Statement of solidarity with Palestine

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

- Desmond Tutu 

FreshAir Radio stands firmly and unequivocally with the people of Palestine. 

We are in full support of Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society, Kehillah, and the countless students, staff members and societies across campus who have condemned the University of Edinburgh’s complicity. We join them in calling upon our university to wholly and immediately divest from all companies involved in the genocide of Palestinians.

An inquiry from UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese found that the University of Edinburgh was “among the UK’s most financially entangled institutions” with Israel, still continuing to fund Big Tech companies conducting surveillance on Palestinians, and partnering with Leonardo and Ben Gurion University, who work directly with the Israeli military. We are appalled by this - it is hypocritical to claim to care about the welfare of students while funding a regime that has destroyed every university in Gaza. The university has also shown blatant disregard for its own students by dismissing calls for divestment, removing memorials for Palestinian victims of genocide and allowing a violent hate crime against a pro-Palestinian protestor to take place on campus.

As a radio station we understand what a privilege it is to talk freely, and believe it is our responsibility to bring the stories of those who cannot to light. Since October 7, Israel has placed a ban on all foreign journalists entering the Gaza Strip. Journalists from within Gaza have been specifically targeted, silenced and killed by the IDF, with no consequences. Closer to home, mainstream media coverage has largely been biased towards Israel: in particular, the BBC was found to have given 33 times more coverage per fatality to Israeli deaths, compared to the deaths of Palestinians. We believe that this kind of coverage equates to being complicit in genocide, and want to make it clear where we stand.

We urge you to keep your eyes on Palestine. Although the ceasefire is good news, there  have been dozens of violations, killing at least 100 Palestinians. In any case, the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and the systematic destruction of Gaza cannot be undone, and the decades-long subjugation of the West Bank continues.

Divest now and free Palestine!

References

Albanese, F. (2025). From economy of occupation to economy of genocide – (A/HRC/59/23) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. United Nations. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/

Al-Mughrabi, N., Choukeir, J. and Rose, E. (2025, October 30). Israel kills more than 100 in strikes after soldier's death, says it still backs ceasefire. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-says-gaza-ceasefire-holds-israel-has-right-hit-back-if-attacked-2025-10-29/

Calder, J. (2024). Edinburgh University says that ‘no site will be provided’ for Palestine memorial. The Tab Edinburgh. https://thetab.com/2024/10/16/edinburgh-university-says-that-no-no-site-will-be-provided-for-palestine-memorial

Centre for Media Monitoring. (2025). BBC On Gaza-Israel: One Story, Double Standards. Centre for Media Monitoring. https://cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-israel-one-story-double-standards/

International Federation of Journalists. (2025, October 7). Israel: Two years of killing journalists and controlling the narrative in Gaza. IFJ News. https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/israel-two-years-of-killing-journalists-and-controlling-the-narrative-in-gaza

OCHCR. (2024, April 18). UN experts deeply concerned over ‘scholasticide’ in Gaza. United Nations. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza

Sabbatical Officer Team 2024/25. (2025, April 3). Update on discussions with the University following the hate crime committed outside the library. Edinburgh University Student’s Association. https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/newsandblogs/article/Update-responsetohatecrime