SOAS students and supporters die-in for Gaza outside London's Tottenham Court Road station

On Wednesday 15 May 2024, about 300 SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) students and their supporters gathered in front of the "Liberated Zone" Gaza solidarity encampment. An area of activists tents within the university grounds.

The event was called to mark Nakba day which commemorates the brutal ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and villages in the months after 15 May 1948 by the Israeli army and Zionist militia. Although historians point out that the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land long predated 15 May 1948, and has continued ever since.

A crowd listened to a number of speeches both by supporters as well as students outlining their demands on the university and their determination to "not give up and not to stop" until SOAS had disclosed its investment in corporations complicit both in Israel's occupation of the West Bank and its war on Gaza.

A final speech was given in which an activist explained that students and their supporters needed to "escalate until our demands are met" and added "we are going to show London we are going to continue (activism and protest) until our demands are met."

One of the most frequently heard chants on this and other days has been

"Disclose, Divest,
We will not stop,
We will not rest."

The students marched from SOAS to the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street where at sometime around 7.30 pm they held a die-in preventing all but emergency traffic from crossing the junction. I didn't time the length of the action, but it seemed to last for about 30 minutes.

The students' demands, as written on a two metre high placard at the encampment, were as follows

1. Disclose - Full details of all university investments

2. Divest - from companies complicit in Israel's denial of Palestinian rights - [a list of specific companies followed which included Barclays Bank, Alphabet (Google/Alphabet) and Microsoft.]

3. Terminate - the university's banking and lending arrangement with Barclays

4. Boycott - Israeli academic institutions which are complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights, including the University of Haifa

5. Commit - to supporting Palestinian education and the rebuilding of Gaza's Schools and Hospitals. Establish partnerships and exchanges with Palestinian institutions and academics. Increase scholarships for Palestinian students. Advocate for removal of restrictions for pro-Palestinian expression.

6. Guarantee - the right of students and staff to express solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation including in research, speech and actions.

7. Advocate - for the UK government to implement an arms embargo on Israel, to call for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

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Taken in: UK / England / Westminster / Tottenham Court Road (show map)

Taken on: May 15, 2024

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Camera: Fujifilm X-S10, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, 13mm (=20mm), ISO 1000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Fujifilm X-S10
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	13mm (35mm equivalent: 20mm)
ISO:	1000
Exposure Bias:	-0.33 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Luminar Neo
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