Harvey Brown, the SU’s Welfare and Community Officer, has resigned, attacking the SU’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war.

In a now-deleted post on the SU Welfare Instagram page, Brown described the SU as “fragrantly disconnected with student movements,” writing that “neither Cambridge SU nor Cambridge University has to date condemned Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza”.

Though the statement has been deleted, Brown has confirmed that his resignation still stands.

Brown’s decision comes amid the ongoing Cambridge for Palestine (C4P) encampment outside King’s College, which is calling for the University to divest from Israel.

Brown’s announcement comes three months before his term was due to end, and just two weeks after Rosie Freeman, the Women’s Officer, announced her resignation.

Ell Gardner-Thomas, the SU’s Disabilities Officer, resigned in January, and Anastasia Perysinakis as Postgraduate Access, Education, and Participation Officer earlier this academic year. Brown is the fourth SU sabbatical officer to resign this year.

In the post, Brown criticised the SU’s response to the C4P encampment, alleging that the SU statement on the matter, released on Friday (10/05) was released without sign-off from either himself or Maroof Rafique, the BME Officer, which “added insult to injury”. Brown drew attention to the fact that he is the only serving Sabbatical Officer of Palestinian heritage.

The officer alleged that the University has been “targeting specific Palestinian students instead of negotiating directly with the encampment”. Brown does not believe the SU is a “body qualified to represent students on this issue”.

Brown wrote that C4P’s calls to “end the University’s complicity in genocide” have been a “test” for Cambridge and the SU, which “both organisations have failed”.

“The SU has followed the University in attaching little practical meanings to the words it claims to champion,” he wrote.

Currently on sick leave due to “a period of work-related stress,” Brown wrote that his “mental health has deteriorated”. Brown intends to create resources to “hand over” his work on “ending racial profiling in colleges” and “reforming disciplinary procedures”.

The SU is yet to formally announce the Brown’s resignation.

Cambridge for Palestine have reposted Harvey Brown’s resignation, accusing the SU of having “failed in its obligations to support student welfare”.

It is unclear why the original statement was deleted, but Varsity understands that Brown is not the only individual within the SU with access to the Instagram account.

In October last year, Brown was forced to apologise for the “harm done” after he liked a tweet describing the October 7 Hamas attacks as a “day of celebration”.

Cambridge SU, the University of Cambridge, and Harvey Brown have been contacted for comment.