by Gulf CAN is currently collecting pledges to boycott the aforementioned universities. It is also providing an up-to-date estimate of the financial losses due to the boycott from prospective students from the Gulf.