Over 100 protesters marched through central Cambridge yesterday (19/03), protesting the University’s continued investment in companies that produce arms used by Israel.

Organised by Cambridge for Palestine (C4P) and accompanied by members of the Cambridge branch of the National Education Union, the protest convened on King’s Parade before marching to  Old Schools, then proceeding to Trinity College and finally Great St Mary’s Church.

As they walked, protesters played drums and held a banner reading “We Will Not Be Silenced”.

This comes after Israeli aircraft launched airstrikes against what the military called Hamas targets in Gaza. This led to more than 400 people killed and hundreds more injured, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

At the Old Schools site, which was sprayed with red paint by Palestine Action earlier in this month (04/03), protesters gathered around and heard from a representative of Youth Demand, an activist group which has made headlines in recent months for actions targeting British arms exports to Israel.

The representative called on those present to “escalate” action in support of Palestine, saying that it was not enough to “chant and march,” and that protesters had to actively block the “genocidal war machine”.

Outside Trinity, organisers accused the College’s Master, Dame Sally Davies, of backtracking on the College’s commitment to divest from arms companies.

This comes after Varsity revealed in November last year that she had said the College had “no interest” in divestment, despite previous reports that Trinity had voted to begin the process in May 2024.

The protesters held a minute’s silence outside the college’s Great Gate in memory of the Palestinians who have died as a result of the war, and heard further speeches addressing the “student intifada” and encampment for Gaza that was set up at Columbia University last year.

Organisers had originally intended the protest to finish by “occupying” the lawn in front of Senate House, but as the gate to the site was closed, the crowd gathered outside Great St Mary’s Church.

This comes after the University applied for a five-year injunction to prohibit the occupation of its head offices, including Senate House. The five-year injunction was refuted on the basis that it was not “necessary and justified”. The University was instead granted an injunction preventing protesters from occupying Senate House until 1 March, to prevent any disruptions to graduations.

An encampment on Senate House lawn was established in both May and November of 2024, alongside occupations of King’s College lawn and Greenwich House by pro-Palestine protesters.

The final speakers called for a boycott of brands with links to Israel. Another speaker called on King’s College staff and students to express their views through the College’s “responsible investment survey,” launched by the College’s working group on responsible investment last week (14/03), saying that money was “the only language the University understands”.

Trinity College and the University of Cambridge were contacted for comment.