Manchester Universities Palestine Coalition

The University of Manchester (UoM) has a number of links with companies that are directly or indirectly complicit in Israel’s genocide on Palestinians. Many of these links are deliberately obscured, with the University of Manchester claiming to have “no involvement with the Israeli defence sector.” [1]. This particular claim is trivially easy to prove false, as UoM openly admits to research partnerships with BAE Systems [2], one of the companies involved in manufacturing the F-35 fighter jets currently being used to bomb the trapped civilian population and infrastructure in Gaza [3]. Professor Martin Schröder, Vice-President of The University of Manchester and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, sits on BAE Systems “University of Manchester Framework Partnership” board [4], and the university declared £822,000 income from BAE Systems in their financial statement for the year 2022/23 [5]. As of July 2023, the university also had 13% of its £210 million investment portfolio invested in property via BlackRock [6], a notorious investment company which at the time of writing owned $ 18,168,782 worth of shares in Elbit Systems [7], Israel’s biggest arms company [8], and £1,606 million in BAE Systems [9].

UoM also has a partnership with Tel Aviv University (TAU), awarding eight joint grants in 2023 [10]. TAU has long been complicit in the atrocities committed against Palestinians, and in 2021 more than 200 members of staff signed an open letter calling on the University of Manchester to end the partnership [11]. Tel Aviv University’s crimes are too many to list here, but they are particularly notorious for their involvement in the development of the “Dahiya Doctrine”, a military strategy employed by Israel against Gaza and Lebanon. This strategy is to respond with “disproportionate” force, and prioritise targeting civilian infrastructure over military targets, “a response aim[ed] at inflicting damage and meting out punishment to an extent that will demand long and expensive reconstruction processes.”

While it is easy to prove the BAE link, there are a number of other ties to the Israeli arms sector that are more complicated to explain. You can read Manchester Leftist Action’s full notes on UoM’s complicity in genocide here, and more detail will be added to this page soon.

  1. A clarification on current demonstrations, 02 November 2023, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.staffnet.manchester.ac.uk/news/display/?id=30519
  2. Manchester signs partnership agreement with BAE Systems, 18 January 2017, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-signs-partnership-agreement-with-bae-systems/
  3. US quickly updated Israeli F-35s after Hamas attack, officials say, 13th December 2023, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023/12/13/us-quickly-updated-israeli-f-35s-after-hamas-attack-officials-say/
  4. EPSRC council members declaration of interests, 26th May 2023, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.ukri.org/publications/epsrc-council-members-declaration-of-interests/
  5. Financial statement for the year ended 31st July 2023, accessed 11th March 2024 https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=71367
  6. Investment portfolio climate change report for the year ended 31st July 2023, accessed 11th March 2024 https://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=66926
  7. BlackRock Inc. reports 0.80% decrease in ownership of ESLT / Elbit Systems Ltd, fintel, accessed March 11th 2024 https://fintel.io/so/us/eslt/blackrock
  8. Dirty secret of Israel’s weapons exports: They’re tested on Palestinians, Al Jazeera, 17th November 2023, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/17/israels-weapons-industry-is-the-gaza-war-its-latest-test-lab
  9. BAE Systems PLC, Market Screener, accessed 11th March 2024 https://uk.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/BAE-SYSTEMS-PLC-9583545/company/
  10. Manchester-Tel Aviv University joint research funds, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.manchester.ac.uk/collaborate/global-influence/collaborations/manchester-tel-aviv-research-fund/
  11. Staff at University of Manchester demand end to Tel Aviv University ties, 16th June 2021, accessed 11th March 2024 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-israel-manchester-university-tel-aviv-staff-demand-end-ties
  12. The university at the heart of Israel’s war industry, 6th February 2013, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, accessed 11th March 2024 https://jfjfp.com/the-university-at-the-heart-of-israels-war-industry/