Cambridge Student Union splits from National Union of Students over Gaza

Students at the University of Cambridge have voted to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) over its alleged failure to "campaign for Palestine" and support student pro-Palestinian protesters.

The Cambridge Student Union (SU) passed a motion to disaffiliate from the NUS with 1,772 votes in favour on Thursday night; 1,284 votes were cast against the motion and 719 in abstention. 

The motion to end the SU's membership from the NUS was called by its trustee board and comes after widespread criticism of the national umbrella body over allegations that the NUS has failed to support pro-Palestinian student protests and encampments. 

The official case for the motion claimed the NUS "ignored calls from students nationwide, and a motion passed at their own highest democratic decision making body, to campaign for Palestine".

It said the NUS "picks and chooses which student causes fit their internal agenda" and has failed to support students facing disciplinary proceedings for "legitimate acts of protest".

It further said the NUS offers "poor value for money", citing an estimated annual fee of 20,000 ($26,000)

'Take a stand on Gaza or face mass disaffiliation'

This comes after more student groups and union officers in 55 universities signed an open letter calling on the NUS to "take a stand on Gaza or face mass disaffiliation".

In response, the NUS demanded that student union officers remove their signatures from the letter or be banned from NUS events.

Olivia Ledger, vice president of the Cambridge SU, told the Canary that "we have had seven student encampments, and five High Court injunctions levelled against our students, with no support from the NUS".

She added: "They have failed to defend students faced with disciplinaries for protesting, failed to act on growing Islamophobia, and offer poor value for money and minimal national campaigning impact."

Middle East Eye has contacted the NUS for comment.

Students also passed a motion for the Cambridge SU to campaign "to end university investments and collaborations with institutions involved in occupation and weapons manufacture".

Cambridge University to consider divesting from arms industry amid Gaza protests

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This comes just over a week after the university announced it will divest from companies involved in producing "controversial weapons", and will vote next month on whether to divest from all arms companies following the publication of a landmark report.

It follows over a year of student pro-Palestine protests at Cambridge and follows one of the university's largest colleges, King's College, deciding it would divest from the arms industry and companies complicit in "the occupation of Ukraine and Palestinian territories".

The report, which followed a year-long review into the university's links to the arms industry, was approved unanimously by the University Council on Monday.

It called for the university's £4.2bn ($5.62bn) endowment fund to divest from "any company which manufactures weapons illegal under UK law, even if those weapons are legal elsewhere", including chemical and biological weapons and cluster munitions.

Cambridge's university council has adopted this as policy. It is also set to decide whether to divest from all arms manufacturers in a meeting on 20 November.