Response to ICJ Decision
25 July 2024
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) could not be clearer in its judgement: there is an international obligation to reject israel's presence in Palestine as illegal and refrain from providing aid or assistance that could maintain israeli occupation and apartheid.
OA4P firmly believes that this legal obligation applies to Oxford University. We call on the University to urgently boycott and divest from israeli institutions, as well as any other companies that continue to fuel israeli genocide, occupation, and apartheid.
Palestinian tiberation does not require the language of international law in order to be morally justified - and this decision merely reiterates what Palestinians have been telling us for generations. But the ICJ's unequivocal condemnation of israeli occupation and apartheid shows how severely the course of history has shifted. There is no longer any room for Oxford to claim 'neutrality' as an excuse: the University is aiding and abetting israel's crimes.
For months we have told the University that divestment is not just a moral imperative, but an inevitability. On 1 May, International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) wrote to Oxford alongside eighty-two British universities, alerting them of the potential risk of criminal liability over any investments held in both arms companies and israeli settlements. Now, the ICJ has issued this historic ruling. International condemnation of israel grows by the hour, and Universities have already begun committing to divestment and boycotts. It is long overdue for Oxford to join them.
According to the Court, no State, or international organisations, can recognise israel's presence in Palestine as lawful. As such, the Court notes that States must not only take part in 'diplomatic protests' against the occupying power, but remove any unconditional financial, economic, military, or technological aid to israel. Moreover, it specifies that 'economic trade dealings' that further 'entrench its unlawful presence in the territory' goes against international norms. The University of Oxford is therefore to be held responsible for any collaborations, or funding that it provides institutions, including academic institutions, that further 'entrench' israel's illegal presence in Palestine.
Our work with the University has already paved a path for Oxford to take action. On 20 June, in direct response to pressure from OA4P and our wider community, the Administration announced a commitment to an "accelerated Universitywide review" of the University's current ethical investment policy. The University committed to reviewing the current policy, which prohibits direct and indirect investment in companies manufacturing arms that are illegal under UK law, to judge its "continued appropriateness or whether it should be extended". The review will be open to submission from groups across the University, and the findings of the review will be reported to the Investment Committee and University Council.
We urge the University to expedite the review and complete it in an urgent and timely manner, and to expand its scope beyond arms investment restrictions to include investments in companies that are complicit in genocide, apartheid, and illegal occupation.
We are witnessing a watershed moment. As the tides continue to turn against israel, it is only a matter of time before our movement succeeds in achieving its aims. We will not stop until Palestine is free.