Responding to the conflict in Israel and Gaza

In his latest message to staff and students, our VC, Professor Charlie Jeffery, shares a personal reflection on the situation.

This is a difficult time for many of us and it's clear that there won't be a quick resolution. Across our community there are strong and diverse views about the situation. 

• We ask all members of the University to remember that we are a community of respect
• We respect and protect the right to freedom of expression
• We will never tolerate racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, abuse, incitement or harassment: any incidents of this should be reported

At the onset of this crisis, the VC and senior colleagues worked with our Students' Unions and took time to meet with those most directly affected by the conflict: staff and students from Palestine and Israel, and student societies which are closely connected through family, friendship or community ties to Palestine and Israel.

We have remained in contact with these groups at regular points since, and the VC and his team have also taken into account views expressed by others members of our community both in correspondence and in meetings. Our aim throughout has been to ensure all members of the University community are supported as much as possible, to respond as the situation developed, and to keep our community informed.

How we're responding

In Gaza, many university buildings have been destroyed, and many academics and students have had to leave their homes including some York alumni. 

Sanctuary and scholarships

Our existing Sanctuary Fund was set up to establish the principle of sanctuary as a major focus for philanthropic fundraising at the University, and we are investigating how we can use this to offer support. So far, we have earmarked initial funding to the value of £250,000 to support refugee students and at-risk academics from Gaza, with further funding likely to follow as the situation evolves.

As we begin to explore options, there are still no straightforward exit routes from Gaza and no special UK entry visa routes for refugees from Gaza in prospect. In view of this, whilst we will look to support refugees already in the UK, we are also ready to explore other ways of enrolling students on scholarships, perhaps onto our online programmes, perhaps in cooperation with partners in places where the award of visas may be more straightforward.

As a University of Sanctuary and member of the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), we are exploring options to provide support to affected alumni and other at-risk academics. 

Support for universities in Gaza

There is no nationwide scheme in place to enable twinning of universities, as there is for UK and Ukrainian universities. Nevertheless, we are committed to developing links and engaging in longer term rebuilding of HE and research in the region where possible. Universities UK are working with an experienced educational consultancy to develop ideas for how UK universities could support student learning in Gaza. An initial stage may be to establish cooperation with universities on the West Bank which could in due course act as a bridge to Gaza and initial support is most likely to be in the form of the provision of online learning materials and/or access to library resources. 

Responding to global crises

Sadly, this is one of several instances of conflict, or humanitarian disasters, affecting members of our community. Find out more about how we support our staff and students, as well as how members of our community can help.

Supporting those affected by global crises

Responsible investment

In April 2024, we announced that we no longer hold investments in companies that primarily make or sell weapons and defence-related products or services. This decision followed calls by members of our community to cut these investment ties and renew our commitment to the mission of public good. In response, we worked in partnership with our Student Unions to update our responsible investment statement.

Responsible investment commitments