Yesterday, students and other activists protested an event hosted on campus featuring Michael Gove and Humza Yousaf. The discussion, organised by the University’s John Smith Centre, was focused on life after politics and featured a range of issues from Brexit, to Covid, to the impact of social media on politics.
Glasgow Against Arms and Fossil Fuels (GAAF), along with Glasgow University Justice for Palestine (GUJPS) announced their intention to protest the event on Monday 27 January on an instagram post which read: “Glasgow university has invited the shameful Zionist Michael Gove to our campus!”
The post continued: “Shame on Glasgow university for hosting him. If he thinks he is welcome on our campus he’s got another thing coming! We will give him the welcome that a fascist zionist deserves. Be there, come with your flags and kuffiyehs. Let our student voice be heard, zionists and genocide enablers off our campus now!”
Former MP, Michael Gove received significant criticism recently after publishing an article in The Jewish Chronicle at the beginning of the month in which he argued that the Israeli Defence Force should receive a Nobel Peace Prize for their war against Hamas in Gaza.
‘I should be proud of the place I go to be educated’
The protest began at around 6pm, one hour before the event was scheduled to begin. The protest gathered a sizable crowd, with a significant police presence urging people to stay off of the road.
The rally did not involve a hard-picket and Hillhead Review understands that no one was harmed, although many attendees were booed and heckled upon entering the building.
One protestor told Hillhead Review: “Michael Gove shouldn’t be welcome in a Uni that I am at. The Uni are refusing to divest from arms companies and are welcoming a piece of sh*t like Michael Gove which I can’t really stand for.”
Another said: “It’s a disappointment to be honest, I should be proud of the place I go to be educated and at the moment I just can’t be proud of how Glasgow Uni is so invested in the arms trade, and also inviting people like Michael Gove who said that the IDF should be given a Nobel Peace Prize – I think it’s disgusting. No one like this should be allowed near a place of education.”
When asked about Humza Yousaf’s appearance at the event, they said: “He shouldn’t have agreed to be on the same stage as Michael Gove, it’s disappointing. I think he didn’t do enough [to support Palestine] when he had the opportunity to do so.”
During the 90-minute event, Michael Gove addressed his recent comments in The Jewish Chronicle. Amidst sounds of police sirens from outside, he said: “I’m a very strong supporter of the state of Israel, if you needed any reminder of why the Jewish people need a state and a military force to protect them it is is the fact that we are meeting here on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
“The ideology of Hamas, which is not the ideology of the majority of people in Gaza, is eliminationist and antisemitic…And so steps had to be taken to ensure that the capacity of Hamas to kill again at scale which they made clear was their intention was dealt with.”
One second-year student who had joined the picket also accused Humza Yousaf of taking part in enabling Genocide by sharing a stage with Michael Gove.
Humza Yousaf responded to this accusation, telling Hillhead Review: “It’s such a ridiculously stupid accusation for somebody who has been so vocal about the atrocities that have been committed in Gaza, and I have got family that are literally in Gaza.”
He went on to say: “If I hadn’t attended this event then, and I’m very pleased that I did, Michael Gove would have been here on his own able to say whatever he wanted without being challenged on what I thought was one of the most grotesque remarks made in the last 15 months.”
Some students present at the rally were more sympathetic to Humza Yousaf, with one saying: “Yousaf was very pro-liberation so personally I don’t have a problem, but I have an issue with Gove.
An ongoing story
Protests surrounding Palestine have become a common sight on campus during the last year, with rallies and marches in support of Palestine becoming a monthly occurrence. Groups including GAAF have also taken part in more direct action on campus in order to pressure the University to divest from arms companies.
In January, GAAF occupied George Service House at 11 University Gardens for over two weeks demanding an immediate divestment of any University investments in companies such as BAE Systems and the Thales Group, who are involved in weapons manufacturing.
The previous semester also saw a consultation for students and staff on the University’s Socially Responsible Investment policy. This led to a vote by the University Court in November on a new ‘Sustainable and Responsible Investment Policy’ which didn’t include divesting from arms companies such as BAE systems and Thales.
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