Student campaigners have long called on Manchester University to end such investments. Last year, a coalition of student groups, including the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign, Fossil Free Manchester and Decolonise UoM, came together in multiple protests and events to demand divestment from companies complicit in human rights abuses. Those movements finally managed to push the University of Manchester to divest more than $ 13 million from those companies, among them Caterpillar,  a long-standing supplier of heavy machinery used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Thus, The University of Manchester is the second higher education institution in Britain to divest from companies aiding Israel’s occupation.  Two years ago, following a student campaign, Leeds University pulled its investment from companies that supply equipment to the Israeli army. To check the news, click here