Hundreds of students and teachers protest in front of Administration Building

“Viva viva Palestina.” More than five hundred teachers and students responded to the call from the action group UU Staff For Palestine, which called on the UU community to walk out of their lectures at 11:00 am and go to the Administration Building, where the Executive Board works. In an email, the Executive Board permitted all employees to attend the protest, provided that they did it peacefully and respected the house rules.

“It makes sense to me to be here,” says a History teacher who arrived early. He read the message from the Executive Board and decided to go to Utrecht Science Park with a few colleagues. “We have always spoken out against what is happening in Gaza. We've even organised a well-attended seminar on the topic.”

He hopes the university will take a firmer position on the issue. “There is a genocide going on, you cannot just let it pass you by.” The teacher also sees a sign of hope in the demonstrations for Palestine. “You can see that there is still solidarity and empathy.”

True colours
Margreet van der Ham, Head of the Department of Educational Coordination at the Faculty of Social Sciences, was there as well to express her support for Palestine. “That war has to stop right now.”

She also believes that “UU should show its true colours”. “But she has not yet decided what that should mean exactly. She considered going to the protest held at the university library last week but then decided against it when the activists barricaded the entrance to the courtyard.

She also understands UU's decision to evict the students and appreciates the attempt by UU President Anton Pijpers to talk to activists at Drift on Wednesday. She has doubts about the demand to cut all ties with Israel. According to her, some partnerships also involve Palestinian researchers who are looking for solutions to the conflict. “Nevertheless, in my opinion, a university should not hide behind the argument that it is 'not a political organisation'. That's just nonsense. When it was about Russia, they could express their disapproval immediately.”

Apologies
Around noon, all demonstrators were gathered in front of the Administration Building, shouting slogans and reading statements and poems. They also read the names of Palestinian scientists who were killed. Only a few protesters were covering their faces.

Around 1:00 pm, Kathrine van den Bogert, a lecturer at the Utrecht University School of Governance and the initiator of UU Staff for Palestine, read out the three "immediate" demands for the board. The university administrators were first of all asked to apologise for calling the police to clear the library's courtyard and the building at Drift 25 last week. Furthermore, they were called to respond to previous demands, including the demand to sever ties with Israeli universities.

The Executive Board was also asked to reply to an invitation for a meeting with Maya Wind, to be held on Tuesday at Drift. The Israeli anthropologist, affiliated with the University of British Columbia, examined the ties between Israeli universities and the state of Israel for her book Towers of Ivory and Steel.

Shortly afterwards, UU Vice-President Margot van der Starre came outside. Van den Bogert handed her Wind's book as a “belated birthday present”. The Governance teacher was one of the employees who disrupted UU's anniversary celebrations in March.

Shame on you
In a statement, Van der Starre expressed her regret that calling the police was necessary. Her statement led to angry reactions. According to the demonstrators, it was not necessary at all. The lack of apology also earned her a massive “shame on you”. The demonstrators find that the Executive Board has endangered students and employees by recruiting the riot police. According to Van der Starre, the precise state of affairs in and around the University Library is still being investigated and evaluated.

The demonstrators were more appreciative of the announcement that UU will publish a list of all current partnerships with Israeli universities by the end of the week. Current projects will also be “reexamined”. The board's presence at Wind's lecture has not yet been confirmed. During the demonstration, Van den Bogert was told by the Executive Board that the invitation would be declined, which generated a massive expression of disapproval. It was then that Van der Starre decided to show up. The matter will be considered further.

Four students of Global Sustainability Science were among the demonstrators. Ferry, Tove, Teresa and Julia participated because they hoped to find some “togetherness”. Julia: “You feel so desperate sometimes.” They were particularly angry about the university's perceived hypocrisy. The students don't understand why the university would speak up against Russia but not against Israel. Ferry: “The university should be happy. It looks like they have succeeded in getting students to think critically about what is happening in Gaza. Exactly what a university should do.”

According to the two students, most of their classmates think the same way but they don't seem willing to attend the demonstration. Tove and Teresa walked away from their class to go to the Administration Building, but they were one of the few students who did so. Many lectures went on as usual.