University of Leicester staff BDS pledge

Published: 7th October, 2024

After a full year of genocide in Gaza, the University of Leicester UCU branch is calling on all staff from across the University (whether union members or not) to join us in committing to the principles outlined in the staff Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) pledge below. Please read the pledge and then, if you choose to add your name to it, you can do so by completing this form.

Once we receive 150 signatures, we will list these names alphabetically and add them to the bottom of the pledge before sharing it with UoL management and on social media channels. This is intended to show strength of support for BDS among UoL staff, and to put pressure on the University management to implement BDS policies at an institutional level. If you prefer to support the pledge but to remain anonymous, that is possible too (but it is more impactful if you opt for your name to be visible).

If you have any questions, please contact ucu@uculeicester.org.uk . Thank you for your solidarity 🍉

The Pledge

We, staff members at the University of Leicester, pledge to the principles of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as part of our broader solidarity with Palestinians against the Israeli occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide, and commit to the following actions:

1. Refusing to participate in any formal or informal engagement with Israeli higher education institutions involved in supporting Israeli occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing or genocide in Palestine. This does not apply to individual scholars acting in their individual capacity at Israeli universities, as is made clear in the PACBI guidelines
2. Refusing to participate in any formal or informal engagement with any corporation involved in supporting Israeli occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing or genocide in Palestine. We note that our UoL UCU branch has passed a motion supporting members’ right to refuse complicity in Israeli apartheid and occupation through support of boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns
3. Working to provide direct support for Palestinian higher education institutions, academics, educators and students
4. Speaking out against any attempts to silence Palestine solidarity action and speech on our campus and beyond
5. Calling on the Provost and Council to end the University of Leicester’s investments in, and procurement contracts with, companies funding and supplying weapons to the Israeli military. We note four universities in Norway have recently suspended all ties with Israeli universities, writing that Israel’s actions in Gaza “undermine the democratic foundation on which all universities must build”
6. Supporting a wider BDS campaign at the University of Leicester

We call on all staff from across the University of Leicester to join us in committing to these principles, and to ensure that the University of Leicester, as a university which claims to pride itself on attracting and nurturing ‘Citizens of Change’ with a ‘collective social conscience’, takes a strong stand against occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide, whenever and wherever these may occur.

View and sign the pledge here.