“Promoting the Right of Education for the Palestinian People”

The Let Palestinians Study Campaign was launched at the NUS Black Students’ Conference in June 2008. The campaign was initiated by Khaled Almudallal, who is currently the Union Secretary-Treasurer of Bradford university student’s union. In 2007 Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, including closing Gaza’s borders. Since then, Israeli restrictions on freedom of movement mean hundreds of students, many of whom have scholarships to study at prestigious universities, remain trapped in Gaza, prevented from attending universities around the world.

Let Palestinians Study campaign aims to raise awareness of this situation, and pressure the British government to call on the Israeli authorities to guarantee Palestinian students access to education. Israel’s actions have been condemned the campaign in many occasions which has criticised Israel for violating the right to freedom of movement of more than 1.6 million Palestinians living in Gaza, as well as leaving hundreds of students threatened with losing scholarships to attend university.

The United Nations has also criticised Israel’s “policy of collective punishment” against the inhabitants of Gaza. The denial of the right to education is just one aspect of Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza. Since Israel closed Gaza’s borders thousands of Palestinians have been prevented from leaving Gaza on regular basis in order to have an access to essential medical treatment and over 350 Palestinians have died after being denied access to proper medical care.

Let Palestinians Study will be active throughout the year organising activities on campus to raise awareness of the students trapped in Gaza, and calling on the British government, and British universities to put pressure on the Israeli government to guarantee Palestinian students their right to education.