Students call on Trinity to cut ties with Israeli arms firms

The protest came after the college was issued a legal notice of potential ‘complicity’ in ‘war crimes’

Protestors accused the college of funding genocideWilf Vall for Varsity

by Wilf Vall

This article is 2 years old

Sunday March 17 2024, 6:03pm

Students gathered outside Trinity College in a demonstration against the college’s investments in Israel’s largest arms firm.

The protest, held on Saturday (16/03), called on the college to “stop funding genocide” and labelled Israel a “terror state”.

The organisers of the event also called for a divestment from all companies profiting from “suffering abroad” such as Rolls Royce and Caterpillar, both of which manufacture military equipment.

The event was organised after Trinity was issued a legal notice over potential “complicity” in “war crimes”, following an investigation from Middle East Eye that found the college has £61,735 currently invested in Israel’s largest arms company, Elbit Systems.

In an open letter to the Master and the Senior Bursar, the protestors stated: “As a world-leading educational institution, Trinity must not be investing in companies causing so much death and destruction that may amount to genocide, and instead should be supporting the College’s mission of advancing education and research”.

The letter continued: “There is precedent to Trinity taking action at times of crisis: following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the college rightly condemned the aggression, committed to divesting from complicit holdings, and established a £250,000 relief fund for students and scholars affected by the war.”

Trinity issued legal notice over potential ‘complicity’ in Israeli ‘war crimes’

Trinity has committed to withdraw all of its investments in the fossil fuel industry by 2031, and pulled all investments out of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Its delay in divesting from Israeli companies has led the organisers of the event to accuse Trinity of ‘hypocrisy’ and ‘being selective’ about preventing suffering.

One student told Varsity: “I feel ashamed to be at this college at the moment. The same place that prides itself on being a beacon of hope and human progress, and it’s currently profiting off what could be the biggest genocide of the 21st century.”

They added: “What business does an educational institution have investing in arms companies anyways? The college is so rich yet they refuse to put that money towards actually aiding those who are suffering and instead chose to cash in on their deaths”.

Trinity College has been contacted for comment.

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