King’s College London (KCL) will end investment in companies directly engaged in the production and distribution of ‘controversial weapons’. This decision follows an academic year marked by pro-Palestine campus protests and multiple controversies within the King’s community.
This article was first published in print on 16 September 2024.
The war between Israel and Hamas caused a wave of protests across the world. Our campus was no exception. Roar provides a timeline of the past nine months, looking back on major events as they publicly unfolded. This timeline is not exhaustive but it sketches a general outline of the developments.
The Political Context
On 7 October 2023, Hamas militants based in Gaza launched the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, killing 1200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.
The Israeli government responded with a commitment to completely eliminate Hamas’ military capabilities. The ensuing ‘Israel-Hamas War’ has created a severe humanitarian crisis and restriction of access in and out of the Gaza Strip.
Politics Felt on Campus
As graphic documentation of the Israel-Hamas war circulated online, large-scale protests emerged across the world to call for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian access and the release of hostages.
Demonstrators at universities, including King’s, also decried their institutions’ alleged financial ties to sectors of Israel’s economy and its military.
Seven months later, international actors, Israel and Hamas have not succeeded in negotiating a permanent ceasefire agreement.
In early 2024, two Roar features revealed that the war was severely impacting students’ personal lives at King’s. Experiences of insecurity and grief were shared by Muslim, Jewish, Arab and Israeli students in the months since the war began — from feeling unsafe expressing one’s identity in public to organising campaigns in the midst of losing family members.
In the United Kingdom, there has been an alarming surge in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents since 7 October.
KCL Alumnus Killed
7 November 2023: Dr Maisara Alrayyes, a Chevening Scholar who returned to work as a doctor in Gaza upon completion of his master’s degree at King’s, was killed in his home by an Israeli airstrike. A memorial was organised for 29 November.
Student Officer Statements
28 November 2023: Three KCLSU Sabbatical Officers posted a joint statement on Instagram condemning the Student Union’s “tight-lipped attitude on Palestine“. They claimed they tried to push the KCLSU to release a statement in solidarity with Palestine and support for a ceasefire.
29 November 2023: A follow-up joint statement by the Sabbatical Officers claimed they faced “intimidation and mistreatment” by KCLSU senior leadership following their prior post. They claimed they were “…repeatedly told in no uncertain terms, ‘You are suspended'”. The officers did not receive a formal suspension notice, which they understood was being reconsidered.
KCLSU Acknowledges Controversy
7 December 2023: Following widespread discussion online, the KCLSU made public their acknowledgement of the suspension controversy. They declined to comment in detail, citing “ongoing proceedings surrounding this matter”.
KCL Academics Sign Open Letter For Gaza Statement
29 January 2023: 113 academics signed an open letter to King’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Shitij Kapur, criticising the university’s “neutral stance” on Palestine. This followed similar letters from staff and students calling on King’s to break its silence on the violence in Gaza.
Roar Confirms and Investigates Suspensions
February 2024: An anonymous source confirmed to Roar that the Student Officers were suspended, though they did not specify in what capacity.
A Roar investigation examined available KCLSU governance policy documents to provide clarity on the officers’ status. The investigation concluded that there was no permissible way to suspend elected officers; however, the Trustees’ Code of Conduct obligates Student Officers, under the threat of removal, to uphold the reputation of the KCLSU. It also explicitly prohibits them from speaking publicly against KCLSU policy as Trustees.
Roar determined that the Student Officers were likely suspended under their employee contracts, pending investigation into their formal removal for breaching the Trustees’ Code of Conduct.
KCLSU declined to discuss Roar’s findings, citing confidentiality concerns.
Hassan Ali Runs for KCLSU President
While the officers’ investigation status remained publicly ambiguous, suspended Officer Hassan Ali, the then Vice President for Welfare & Community, launched his campaign for the position of 2024-2025 KCLSU President.
2 March 2024: Ali released his campaign post on Instagram, decorated with watermelons—a popular symbol for Palestine. Included in his platform were pledges over ‘Reforming KCLSU’s By-Laws’ and ‘Divestment of funds from Israel & Global Arms Trade’.
Hassan Ali Declared Winner
15 March 2024: An email sent to the student body announced that Hassan Ali won the presidential election for the following academic year after receiving 1,328 votes — a landslide by KCLSU election standards. The 2024-2025 elections boasted the largest overall student turnout in KCLSU’s history.
Israel Society Cancels Speaker Event Due to Security Concerns
19 March 2024: Following reported death threats to invited speaker Ely Lassman, the Israel Society cancelled a panel event on conflict resolution in Israel and Palestine scheduled for that evening. Prior to the event, the society had faced campaigns against inviting Lassman, a veteran of the Israel Defence Force (IDF), on campus. Another invitee, Kiyah Willis, was criticised for past social media posts in which she expressed that opposition to Islam was “common sense” and that “Islamophobia isn’t real“. The event was called off out of concern for the safety of the invitees and attendees.
Dr Adnan al-Bursh Killed
19 April 2024: Dr Adnan al-Bursh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, died in an Israeli prison after four months of detainment and alleged torture. He had reportedly spent six months as a fellow at King’s College Hospital (KCH). Roar has been unable to verify his alumnus status but a vigil was held in his memory on 8 May near KCH.
Pro-Palestine Encampments Launch on Strand
13 May 2024: In the early afternoon, a coalition of students from multiple London universities began occupying the quad on Strand campus. They demanded that King’s condemn, boycott and divest from actors contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Palestine. They also demanded that KCL pledge to help rebuild and support Gaza’s education sector and implement safeguards for pro-Palestine expression on campus. Counter-protestors arrived with an Israeli flag. There was no violence.
Protests Disrupt KCL Events and Activities
11 June 2024: A group of encampment members attempted to disrupt the King’s annual Alumni Awards night. After around an hour of protesting through microphones, megaphones and speakers, some students tried to force entry into the Great Hall. One student was then invited inside to address the audience.
22 June 2024: In response to instructions to pack up tents ahead of the university’s Open Day, which invites prospective students to tour King’s campuses, members of the encampment staged a protest during the Strand Campus Open Day.
Hassan Ali Disqualified
10 July 2024: The KCLSU announced that despite previously declaring Ali’s victory, the election results in March “were actually provisional and not final”. The Returning Officer, who was supposed to close the election, could not finalise the results due to an “outstanding confidential internal HR matter”. According to the SU, Ali was deemed ineligible due to a breach of the Trustees’ Code of Conduct.
Advait Joshi Declines KCLSU Presidency Offer
The KCLSU held an internal vote recount which declared Advait Joshi the winner of the office of President. Joshi privately declined the position before KCLSU informed the student body of Ali’s disqualification.
12 July 2024: Protestors from the encampments led a demonstration on Strand Campus denouncing Ali’s disqualification. Many criticised the Union for a lack of transparency about the Student Officers’ suspensions and alleged hypocrisy over the democratic process. At the time, the King’s community was unaware Joshi had declined to take up the presidency.
Termination of the Encampments
16 July 2024: Students were sent an email by Vice-Chancellor Shitij Kapur and King’s leadership announcing “the difficult decision to formally require that the occupation of the Quad ceases”. According to the email, this followed continuous breaches of protest rules and expectations, particularly “intimidating and highly disruptive behaviour, with important University activity and events adversely impacted”. The encampments were ordered to terminate by 19 July, under the threat of legal action.
KCLSU Proceeds Without a President
29 July 2024: A KCLSU update confirmed that the Board of Trustees decided to proceed in the 2024/2025 academic year without a KCLSU president. A spokesperson informed Roar that the arrangements for distributing responsibilities among the five incoming officers would be determined in October.
‘Controversial Weapons Clause’ Announcement
30 July 2024: Hassan Ali announced on Instagram that King’s Ethical Investment Policy (EIP) would be revised to prohibit the university from investing in “companies engaged in the production or distribution of controversial weapons”.
The university follows the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) definition of controversial weapons. It will therefore no longer invest in companies, or funds containing companies, involved in the manufacture of cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, chemical and biological weapons, blinding laser weapons, non-detectable fragments and incendiary weapons.
According to The Times, negotiations with the university’s finance executives have been ongoing since April and the formal agreement will be finalised in October.
King’s College London is now the first university in London to announce its intention to terminate investments in companies which manufacture and/or distribute controversial weapons, as a matter of formal ethical policy.
A KCL spokesperson shared with Roar:
“King’s maintains an ethical investment policy, and specifically invests in funds that proactively screen to avoid controversial and unethical sectors and industries – like tobacco, controversial weapons and fossil fuels as well as investing in funds that actively target positive social and green investments. We will be recommending to our governance committees that we formalise our existing informal policy of screening out investment funds which invest in companies involved in controversial weapons.”
