As a Students’ Union, we acknowledge our delayed response has caused distress within the student community and for that we sincerely apologise. We are sorry for the time that it took to respond to your voices. We know that this delay has inevitably left our students being ignored. We promise that we are here to listen, so thank for making yourselves heard and we are sorry students of Surrey.

The University of Surrey Student’s Union stands in solidarity with the Palestinians who are facing violent dispossession from their homes as the Israeli Military continues to expand its illegal settlements. The UN Human Rights Office has found that this is “prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime.” (https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/05/1091492)

We recognise that generations of Palestinians have suffered expulsion, displacement, and ethnic cleansing, and continue to be brutalised by the state of Israel.
We stand in solidarity with those who have lost their lives and lost family and friends to the airstrikes in the past weeks and with the worshippers of the Al-Aqsa Mosque who were brutalised by Israeli police forces whilst observing prayer during the holy month of Ramadan.
We take a stand with the Palestinian people in their resistance against Israeli occupation and we stand with them in their struggle for liberation.
However, we remain concerned by the reported increase in anti-Semitic incidents, and we want to make it clear that we absolutely condemn these actions. Pro-Palestinian does not and will never equate to anti-Semitism.

We stand with Jewish and Israeli students and staff against all forms of racism. We will continue to support any Israeli students who have been impacted. You can report any and all incidents of hate through the Report and Support and the Students Union staff are always available to help and listen to any worries or concerns.

If you would like to stand in solidarity and action the UK Government to make change, please do sign the petition to introduce sanctions against Israel (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/585314). If you would like to get involved on campus, we will support any students wanting to revive the Friends of Palestine Society. If you would like to revive or introduce a society, please get in touch with ussu.vpactivity@surrey.ac.uk who will be able to support students through this process.

If any student would like support, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the following Students’ Union or University Services:

Nightline – Please login to the USSU website to access the number and messaging service

Centre for Wellbeing – centreforwellbeing@surrey.ac.uk or 01483 689498
Report & Support – https://reportandsupport.surrey.ac.uk

Chaplaincy – chaplaincy@surrey.ac.uk

Peer Supporters – peersupport@surrey.ac.uk