STUDENT protesters have blockaded university buildings in Edinburgh and Glasgow in a demonstration against Scottish institutions’ links to weapons firms supplying Israel.
At the University of Edinburgh, students have barred the entrances to the finance building, Charles Stewart House, in a protest against what they say is the university continuing to “aid and abet genocide through financial complicity and research ties”.
And at Glasgow University, around 50 students have blocked entrances to the Rankine Engineering Building after the institution’s ruling council refused to heed a majority of staff and student voices and end its ties with arms firms.
Protesters in Glasgow carried banners with slogans such as No More Business as Usual and Long Live the Student Intifada.
Callum McCrae, a student involved in the protest, said: "Despite acknowledging that there is widespread support for divestment, the university refuses to cut ties with the arms industry.
"Statements lamenting the horror in Gaza are meaningless unless accompanied by concrete steps to dismantle their financial and ideological complicity in the Israeli apartheid state.
"We will not be ignored and will take action to stop business as usual at the university until these vital changes are made.
"We look forward to the day when management joins the majority of the staff and student body in pushing for a better world—not just with words, but with action."
In Edinburgh, protesters held banners reading “It’s our time, shut it down for Palestine” and “Globalise the Student Intifada”.
In a statement, the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society said: “It has been 76 years since the beginning of the Israeli settler-colonial project and we have now witnessed 15 months of intensified genocide of the Palestinian people, yet the university continues to aid and abet genocide through financial complicity and research ties with companies creating apartheid technologies.
“Despite the news of a ceasefire, which has been repeatedly broken by Israel, the conditions of occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing remain.
“As history has shown us, the university will do nothing to combat its complicity. Over the past year, any progress in support of Palestine has only been achieved through the campaigning and direct action of students.
“Students all over Scotland continue to escalate for divestment, in solidarity with Palestine and each other. We stand united in the struggle and send our full support to them.”
The protest group has claimed that Edinburgh University holds more than £39 million in companies which are complicit in funding Israel, including £30m in BlackRock, £3.6m in Amazon, £2.6m in Booking.com, and £2.2m in Albemarle.
Glasgow University had an endowment fund worth £262 million at the end of July 2024. A publicly available list of investments from 2023 includes shares in weapons firms linked to Israel such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Thales.
A protest last week saw buildings at the university vandalised and two arrests made.
"As an institution we stand against hate or harassment of any kind. We regularly communicate with all our staff and students about the need for tolerance towards each other, and we reiterate this call for all members of our community to be respectful at all times."
A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: “The horror of the violence and loss of life in the Middle East has been felt deeply by many in our community and we continue to support our students and staff impacted by the conflict, alongside the many others within our community who share the pain of those suffering.
“While we respect the right to peaceful protest, we do not support protestors preventing access to a building. The day-to-day running of the University and the safety of everyone on campus is our priority and we are clear that disciplinary action may be taken should anyone breach its student code of conduct.
“We are reviewing our approach to responsible investments, including refreshing our Responsible Investment policy, with a related advisory group being established. We will continue to engage with those raising concerns.”
