Cambridge University college to divest from arms companies following student protests

The University of Cambridge’s King’s College stated it will cut its financial ties with defence firms that are “involved in activities generally recognised as illegal or contravening global norms, such as occupation”.  

It also plans to cuts ties with companies that “produce military and nuclear weapons”, citing concerns around “the occupation of Ukraine and Palestinian territories”. 

The college stated that the governing body is to “adopt a new responsible investment policy” to accurately align with the community’s values, following pro-Palestine protests.  

Stella Swain, student officer at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, claimed the move was a “massive victory” for the movement, and stated that it “speaks to the incredible power and commitment of student campaigning, at King’s College and across the country”

Stella Swain, student officer at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, claimed the move was a “massive victory” for the movement, and stated that it “speaks to the incredible power and commitment of student campaigning, at King’s College and across the country”.   

She added: “If King’s College, at the heart of Cambridge, can finally listen to its students and divest from the arms industry and companies complicit in the illegal occupation of Palestine, then every university can act to ensure they are on the right side of history.” 

The decision, determined by a vote led by the governing body, follows student action, including the 100-day student encampment on the lawn outside the main college building last year, as students urged the university to divest from companies “complicit in the ethnic cleaning of Palestine”. 

King’s College claimed that the decision could be in full force by the end of the year, which King’s Cambridge for Palestine (KC4P) said “came as a result of sustained pressure from KC4P and the Cambridge for Palestine as a whole”, as they “implore the university and other colleges to follow the example set by King’s”.  

However, they added that “the decision comes far too late for the thousands of Palestinians who have been starved, tortured and killed at the hands of the Israeli state”.