A coalition of The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam alumni gathered today to protest for the freedom of the people of Palestine.

The protests amassed a large number of spectators and participants, with many holding up Palestinian flags and spreading messages through megaphones including ‘free, free Palestine’.

When asked about the importance of this protest, one participant, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ”All of us are just heartbroken and extremely upset about the genocide happening in Gaza right now.”

Another anonymous protester said: “The extreme destruction wrought especially on innocent civilians, on children, on civilian infrastructure, hospitals. This is what we feel like we can really do to play our part in ending the occupation and in ending the University’s involvement in that.”

The protests, took place at The University of Sheffield’s Students union throughout the day, with protesters setting up camp with tents, gazebos and food supplies.

One person involved in the protest said that ‘The University of Sheffield receives more money from these manufacturing companies than any other UK university, receiving £72 million in funding over the last 10 years’.

A spokesperson from the University of Sheffield, said: “A small number of people have pitched tents in front of our Students’ Union following a planned protest. We support the right of our students to express their views peacefully and within the law and planned campus activities will continue as normal.

“We ask students involved in protests to be mindful of the experiences and positions of others. We also want to remind our students of the behavioural expectations around protests and that racism, antisemitism or Islamophobia will not be tolerated.”

Protesters specifically called for The University of Sheffield to cut ties with manufacturing companies involved in the destruction of Palestine.

Another protester, who did not want to be named, said: “I think it’s important to look at how our local governments are contributing to the sale of arms to upholding this genocide of the Israeli occupation.”

The Palestinian state of Gaza is under the rule of Hamas, an Islamist terrorist group whose purpose is the destruction of Israel, killing 1,200 people with an ‘unprecedented assault’ on Israel on October 7th 2023.