24.06.24: 17:51
Update: University fences off first OA4P encampment site
Oxford University fenced off the Natural History Museum lawn, where Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) built their first encampment, on Sunday morning. The University stated plans to reopen the lawn for public use and claimed to be in communication with the encampment, although this was denied by OA4P.
13.06.24: 09.25
Update: Exam Schools occupied: Exams in East School cancelled
Pro-Palestine protesters from an autonomous group have occupied a hall in the East School in Exam Schools before the start of some examinations. The exams, which were meant to take place this morning in the East School, have been cancelled.
06.06.24: 15.45
OA4P protest outside Oxford University Endowment Management offices
Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) has gathered outside the Oxford University Endowment Management (OUEM) offices to continue to press their demands to disclose and divest University funds. This demonstration follows today’s announcement that the University Administration has agreed to meet with students to discuss the demands of the OA4P encampment.
Demonstrators arranged bloodied shirts and fake bills outside the entrance of the OUEM building. These bills carried messages such as: “OUEM and Oxford University endorsers of murder”, “Oxford stop scholasticide” and “end complicity in genocide.” Similar bills were also stuffed inside the mailbox of the OUEM building.
A spokesperson at the rally addressed demonstrators and said: “While we stand here, the money in this building is flowing towards arms manufacturing companies globally that are contributing to the genocide of Palestine people in Gaza.” We are here today as members of the Oxford Action for Palestine movement to demand that the University disclose its finances.”
One participant at the protest told Cherwell: “We’re here because after more than a month of protest, the University of Oxford and its subsidiary OUEM have shown no indication of actual, concrete movement towards our chief demands of the disclosure of their finances and their divestment.”
06.06.24: 09.30
Oxford University to meet with students from OA4P
A month after the Oxford Action for Palestine encampment began, students announced that yesterday night Oxford University’s Vice-Chancellor, Irene Tracey, and other senior members of administration have responded to their email request for a meeting, and students are in the process of arranging a discussion.
01.06.24: 13.30
OA4P march through Oxford City Centre
Oxford Action for Palestine (O4AP) have organised a march from Oxford Brookes into Oxford City Centre. They have prevented the flow of the traffic and police are lining the street.
Over 400 protesters are participating in the march and chanting “Irene Tracey / Rishi Sunak / Keir Starmer / the Oxford Union you can’t hide, we’re charging you with genocide.” There were also shouts of “ceasefire now”.
30.05.24: 14:14
OA4P removes the encampment in Wellington Square as the rally ends.
After setting up camp outside University offices, protesters packed up their tents and walked to the encampment outside the Radcliffe Camera.
30.05.24: 13.35
Update: OA4P sets up encampment outside Oxford University offices in Wellington Square
Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) is protesting outside of Oxford University offices in Wellington Square. Surrounded by a growing crowd of 300 chanting protesters, OA4P has set up five tents on the doorsteps of the offices. This comes a week after police arrests of 17 students who entered the offices.
Heavy police presence watches the protesters. An officer told Cherwell that they’re here to “facilitate peaceful protests” and another officer said that the protesters have a right to be there and set up tents. Currently, police are not intervening but are ready in case anything escalates.
28.05.24: 14.40
OA4P hold a silent protest in front of the Sheldonian Theatre
A group of around 50 gathered outside the Sheldonian Theatre this afternoon to protest the destruction of schools in the Gaza strip. The protest, organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P), involved individuals surrounding multiple entrances to the Sheldonian Theatre, where a University meeting was taking place. Protesters held up signs which said: “Israel has damaged or destroyed 429 schools in Gaza” and displayed images of the destroyed schools. The protest was a silent protest and members of Oxford University Security Services were also present.
27.05.24: 09.30
Somerville College JCR passes motion calling for Vice-Chancellor’s resignation
Somerville College Junior Common Room (JCR) passed a motion on Sunday evening to release a statement, which included a demand for the resignation of Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, over her response to recent pro-Palestine protests in Oxford.
23.05.24: 19.58
All seventeen arrested protesters have been released on conditional bail.
OA4P told Cherwell this was evidence “refuting the narrative that anyone was violent.” They also denied the claim that their protest included a “forcible overpowering” of a receptionist during protests, a phrase used by Oxford University in their recent statement on the protests.
23.05.24: 19.55
Update: Oxford University condemns ‘criminal’ and ‘violent action’ of OA4P in new University response
Oxford University has released a statement about the recent protests organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) and the arrest of 16 students that took place this morning during their sit-in protest in the University’s administrative offices in Wellington square. The statement describes the “direct action tactics” used by the protestors as “violent and criminal”, instructing them that “this is not how to do it.”
23.05.24: 15.00
Protests continue outside Conference of College meeting at H. B. Allen Centre
Around 2pm, protests gathered outside of Keble College, where all heads of colleges are attending the Conference of Colleges. The students briefly occupied the reception area, and security have evacuated the café. Police have arrived at Keble College and are filming protesters.
23.05.24: 13.30
Thames Valley Police launch drone from Somerville College quad
Thames Valley Police entered Somerville College to launch a drone from one of the Quads. Police told the College this was “to maintain the safety of individuals in the nearby protests.” Somerville College told Cherwell that “police had no business to be on Somerville College grounds” and once this was decisions as reached, they were asked to leave by Principal Jan Royall. The College asserted that: “we support and respect the right of all our students to protest peacefully.”
23.05.24: 11.55
Protesters block police van leaving Little Clarendon Street
A police van van trying to leave the sit-in down Little Clarendon Street is being blocked by protesters sitting on the ground holding up peace signs.
23.05.24: 11.15
Students arrested during OA4P sit-in at University offices
OA4P protesters staged a sit-in at the University Administration offices in Wellington square with the aim to remain until they could speak to the Vice-Chancellor. Some of the protesters have since been arrested after the police arrived at the scene and locked down the building.
19.05.24
Rally breaks out at the second OA4P encampment at the Radcliffe Camera
Following the expansion of the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) encampment to the Radcliffe Camera lawn this morning, over 500 people turned out to a rally in Radcliffe Square.
19.05.24
OA4P encampment expands to Radcliffe Camera lawn
Oxford Action for Palestine set up a second encampment of ten tents on the lawn of Oxford University’s iconic Radcliffe Camera library in the early morning of 19th May. Calling it “Liberated Zone #2.” The campers “will not leave until the negotiation process begins,” according to a statement.
18.05.24
Oxford graduates step over protesters during pro-Palestine ‘die-in’
Around 30 protesters staged a ‘die-in’ outside the Sheldonian Theatre and Bodleian Library Saturday morning during graduations. The demonstration comes after the University released an official statement which one activist described as “long and so incredibly empty.”
17.05.24
Oxford College JCRs pass motions in support of pro-Palestine encampment
Several Oxford University junior common rooms (JCRs) have passed motions expressing solidarity with the recently established pro-Palestine encampment.
16.05.24
Pro-Palestine protests continue after Vice Chancellor’s statement
Over 600 gathered in front of the Clarendon Building on 16th May for a rally organised by healthcare workers and Oxford Action for Palestine students. Speakers discussed media co-optation of the ongoing encampment’s narratives and encouraged focusing attention on Gaza.
14.05.24
University statement on Palestine Solidarity encampment affirms right to protest, outlines investment policy
The University today released an official response to the pro-Palestine encampment organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) in an email sent to all students and staff from Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey.
09.05.24
Oxford Israel Society and Jewish Students For Justice release statements addressing pro-Palestine encampment
Oxford Israel Society issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the pro-Palestine encampment organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P), which was set up on Monday 6th May in front of the Pitt Rivers Museum. The Society condemned OA4P’s “failure” to mention Hamas’ role in the war in the Gaza strip and called on the University to reject the protesters’ demands.
08.05.24
24 hours inside the OA4P encampment
Mud swamps over grass where disintegrating cardboard and puddled tarp trace a crude footpath; wooden pallets provide the only solid ground. Upon this foundation lies Oxford’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, a community supported by donations where students learn from teach-in lectures and look after one another. As a Cherwell journalist embedded in the camp for the first night, I didn’t scrounge for polished statements but documented the mundane details of life in the “Liberated Zone.” Here’s what I observed.
08.05.24
Pro-Palestine protesters rally in attempt to present demands to Vice-Chancellor
A group of around 150, organised by Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P), rallied outside the Sheldonian Theatre during Vice-Chancellor’s awards on 8th May, aiming to hand their demands to Oxford University’s leaders.
07.05.24
Over 170 Oxford faculty and staff sign statement of support for students’ pro-Palestine encampment
Over 170 faculty and staff at Oxford University have signed an open letter expressing their support for the ongoing pro-Palestine encampment. The statement calls for divestment from Israeli actions in Gaza and for support for Palestinian scholars, following the destruction of all universities in Gaza.
06.05.24
Pro-Palestine protesters establish encampment demanding University action
An encampment has been constructed in Oxford in protest of Israeli action in Palestine and calling for the University to “end complicity with genocide”. Students, faculty, and staff have gathered to demand that the University reveal and divest funding into Israel and arms companies, as well as boycott all institutional connections with Israeli universities.
