On Monday, the Oxford Action for Palestine group announced the closure of its “Gaza solidarity encampment” outside the iconic Radcliffe Camera after 63 days, writing that “in the interest of our members and of the movement for Palestine, we have decided to redirect our momentum towards other forms of action, organising, political education, and the continued growth of our coalition.” The statement adds that, “With pride, we close this chapter in order to build the next phase of our movement,” and warns “the power we have built through the student intifada extends far beyond a physical space.”
How convenient that this chapter ends just as summer vacation is beginning.
Despite framing the closure as a collective decision to advance the pro-Palestine cause through alternative forms of activism, the group also blames the school: “[the University] has forced us out of the Radcliffe Camera encampment with threats of legal and disciplinary action.” The statement further claims, “The scale of the University’s attacks, dehumanisation, and backlash against our encampments has become untenable,” noting “weeks of protest suppression from the University” and “a pending legal order for our removal.” So, whether a result of the university intervening or the activists holding some sort of vote, the Oxford encampment is over.
Yet it still remains. I walked by the Radcliffe Camera yesterday, where tall fences conceal the lawn. Despite the obstructed view, a passerby can see trash bins overflowing with cardboard signs, poles, paint buckets, and other materials the protesters had used. The grass has been ruined, and there are large squares of dirt where the tents had been erected. Flimsy pipe cleaners in the colors of the Palestinian flag have been tied around the gates. (And, for no apparent reason, there is a poster about American teenager Nex Benedict.)
The student demonstrators at Oxford applaud themselves for their supposed superiority, asserting that “our efforts are not only a moral imperative; they are an inevitability.” But it isn’t obvious that they have accomplished anything other than signing statements, disrupting the public peace, and ruining the grounds — none of which offer any material benefits to the Palestinian people they claim to support. Instead, the activists have burdened the humble and hard-working staff members with additional labor. The morning after the encampment is the beginning of an extra shift for the employees.