Oxford Has Two Liberated Zones

The pro-Palestinian activists at Oxford University decided one tent city wasn’t enough, so they established another “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Sunday. The iconic Radcliffe Camera is Oxford’s second “liberated zone.”

The Radcliffe Camera is a popular destination for students seeking quiet refuge in a library and tourists snapping photos. Now, it isn’t quite as enchanting: The fence around the lawn has Palestinian flags and signs that say things such as: “All eyes on Gaza,” “The people’s university for Gaza,” “The Dr. Refaat Al-Areer Memorial Library,” and “Israel has destroyed every university in Gaza.” About 15 tents have been erected beside the Radcliffe Camera, in addition to the ongoing encampment outside the Pitt Rivers Museum that has roughly 60 tents. 

“Our encampment’s expansion sits on the lawn of the Radcliffe Camera, where men such as Alfred Milner, chief architect of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, sat and studied more than 100 years ago,” the protesters wrote on social media. “Today, it remains an undying symbol of Oxford’s legacy.” (I’m unsure whether the antecedent of “it” is “the lawn of the Radcliffe Camera” or “the 1917 Balfour Declaration.”)

The group demands that Oxford University 1) annually disclose university-wide assets, 2) divest from “Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation,” 3) overhaul its investment policies, in part by changing the formal ethical restrictions, 4) “boycott Israeli genocide, apartheid, and occupation,” 5) stop banking with Barclays due to the bank’s “extensive investments in companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology,” and 6) support Palestinian-led rebuilding of education in Gaza, in part through academic fellowships and scholarship programs. 

“There can be no business as usual while enabling a genocide,” the Oxford Action for Palestine group wrote on social media. “The University must not be allowed to forget this, and, to that end, we will continue to disrupt its functioning until our demands are met.” 

Indeed, the activists have disrupted activities on campus. Around 30 protesters covered themselves in fake blood and staged a “die-in” demonstration that blocked exits of the Sheldonian Theatre and the Bodleian Library during graduation ceremonies on Saturday. Additionally, the protesters rallied while wearing white shirts covered in fake-blood handprints. They held a large banner said “no graduations for Gaza class of 2024” and smaller signs that spelled “blood on your hands.” 

The activists proudly celebrate ruining what should have been a pleasant day recognizing the accomplishments of diligent students. The Oxford Action for Palestine group wrote, to which I add emphasis, “When nearly fifty students in blood-soaked academic dress blocked entry to the Sheldonian Theatre, with guests and graduands having to climb over protesters to gain entry into the building, this University’s continued inaction and silence materialised in a public display of their avoidance.”

The students “put their bodies on the line” and then bemoaned that their hands were stepped on. A video shared on social media shows a university employee nudging a quasi-dead protester with his foot, and then trying to close the door to the exit. The activists dubiously claimed that the employee “slams the door on students’ heads.”