LSE Evicts Students Protesting in Support of Gaza
The London School of Economics (LSE) has become the first British educational institution to evict students who set up a camp in support of Palestine. The university administration gave the protesters until 4:00 PM on Monday to vacate the area, prompting a strong reaction from the students.
Despite the court order, students continued to voice their protests with megaphones and flags, calling for the university to divest from its investments in Israel. “The university administration wants to break our resolve and power, but this eviction order will not break our strength,” said the students, expressing that the eviction only strengthened their determination. Judge Moses, who issued the eviction order, acknowledged the students’ right to protest but stated, “This does not give parties an unfettered right to occupy other parties’ premises with a view to protesting.”
Students began camping on the campus in May following the release of a report titled “Assets in Apartheid” by the Palestine Society of the LSE Student Union. The report highlighted that LSE had invested £89 million ($113 million) in 137 companies involved in possible war crimes in Gaza, the arms industry, and fossil fuels. Among the students’ demands were divesting from companies profiting from the war in Gaza, providing scholarships for Palestinian students, and assisting Amena al-Ashkar, a Palestinian student denied a visa by the UK government to pursue a doctorate at LSE.