Around 200 students and staff protest University of Edinburgh's Israel links on October 7 anniversary
Approximately 200 members of the University of Edinburgh community demonstrated against the university's connections to Israel, marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.
On the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, roughly 200 University of Edinburgh students and staff staged a walk from the library to Old College, unveiling a "martyr's list" of Gaza victims and calling for an immediate end to contracts with Israeli companies. The action builds on a longer history of protests, graffiti, and petitions that accuse the university of financial entanglement with firms tied to Israel's surveillance network and the Gaza conflict, as highlighted in a 2025 UN report.
Parallel rallies took place in Glasgow, featuring slogans about Palestine and UK funding of violence. Authorities arrested five individuals for alleged racial-hate chanting during a separate protest outside the Board of Deputies in Camden. University leaders have been advised to tighten security and maintain dialogue with Jewish student groups, while Universities UK issued guidance on handling such demonstrations.
Why it matters
The protest highlights ongoing campus debates over ethical investment and the impact of the Gaza conflict on UK universities.
How this story developed
- Sep 22 Green Party leader clashes with pro-Palestinian motion calling for Israel's dissolution
- Oct 2 Polanski publicly declared an anti‑Zionist stance at a hustings event.
- Oct 4 The conference established a locked safe room for Jewish participants amid the Zionism debate.
- Oct 4 The motion passed with 1,022 votes for and 813 against, adopting language that labels Zionism as racism and endorses a single democratic Palestinian state throughout historic Palestine.
- Oct 5 Israel’s foreign ministry announced a ban on Green Party leader Zack Polanski from entering Israel.
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