Over 100 Aberystwyth University students, staff and local residents assembled on the concourse outside the student union last Thursday for a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine.

Prior to the protest, a petition urging Aberystwyth University to stop using companies that demonstration organisers say are complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza was signed by over 1,300 people. The petition was handed over to Simon Crick, university finance director, at last Thursday’s demonstration.

The demonstration took place outside the student union last Thursday
The demonstration took place outside the student union last Thursday (Ceredigion PSC)

Demonstrators heard talks from invited guests including Mira Wasserman, president of the AU Jewish society, Talat Chaudhri of the town council, and Professor John Gough, chair of the Aberystwyth UCU.

Two multi award-winning Welsh poets gave readings. Menna Elfyn read one of her poems about Gaza, and Eurig Salisbury read Welsh and English translations of the final poem of Palestinian scholar Refaat Alareer. Refaat was a highly celebrated writer who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in December.

Dinah Mulholland, co-organiser of the event said: “The united front of organisations represented at today’s successful event have called for the university to review their ethical investment policy and not invest at all in companies involved in the arms trade to Israel, and to similarly review their procurement policy.

“We are also calling for the university to apply an ethical stance to their policy on funding, and to divest from funding from Qinetiq and any other arms development companies or manufacturers that supply military hardware to the Israeli state and other oppressive regimes.”

A petition was presented to Aberystwyth University at a pro-Palestine demonstration
A petition was presented to Aberystwyth University at a pro-Palestine demonstration (Ceredigion PSC)

One of the Jewish speakers at the demonstration, Rachel Solnick, is a Doctoral candidate at Aberystwyth University and activist and organiser with Dyfi Valley Palestine Solidarity and Na'amod Jews against the occupation. Rachel said: "It is so essential that we call out institutional and business complicity in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

“It is essential to me as a Jewish member of our community to organise in solidarity with Palestinian voices and welsh voices and Lebanese voices to stand against oppression for anyone.

“The event was full of solidarity and nuance, we heard about so many perspectives, personal stories and links to Israel and Palestine, the role of unions, the histories of colonialism, and British entanglement.

“We all have a role in raising our voices for ceasefire and to stop AUs complicity in defence technologies. Today really demonstrated the power of people coming together."

The demonstration was supported by several local groups including Ceredigion Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Dyfi Valley Palestine Solidarity, Heddwch ar Waith, Palestinian Refugee Project, and CND Cymru.

Responding to the claims made at the demonstration, a spokesperson for Aberystwyth University said: “Aberystwyth University does not hold direct investments in the companies listed by this group in the petition which our Finance Director went to the protest to receive.

“The university’s investments are in pooled funds, and in line with the University’s Ethical Investment Policy, the managers of these pooled funds are required to be signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment as initiated by the then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005.

“The university acknowledges that a very small proportion of its pooled investments might be invested indirectly with companies that do not meet its criteria. As such, the university is committed to improving its Investment Policy and is already in the process of strengthening its approach to socially responsible investments and has appointed new managers and funds to achieve this.”