Oxford college referred to charity regulator over £1m investment in Israeli settlements
A college at England's elite Oxford University has been referred to Britain's charity regulator after it emerged that it has over £1m ($1.26m) worth of investments in illegal Israeli settlements.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based group, launched a formal complaint on Tuesday with the Charity Commission against Oxford's All Souls College, which has an endowment of nearly £500m and was founded in 1438 by King Henry VI.
The revelation follows a series of freedom of information requests made in July and August 2024 that revealed the college maintains £1,121,731.57 worth of investments in four companies listed by the United Nations as being involved in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
ICJP alleged in its complaint that these investments violated not just international but also domestic British law.
The college is a registered charity, meaning it receives tax relief on donations but British legislation prohibits charities from engaging in political activity.
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British government policy also officially opposes settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
'Finances above educational duties'
ICJP Legal Officer Mira Naseer said: "The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been crystal clear on the illegality of Israeli settlements.
"Not that there was before, but there can be absolutely no excuse now for a British educational institution to remain financially complicit in illegal settlements.
"This is yet another example of a university or college putting their finances above their educational duties and the Charity Commission must step in and provide guidance to charities that are making such investments."
On 6 May, Oxford students set up a protest encampment for Gaza, calling for the university to commit to a transparent investment policy along with students at universities across Britain. The encampment was dismantled on 25 June.
According to the ICJP, All Souls College has investments in four companies complicit in illegal Israeli settlements: £239,725.29 in Airbnb, £613,613.16 in Booking Holdings, £7,761.18 in Expedia Group and £260,631.94 in Motorola Solutions Inc.
In 2019, home-sharing company Airbnb decided to reverse an earlier decision to remove its listings in illegal West Bank settlements.
Hotel broker site Bookings.com reportedly has listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories too.
Amnesty International said in 2019: "Online booking giants Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor are fuelling human rights violations against Palestinians by listing hundreds of rooms and activities in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem."
Middle East Eye has contacted All Souls College, Oxford, for comment.
In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion, which found that Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories was "unlawful", and that its "near-complete separation" of people in the occupied West Bank breached international laws concerning "racial segregation" and "apartheid".
The court also found that states must not in any way assist Israel's illegal occupation.
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