**SHEFFIELD UNI IN OCCUPATION!**

Solidarity with the students of Sheffield University who went into occupation earlier this evening. They are occupying their university in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza who are still suffering from the ongoing blockade and recent attack.

They are in the Hicks Building. Please visit/join the occupation when you can and support the demands for material changes for Palestine.

Watch their blog: http://www.sheffoccupied.blogspot.com/

In solidarity!

SUPPORT THE MANCHESTER DEMO TOMORROW

A demonstration has been called to demand that the chancellor of the University of Manchester listens to its students in occupation in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Manchester University students have now been in occupation for for over 3 weeks, the longest running student occupation in solidarity with Gaza. The occupied room in the Simon Building in the heart of the student campus has been a haven of productivity. Meetings have attracted over a thousand people, rallies and vigils organised, banners and placards made, radio interviews and visits from university staff, students and security showing their support for the occupation. The occupation has been innundated with support from Noam Chomsky to Israeli lecturers. Through the occupation other protests have been ignited including the 'removal' of DTSL (arms trade researcher) recruitment stall.

The students have now organised a National Demonstration to demand the Manchester University Vice-Chancellor listens to its students and meet their honourable demands.

SUPPORT THE MANCHESER DEMONSTRATION TOMORROW (WED 4TH MARCH).

ASSEMBLE 2PM MANCHESTER STUDENTS UNION, OXFORD RD.

Sheffield activists shall be meeting at Sheffield train station at 10am to travel to the demonstration.

See you there!

Worcester councillors back Gaza twinning bid

City councillors have backed a motion which could lead to Worcester being twinned with Gaza City. A notice of motion put forward by Alan Amos, Warndon city councillor, was passed after a carefully worded amendment tabled by David Tibbutt, councillor for Battenhall, was accepted. The amended motion read: "The city of Worcester invite the Twinning Association to consider twinning Worcester with Gaza City."

Read full article: http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/4151904.Worcester_may_twin_with_war_torn_Gaza/

Cardiff occupation ends in victory!

Many congratulations to the occupying students at Cardiff University for ending their occupation victoriously!

Following the open letter to Vice Chancellor David Grant, the BOOKS not BOMBS demonstration outside the Student Union and the subsequent occupation of the Large Shandon, Cardiff University has divested all shares from BAe Systems and the aerospace arm of General Electric!

The university management has instructed their external fund managers to avoid future investments in the arms trade, and have promised to raise the issue of an ethical investment policy at the next Council Meeting on May 18th. They are also willing to discuss the provision of surplus computers and resources to institutions in Gaza.

Please see the Cardiff blog for further information:
http://occupiedcardiff.blogspot.com/

In solidarity!

York University protest

York University students are holding a demonstration against their university's investment in the arms trade this Friday. They want as many people as possible to come and show their support in what is hoped to be a vocal and colourful demonstration.

Assemble 12pm Friday 27th Feb, Central Campus

See this Facebook link for further details:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=46352156658

Protest at the G20 in London

PROTEST AT THE G20 IN LONDON.

Demonstrate Wednesday 1st April, Central London.

Protest at the summit Thursday 2nd April.

The leaders of the world's big powers will meet at the G20 summitin London on April 2. It is Barack Obama's first visit to Britain. It is our chance to demand a change from Bush's war policies. The Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, The British Muslim Initiative, and CND have called two protests at the G20; a march and rally in central London on the afternoon of April 1st, and a protest to the conference itself on April 2nd. In the afternoon of April 1st we will be marching through Central London while Barack Obama speaks to Parliament. On Thursday morning we will be protesting to the summit itself atthe Excel Centre in East London.

Our message will be 'Yes We Can'. Yes we can end the siege of Gaza and free Palestine, get the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, make jobs not bombs, abolish nukes, stop arming Israel.

More information will follow.

STOP THE WAR RALLY

SOLIDARITY WITH GAZA - END THE WAR ON TERROR

The Stop the War Coalition is going on the road. They are organising meetings in towns and cities up and down the country,with speakers including Palestinians, activists, representatives of the Muslim community and well known figures such as Tony Benn, Bruce Kent and Jeremy Corbyn.

The title of the meetings is 'Solidarity with Gaza, end the war on terror' and they are aimed to sustain the momentum of the mass movement round Palestine whilst mobilising for the week of protests around the G20 and NATO in early April. Below is a list of meetings in the South Yorkshire area . More are being organised up and down the country. If you would like a meeting in your area, please let Stop The War Coalition know. They will provide speakers and help you to organise and publicise it.

Doncaster: 3rd March with Lindsey German & Andrew Murray.

Sheffield: 11th March with Bruce Kent CND, Muhammed Ali - Islam Channel, Lindsey German.

For more information call: 0207 278 6694

Plymouth, Cardiff and UAL OCCUPIED! The movement grows and grows

Occupation news:

Congratulations to UWE who won their occupation a couple of days ago. Cardiff, Plymouth and the University of the Arts, London became the latest universities to occupy.

18 NYU students have been suspended following the occupation which ended on Thursday. Please check http://www.takebacknyu.com/ to see how you can support them.

St Andrews, UEL and Manchester continue to occupy, with Manchester now in their third week of occupations!

Manchester Demonstration

A demonstration has been called to demand that the chancellor of the University of Manchester listens to its students in occupation in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

ASSEMBLE 2 PM 4TH MARCH, MANCHESTER STUDENTS UNION

"Now 2 weeks on, University of Manchester students have occupied key buildings in the heart of the campus. The occupation has seen an unprecedented amount of support from students and academics alike most notably in an emergency general meeting in which over a thousand students attended to overwhelmingly support a motion to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Entering their 18th day, the occupation is still strong in both numbers and spirit. The next focus is to pressure the university administration to accede to our reasonable demands but the arrogant and uncomprimising Vice Chancellor (send complaints to president@manchester.ac.uk) has failed to make any concessions for the student body claiming that the university cannot take a political position. But given the universities unethical investments in the arms trade, such an action is a political position. Notorious for his history at Melbourne University, he refused to engage in an open and just dialogue with the students of the occupation even threatening to take away the right to protest!"

- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54289401540&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=53417963213&ref=mf

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmanunioccupation.wordpress.com%2F&h=fcd8ea142b77ca8ca3f54ceae3d5540c

The wounds of Gaza: Report by UK surgeons

Two UK surgeons, Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah and Dr Swee Ang, who were in Gaza during the Israeli invasion, describe their experiences in The Lancet magazine.

Gaza was bombed from the air by F16 and Apache helicopters, shelled from the sea by Israeli gunboats and from the land by tank artillery. Many schools were reduced to rubble, 40 mosques, hospitals, UN buildings, and 21,000 homes, 4,000 of which were demolished completely. It is estimated that 100,000 people are now homeless.

The death toll is estimated at 1,350 with the numbers increasing daily, due to the severely wounded continuing to die in hospitals. 60% of those killed were children. It is estimated that of the severely injured, 1,600 will suffer permanently disabilities. These include amputations, spinal cord injuries, head injuries, large burns with crippling contractures.

READ FULL REPORT: http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1054&Itemid=1

UWE, NYU, St. Andrews, UEL, Byam Shaw OCCUPIED

Sorry I've not been on top of the blog lately! Here is a quick update on the occupations:

UWE have ended their three day occupation of the atrium area outside of lecture theatres 2B25 and 2B20. They have been negotiating with Vice-Chancellor Steve West and Deputy Vice-Chancellor John Rushforth and won significant demands. Check out their blog.

NYU have posted a statement up on their website which includes details of the ending of the occupation and the arrest that was made.

St Andrews have written a statement expressing their disgust at the treatment NYU students received as well as the treatment that students at Nottingham, Sheffield Hallam and Cambridge suffered. The occupation has received messages of support including one from the Isalmic Univesrity of Gaza.

UEL have also been receiving messages of support from Noam Chomsky and the Friends of CAIS Maloka and ISBO Collective. Please continue to contact their acting vice chancellor Professor Susan Price at s.price@uel.ac.uk or 020 822 34159 and urge her politely to consider their demands.

Manchester are also still struggling to be heard by their Vice Chancellor. They have called a demo on the 4th March at 2pm outside the Manchester Student Union.

Byam Shaw are also entering their third day but seem in good spirits.

Sheffield Hallam has seen the dismissal of Lewie Morris from his Sheffield Hallam Union post.

Viva Palestina convoy stopped by British Police

Urgent: Viva Palestina Convoy stopped by British Police

Yesterday the ‘Viva Palestina’ convoy taking vital humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip was stopped by the British Police under the ‘Anti-Terror’ legislation. Nine of its drivers were arrested.
Since Israel’s imposition of the horrific blockade upon the 1.5 million Gazans 18 months ago, life in Gaza has become virtual hell. The list of material banned by the Israeli occupation from entering Gaza is a clear example of the collective punishment being directed against the Palestinians; it includes cement for building homes, medicine for hospitals, and even stretches into preventing some children’s books from entering one of the poorest and densely populated areas on the face of the Earth.
This strangulation of the strip was then followed by an onslaught which has instantly catapulted Israel’s war into comparisons with some of the most horrific war crimes that modern history has ever seen. Since December 27th- the day in which Israel’s bombing began, and January 3rd the onset of the ground invasion; the rockets, soldiers, fighter jets and missiles of one of the world’s most advanced armies has reduced one of the most oppressed regions in the world to looking like what the BBC calls ‘an earthquake zone’. With over 1,300 dead, thousands more injured, 20,000 houses demolished, and hospitals, schools, and aid compounds attacked; it is little wonder that the President of the UN General Assembly has described Israel’s war as ‘genocidal’.
Weeks of war crimes have taken their toll on the brave Palestinian People. Over 400,000 are now without running water, and a further 100,000 are now facing existence without even a roof over their head. Hospitals - those that are still able to function - are bit by bit being forced to turn of their equipment and shut their wards.
The ‘Viva Palestina’ convoy, driving from London to Gaza, aims to take vital aid to ease the sufferings of those trapped in what increasingly resembles the World’s largest prison camp. Crammed full of essential items including hospital aid, blankets, tools, children’s clothes and water purification equipment and driven in 12 ambulances, donated minibuses and a fire engine, the convoy is over a mile long and will potentially be some of the first aid to reach Gaza. The convoy is a lifeline being rushed to an already desperate people.
The convoy was stopped on Friday 13th as it was driving along the M62. Nine of the drivers were arrested; six were then released, with the Police confiscating passports and driving licences. This disgusting attempt to stop aid reaching Gaza should be condemned and described for what it is: a desperate attempt on behalf of the British government to continue Israel’s policy of cutting of Gaza’s 1.5 million people from the outside world and reducing their civilisation to rubble. This scarcely hidden form of war is just as aggressive and costly to human life as Israel’s Merkava tanks and F16 jets, and should be opposed as such.
We urge all those who have supported the university student occupations, those who have marched for Gaza over the last few weeks, and all those who defend a People’s right to live in peace to protest the stopping of the ‘Viva Palestina’ convoy and demand that it be allowed to continue its journey to Palestine.

Check for updates: http://www.vivapalestina.org/

Victory for the Goldsmiths Occupation!

Students from Goldsmiths University have left their Occupation as victors. Read more about it and check out the photos on their blog: www.goldsmithsoccupation.blogspot.com

Hampshire College becomes first college in U.S. to divest from Israeli Occupation!

Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U.S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College's Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP's "institutional statement" calling for the divestment.

The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 Feb 2009 by the Board. By divesting from these companies, SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel.

READ FULL PRESS RELEASE:
http://www.hsjp.org/2009/02/12/immediate-release-hampshire-college-becomes-first-college-in-the-united-states-to-divest-from-the-israeli-occupation/