Newnham for Palestine (N4P), a new student activist group, has written an open letter calling on the College to divest from companies accused of supporting Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

Addressed to Alison Rose, the College’s principal, as well as Newnham’s governing body, the letter claims that by continuing to invest in these companies, the College is “complicit in the ongoing genocide… and human rights abuses occurring in occupied Palestine”.

The letter, written by a collective of “students, staff, alumni and supporters” of Newnham College, goes on to claim that Newnham has invested “over twenty million pounds” in the companies, as part of the College’s endowment, which amounted to nearly £80 million as of 2024.

According to the letter, the investments include £3.9 million in Microsoft, £2.8 million in Alphabet, and £105,800 in Palantir. 

A spokesperson for the College rejected these claims, telling Varsity: “Newnham College does not invest directly in any of the companies listed. Newnham College invests in the State Street World Screened Index Equity Fund which follows the MSCI Word Screened Choice Index, which has about 1,250 companies in it.”

Additionally, the letter criticises Newnham’s use of the platform Booking.com to list Newnham rooms for short-term rentals, as well as investing £115,000 into its parent company. Calls have been made to boycott Booking.com due to its operating of holiday rentals in parts of the West Bank.

Currently featuring over 90 signatures, the letter condemns the College for breaking its claim to have “invested in a responsible manner” in its 2021 Statement of Investment Principles.

N4P’s letter makes a number of demands on Newnham, including calling on the College to fully divest from funds that include “meaningful exposure,” to “complicity in human rights and international law violations,” as well as “fossil fuel emissions”.

Additionally, the letter calls for Newnham to “reinvest” in funds excluding these industries, as well as creating scholarships for students seeking sanctuary, and demanding the Cambridge University Endowment Fund “disclose their investments”. The letter gives a deadline of 5th December for its demands.

This comes after King’s College announced in May that it would divest from arms companies, following nearly a year of sustained pressure from student campaigners. The open letter cites King’s College’s divestment as an example, saying that it shows that there are “clear options” for the college to take.

It also follows Trinity College choosing to backtrack on its decision to divest earlier this year. A University-wide arms investments review is currently ongoing.

A Newnham spokesperson continued: “This index, and therefore the State Street fund in which the College invests, excludes: companies that are associated with controversial, civilian, and nuclear weapons as well as tobacco; companies that derive revenues from thermal coal power and extraction of select fossil fuels; companies that are not in compliance with the United Nations Global Compact principles; and companies that are involved in Red Flag ESG controversies.

“It should also be noted that neither Microsoft nor Alphabet (among other companies) are included in the list of 158 companies in the United Nations Human Rights Office database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.”