The union representing academics at the University of Oxford is calling an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday to debate a vote that expresses solidarity with Palestinian terrorists, the establishment of a “Socialist Federation of the Middle East,” and “Intifada until victory.”

'Intifada until victory’ declare Oxford academics before meeting on Israel-Hamas war https://t.co/7lIwiC5Vnd

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 22, 2023

Academia is trash. Complete and utter trash.

The union in question is the University and College Union, which represents 120,000 members in the UK. It has a long and glorious history of radical activism, and its members clearly do not represent the views of all academics in the UK. It’s membership skews to academics and university employees at the lower end of the prestige and income scale, but with 120,000 members it represents over 50% of academic staff in the UK.

The Telegraph:

Oxford academics have called for “intifada until victory” before a meeting of union members to debate solidarity motions relating to the Israel-Hamas war.

A motion shared with Oxford members of the University and College Union (UCU) states that the branch believes that the war is “a direct consequence of decades of violent oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state”.

It states that “only a mass uprising on both sides of the green line and across the Middle East can free the Palestinian people”.

It goes on to say that “it is the duty of the international movement of workers and youth to support this struggle” and calls for “a Socialist Federation of the Middle East” and “intifada until victory”.

UCU members are due to vote on the motion during an extraordinary general meeting on Thursday.

In an email to members, seen by the Telegraph, Oxford UCU said: “The Branch Committee has decided to call this meeting in response to requests from multiple members to discuss and debate solidarity motions relating to the ongoing war in Israel and Palestine.”

A mass uprising in the Middle East sounds nice. The last time that happened nothing but good came of it, right?

Oxford is the oldest university in the English speaking world, and the second-oldest continually operating university in the world. With a history that long you would expect that there would be plenty of both high and low points, but one would also expect that at least a modicum of wisdom would have developed.

Oxford is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and has graduated 30 British Prime Ministers. Its graduates are at the pinnacle of British society, and are scattered in elite institutions throughout the world. One would expect that along with such a distinguished history would come a respect for the Western tradition, given how integral the university has been in creating it.

Here is a list of famous Oxonians. Adam Smith, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes. Edwin Hubble. Tony Blair. Aldous Huxley. Boris Johnson. Elena Kagan. C S Lewis. J R R Tolkien. Edmund Halley. Jonathan Swift…

We will have to wait until the vote on Thursday to see the level of support for this resolution, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it pass. The UCU has been at the forefront of the boycott and divest movement against Israel, and the calling of a special meeting suggests wide support for the resolution.

The past few weeks have been clarifying.