History of the Campaign

In November of 2006 at a General Students’ Meeting, Goldsmiths students voted overwhelming to twin with Al Quds Open University (QOU), an institution which helps Palestinians gain degree qualifications under extreme circumstances where the right to education is infringed by the illegal Israeli occupation.

On a number of occasions this twinning was brought to vote again at general meetings which culminated in the biggest general meeting in the Student Unions’ recent history in the spring of 2008. A massive turnout of students voted on whether to extend the twinning programme to an Israeli University as well. The motion was defeated.

In May 2008 Goldsmiths Students’ Union officially hosted a delegation of a staff member and student from Al Quds Open University. Events that week included a welcome party with poetry, music and a presentation by the delegation. They also met the Warden, the staff UCU union and the week culminated in a massive march for Palestine in central London.

Since this time we have organised cultural events (such as "Audio Intifada" hip hop night, and "Palestine Monologues" theatre performance), film showings, public meetings and hosted Palestinian students to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinians.
In April 2009 the first ever official SU delegation to Palestine took 25 students to visit our twin university and we toured the country seeing the horrific occupation first hand.

One important victory scored in the 2009/10 campaign was the release of Mohammad Othman, a Palestinian activist kidnapped by Israeli soldiers in the summer of 2009. The Goldmiths campaign worked with NGOs and other universities, including organising a protest outside the Israeli embassy to demand his release.

Whilst continuing to organise events, campaigns and fundraisers in 2009/2010, a new focus of the campaign was holding video conferences with students in Palestinian universities. This culminated in two very successful link-ups with students at An-Najah University in Nablus, and the Islamic University of Gaza. Another successful trip was also held in April 2010.