Dear TCD BDS, dear SU Citizenship Officer, dear SU Ethnic Minorities Officer, dear SU President,
I am writing as Chairperson of Students 4 Change on behalf of our Students 4 Peace campaign, and all the students in this campaign who are very concerned about Trinity College Dublin’s involvement with the war-industry.
Students 4 Peace brings together students fighting for the pacifist and humanitarian principles of Irish neutrality. One of our goals, namely that of making our College divest from war-related stocks, is also the aim of BDS and TCDSU. As of 2020, our College invests ~2.6 million euros into Arms and Weaponry manufacturers, such as BAE systems, Lockheed Martin and the Boeing Company through its endowment fund. These companies are used, for example, by the Israeli government to uphold their illegal colonial project on the territory of Palestine.
We are writing in essence to inform you of the next steps that Students 4 Change will take to make our College divest from their unethical investments in arms and warfare activities across the world. When we emailed Provost Linda Doyle in August, she was very forthcoming and informed us that she will convene a Committee on ethical investment the following month, with the involvement of a diverse range of representatives from College.
Since then, they have taken steps to divest from the fossil-fuel industry, but no news of the Committee and divestment from the war-industry. In addition to the news that our College has 2.6 million € invested in the war-industry, Students 4 Change has also uncovered that College has close research funding links with Mr. Declan Ganley, a multimillionaire who campaigned for anti-abortion in Ireland, is involved with the war-industry, and has close ties with Trump and the far-right.
I would like to note in particular, that Declan Ganley’s ex-Party, Libertas, allied itself with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a pro-Israel organization which claimed in 2013 that BDS is a “thinly-disguised effort to coordinate and complement the violent strategy of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim ‘rejectionists’ who have refused to make peace with Israel for over six decades, and to pursue a high-profile campaign composed of anti-Israel big lies to help destroy the Jewish State by any and all means”.
We propose, if our College does not take further steps by the end of Semester 1 towards ethical investment and ethically-sourced research, for you to join Students 4 Change in formally challenging our institution’s status as a ‘University of Sanctuary’. Currently, our College, despite its efforts and certain notable achievements, does not live up to the latter award which is given for work in promoting the integration, inclusion and welfare of refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants.
We are informing the Provosts’ Office of this plan, so that they have ample time to act.
From the attached document, here is a quote from the Irish branch of the ‘University of Sanctuary’ movement. Awards should not be awards for the sake of awards; they should be given for concrete and continued commitments to a set of ideals.
University of Sanctuary Ireland (UoSI) is an initiative to encourage and celebrate the good practice of universities, colleges and institutes welcoming refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants into their university communities and fostering a culture of welcome and inclusion for all those seeking sanctuary.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Best Regards,
László Molnárfi
Students 4 Change
Chairperson
is an alliance of Marxist and Anarchist students from Trinity College Dublin focused on the housing crisis in relation to student accommodation, Irish neutrality, SU reform and other matters of student politics. Go on our website students4change.eu, follow us on social media or email us at [email protected]!
And here is our email to Provost Linda Doyle.
Dear Provost Linda Doyle,
I am writing again as Chairperson of Students 4 Change to seek your official commitment and update on the steps taken towards policies on ethical investment and ethically-sourced research at Trinity College Dublin, including cutting all ties with Israel, Declan Ganley and divesting completely from the war-industry. We would like to thank you for your work on fulfilling our College’s pledge to divest from the fossil-fuel industry, but we believe there is more work to do on this front.
To reiterate again:
- Students 4 Change has uncovered that College has close research funding links with Mr. Declan Ganley, a multimillionaire who campaigned for anti-abortion in Ireland, is involved with the war-industry, and has close ties with Trump and the far-right.
- As of 2020, our College invests ~2.6 million euros into Arms and Weaponry manufacturers, such as BAE systems, Lockheed Martin and the Boeing Company through its endowment fund. These companies are used, for example, by the Israeli government to uphold their illegal colonial project on the territory of Palestine.
- We would also like to note in particular, that Declan Ganley’s ex-Party, Libertas, allied itself with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a pro-Israel organization which claimed in 2013 that BDS is a “thinly-disguised effort to coordinate and complement the violent strategy of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim ‘rejectionists’ who have refused to make peace with Israel for over six decades, and to pursue a high-profile campaign composed of anti-Israel big lies to help destroy the Jewish State by any and all means”.
After discussing with members of Students4Change, we propose that if our College does not take further steps by the end of Semester 1 towards ethical investment and ethically-sourced research and provide an official commitment, decrying its links with Israel, the war-industry and Declan Ganley, that we will challenge our institution’s status as a ‘University of Sanctuary’. Currently, our College, despite its efforts and certain notable achievements, does not live up to the latter award which is given for work in promoting the integration, inclusion and welfare of refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants. Every day, lives are lost, families are destroyed and oppression continues to reign because of the military-war industry – we must actively fight against it, regardless of profits or the prestige of our College.
The prestige of our College should lay not in its research funding or links with business donors, but in its eternal commitment to virtues such as social reform, democracy, independent research and peace – most of these virtues are listed on our College’s mission statement as well.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Best Regards,
László Molnárfi
Students 4 Change
Chairperson
is an alliance of Marxist and Anarchist students from Trinity College Dublin focused on the housing crisis in relation to student accommodation, Irish neutrality, SU reform and other matters of student politics. Go on our website students4change.eu, follow us on social media or email us at [email protected]!
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