In 1968 Steven Rose and his wife Hilary founded the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science (BSSRS). Early on in its two decades of work it challenged the use of CS gas in Bogside, Derry.
The pair had key roles in 2005 in setting up Bricup (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine), in response to the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. It was the first organisation anywhere formed specifically to promote the boycott of Israel’s higher education institutions, on the grounds of their deep complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
At the time academic boycott was seen as almost beyond the pale. Now for many years it has been the settled policy of the lecturers’ union UCU, with accelerating support among university staff. The issue of Israel’s treatment of Palestine and Palestinians became Steven’s dominant political engagement for the last 20 years of his life.
• This article was amended on 25 July 2025. An earlier version said Steven Rose was a founder member of the British Society for Social Responsibility; however, this should have said the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science.
