Injunctions and Tribunals: Tensions over SOAS Palestine Activism Continue to Escalate
'UoL’s injunction combined with the co-presidents legal action against the SU represents escalation from both sides in the tension between the student and staff body and the university.'
by Ella Watharow, MA Middle Eastern Studies 09/12/2024
On 29 October 2024, the University of London (UoL) obtained an injunction preventing individuals, including dismissed sabbatical co-president Abel Harvie-Clarke, and suspended SOAS students Tara Mann and Haya Adam, from organising demonstrations without prior permission from a UoL appointed officer.
The injunction applies to SOAS and the surrounding areas, including Senate House, University College of London (UCL)’s Faculty of Education and Society (IOE), Birkbeck UoL and Gordon Square. It requires that UoL be notified of demonstrations at least 72 hours prior, and stipulates that organisers must receive written approval before the protest can proceed. The order also prohibits erecting any structure, including tents, on the land. Whilst UoL has clarified that it will not be prohibiting clothing, badges or symbols endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the Liberated Zone or the Democratise Education movement, the restrictions have led many to question the establishment’s commitment to freedom of expression.
Numerous universities across the UK including London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Queen Mary UoL, the University of Nottingham and the University of Birmingham also sought court orders to facilitate the eviction of pro-Palestinian encampments. The continuing trend of legal measures being implemented nationwide to restrict pro-Palestinian activism on campuses has led to growing concerns amongst students and staff.
The injunction is the most recent development in ongoing tensions between students and university management over its alleged complicity in the Israel-Gaza conflict. Abel Harvie-Clarke and Alexander Cachinero Gorman have recently announced that they intend to take the SOAS Students’ Union (SU) to an employment tribunal after being debarred from their respective elected roles as Democracy and Education Officer and Welfare and Campaigns Officer.
Documents shown to the SOAS Spirit cite the co-presidents’ criticism of SU Management, as well their refusal to sign their contracts as key reasons for their dismissal, Cachinero Gorman claims to have signed the contract but this would have been more than a month after it was issued, following a long series of complaints from Cachinero Gorman. Cachinero Gorman refutes the dismissals as a violation of the Equality Act 2010, which designates anti-Zionism as a protected belief, and asserts that there was ‘no gross misconduct’ on their part; some students have been left puzzled by Cachinero Gorman’s claim as the SU employs many publicly Pro-Palestine individuals. The two remaining Sabbatical Officers ran on a Pro-Palestine mandate and other board members regularly use public platforms to express their own Anti-Zionist sentiment. Notably, Yara Derbas, a former SU Co-President was, and still is, an organiser within the Palestinian Youth Movement during her term in the Students’ Union and never faced any repercussions for her beliefs.
Cachinero Gorman also raised concerns that the SU’s use of a university investigation against a student undermines its role as an independent organisation. Whilst the SU and SOAS are nominally independent - the SU Constitution does state that “The Union works alongside SOAS to ensure the affairs of the Union are properly conducted and that the educational and welfare needs of the Unions’ Members are met.”
UoL’s injunction combined with the co-presidents legal action against the SU represents escalation from both sides in the tension between the student and staff body and the university. Several pro-Palestine protests have occurred over the last few months, including one during Freshers Fayre.
A SOAS spokesperson has commented: "Freedom of expression, academic freedom and the right to peaceful protest are central to who we are as a university community. Anyone who has spent time on the SOAS campus will know that these principles are put into practice each day, and we work very hard to maintain an environment where this flourishes. We are also clear that the right to protest does not mean tolerating behaviour that undermines the rights of others, which is completely unacceptable. We will continue to take necessary steps to ensure that our students and staff are able to come onto campus to learn, meet friends, take exams, and work, while also defending the right to peaceful protest."
