Motions from Annual General Meeting, 12 June 2024:
Motions from Branch Meeting, 17 May 2024:
Motion from Extraordinary General Meeting, 7 November 2023:
LSE UCU branch (membership-led) motion “Solidarity with Palestine and Academic Freedom” (7 November 2023)
At an Extraordinary General Meeting on 7 November 2023 LSE UCU branch members have passed the motion “Solidarity with Palestine and Academic Freedom”. The EGM was convened following a quorate and formal proposal of a motion by a sufficient number of branch members, in alignment with existing uniondemocratic procedures. The motion was drafted by LSE UCU members, who presented it for discussion, amendment and vote at the meeting. The motion went through a process of discussion and amendments, and was eventually passed in the version above, with the following distribution of votes:
In favour: 28 votes; Abstentions: 7 votes; Against: 3 votes; the vote count totalled 38 members.
The passed motion reads as follows:
Solidarity with Palestine and Academic Freedom
Following calls from Palestinian trade unions and universities, and on the basis of overwhelming evidence of mass violence against civilians and mounting Palestinian civilian death in the current Israeli military offensive against Gaza, this branch calls for:
1. The British government to change their position and join rising international pressure for an immediate ceasefire; to call for the immediate establishment of humanitarian corridors to aid Palestinians in Gaza; and call for UN protection for Palestinians in all of Palestine. That international law and humanitarian law be immediately enforced in both Gaza and the West Bank.
2. The release of all those held hostage and imprisoned, Israeli and Palestinians (upwards of 10,000 people).
3. An end to the 16-year Israeli siege of Gaza and the illegal occupation.
4. An end to UK military, financial and political support for Israel, which is used to perpetuate war crimes.
5. Accordingly, we resolve as a branch to pressure LSE to divest funding and refuse to engage and support any research collaboration (be it by faculty, department or research centre), or research project with any company that collaborates with the Israeli military. We will endeavour to hold LSE to account on respecting its own ESG policy adopted in November 2022 to avoid investment in weapons manufacturing that contribute to the ongoing genocide.
6. We support the continuation of LSE’s line on the sanctity of academic freedom and freedom of speech and we will continue to push for protection and support for faculty, staff and students being targeted over their solidarity for Palestine, under LSE’s duty of care.
7. Finally, we reaffirm our branch’s commitment to anti-racist politics, including our uncompromising position against all forms of racism including Islamophobia and antisemitism.
LSE UCU Branch Committee Statement on Israel-Gaza Conflict and Academic Freedom (16 October 2023)
The LSE UCU branch committee condemns the recent and ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel, and expresses concern and care for our community members and people around the world impacted by the violence and loss of life and freedom. We support and echo UCU’s statement on Israel/Gaza, and join our members and people across the world in mourning the loss of life and continued escalation of violence and in condemning both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Unfortunately, as the logic of escalation and violence spreads, several of our members have been subjected to harassment, hate mail and threats for publicly expressing their solidarity with victims and with political struggles for justice. There is a disturbing inequity in reactions to expressions of support for those affected by this conflict: across the country and world, support for Palestine has been silenced and governments are threatening to criminalize pro-Palestinian statements and political movements. As a committee, we have a duty to defend the academic freedom of our union members and to support critical discussion and democratic engagement around questions of social justice. More broadly, as academics and as people who work within the university, we affirm our right to inhabit this space as free and critical thinkers. We condemn efforts by governments, including the UK and across Europe, who seek to suppress and criminalize political discussion and civil protest, which are fundamental aspects of academic inquiry and free speech.
We believe it is important to unequivocally state: it is unacceptable to equate all Jewish people with the Israeli state, and it is unacceptable to equate all Palestinians and Arabs with Hamas. Members should be able to express support for Palestinians and Palestine as well as Israelis and Israel, and everyone must be free to criticize governments around the world. In this case in particular, it is important that people are able to criticize the Israeli government without accusations of antisemitism. In fact, there are many Jewish organizations, including in Israel, that are strongly critical of the Israeli government and the occupation of Palestine.
We condemn any attacks and political action seeking to threaten and silence UCU members, members of the UK academy and wider communities for their academic and licit political commitments. We reiterate the importance of academic freedom, particularly in the quest for social justice, as this principle comes under renewed assault. We join people across the world in grieving the loss of life in Israel and Palestine, and ask that our members and wider communities be allowed to mourn, to express solidarity, to raise critical concerns, and to protest in these difficult times.
In solidarity,
LSE UCU Branch Committee, 16 October 2023