Dear students,

I want to commend the courageous and principled stand you are taking in opposing the genocide in Gaza.

By doing so, you are aligning yourselves with morality, humanity, and placing yourself on the right side of history.

You are also following in a proud tradition of student activism that dates back to the civil rights movement in 1950’s America and continued through the Vietnam War and then the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

In addition to being a beacon of hope for the future, you are sending a crucial message that you will not remain silent while an ethno-supremacist state continues to slaughter, displace and subjugate a people it has occupied for over 75 years.

In the light of the horrific brutality being unleashed by Israel, which violates all civilised norms and values, it is imperative that our institutions sever all the ties that support the Zionist state in any way, shape or form.

Furthermore, it is crucial to demand that these institutions do not directly or indirectly contribute to the genocide in Gaza by divesting from companies that produce weapons used by the Zionist state.

Many of us at IHRC have been in your shoes at various points in our lives, protesting against apartheid in South Africa, the genocide in Bosnia in the 1990’s, the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s, and the ongoing occupation of Palestine. Like you, we have faced demonisation and delegitimisation from an establishment that refuses to change its course. As fellow travellers on the same path of freedom and justice we feel dutybound to offer you our support should you require it.

Firstly, our organisation has a proud record of defending victims of human rights abuses. We have a dedicated advocacy and legal department that wears the scars of numerous battles against a Zionist lobby determined to silence critics of Israel. Much of our work is done pro bono. If you need our services, they are only a phone call away.

Secondly, we regularly organise “Know Your Rights” workshops that seek to arm people with knowledge of their legal rights vis a vis protests. We would be only too happy to hold a workshop at your encampment.

Thirdly, we can provide you with campaign resources such as flags, boycott leaflets and stickers etc.

Fourthly, we can offer you a wealth of literature on Palestine and related issues, much of it free of charge.

And last but not least, we invite you to take a look at our long history of advocacy for Palestine which not only involves opposing occupation and its many effects but also thinking about what shape a liberated Palestine might take. For example, in 2022, we pulled together an alliance of Muslim, Jews and Christians within the British anti-Apartheid movement to formulate the Convivencia initiative which draws on the experience of medieval Spain to draw the outlines of a new state in which all communities can live together in peace and justice as they did before the Zionist colonisation of the land.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you need assistance by emailing Huseyin at huseyin@ihrc.org or calling 0208 904 4222.

Yours Sincerely,
Massoud Shadjareh,
Chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission