SOAS Senate condemns Israel's scholasticide in Gaza, urges UK arms embargo

The Senate of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) has issued a statement condemning scholasticide in Gaza and is seeking a refrainment of partnerships that enable it.

In the statement published on Thursday, the Senate issued seven separate policy resolutions on the issue of Israel's war on Gaza, including a commitment "to refrain from partnership with academic institutions that are instrumental to the commission, or support, or enablement of scholasticide".

The statement also called for Israeli academic institutions to "speak up against scholasticide in Gaza," and expressed solidarity with institutions and academics in Palestine affected by scholasticide.

The Senate advises SOAS's Board of Trustees on the institution's direction, including its academic activities.

The statement also calls on the university to protect academics teaching about genocide, including those who label Israel's war on Gaza a scholasticide, as well as calling for the maintenance of the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza.

Additionally, the statement calls on the UK government to impose a unilateral arms embargo against Israel, and to develop partnerships with Gaza's higher education sector.

Since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023, the enclave's education sector has been battered by Israeli airstrikes, which have also killed over 68,000 Palestinians.

The statements cite numerous reports accusing Israel of committing scholasticide as part of a genocide in Gaza, including Amnesty International, B'Tselem, and a UN commission of inquiry.

The statement defines scholasticide as "the systematic obliteration of education through the arrest, detention or killing of teachers, students and staff, and the destruction of educational infrastructure."

The new calls come amid claims that universities across the UK have repressed pro-Palestine students, including SOAS, which removed a pro-Palestine encampment from campus.

In August, the university took action against Haya Adam, a second-year law and international relations student and leader of the school's Palestine Society, on account of breaking the university's code of conduct, an accusation Adam denied.