Email from Charlie Jeffery 26 July 2024

Dear staff and students,

I am writing today about the scale and escalation of the war in Gaza, and to share more details of our work to support those displaced by this war and impacted by the destruction of educational infrastructure in the region.

The protest camp that has been in place outside Heslington Hall has rightly challenged the University to live up to its name as a University of Sanctuary. We have met several times with representatives from the camp to listen, to learn and understand more, and to share the latest steps we are taking. I respect the protestors’ views and understand that they want the University to call out the many atrocities we have seen, acknowledge the appalling number of lives taken and level of suffering, and condemn the horrors inflicted upon Palestinians by the actions of the Israel Defence Force.

So I reaffirm my personal horror at the scale of civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s military action in Gaza. I find the sheer scale of civilian harm caused by the Israel Defence Force to be beyond all comprehension, including the destruction of civilian infrastructure such as housing, schools and hospitals and the consequent ongoing crises of famine and disease. I condemn violations of international law, and I support the International Court of Justice’s demand that the Israeli Government abides by international law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the ICJ’s most recent ruling on the occupied Palestinian territories 

We join a global community in calling for an end to this devastating violence, the unconditional release of hostages, an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, and rapid and comprehensive access to desperately needed humanitarian support.

I know that many across the University have their own views and opinions about what I or the University should or shouldn’t be saying or doing in times of war and conflict. We received lots of feedback - positive and negative - on how we responded to recent crises in Ukraine and Afghanistan (and other instances of other war, conflict and suffering). I also recognise that these instances do not even begin to cover the extent of humanitarian crisis, war and conflict around the globe. But where we do come together is to share a deep sense of horror at suffering, and to condemn the taking of hostages, failure to prevent civilian harm, and the blockage of humanitarian relief. And we come together to take real action as a university that champions sanctuary, because that is our responsibility and duty: to learn more about the challenges faced by those seeking sanctuary and to offer educational opportunities to support those in need from across the world.

You can read about the progress we have made over the last months. This includes zero tolerance of all forms of racism and religious discrimination; how we are supporting Gaza’s education sector; our support for refugee students and academics through funding and scholarships; and how we scrutinise research projects based on our underpinning ethical standards which apply to all academic activities - that of avoidance of harm.

We came together to take this action and share a determination to do this decisively and with purpose. And we will continue to do so.

With best wishes,

Charlie