Pro-Palestine activists block Administration Building

The activists invited students and employees to walk out of their jobs and classrooms to protest the university's policy towards Israeli institutions. The demonstration had been announced for 10:00 am, in front of the Administration Building on Heidelberglaan, where the Executive Board works. However, students from Utrecht Student Encampment arrived at the building before 7:00 am. Activists chained themselves to every door.

The university then sent a message to all employees working in the building, advising them to work from home. Security guards stood in front of the building's doors to send anyone who came to work back home or tell them to work somewhere else on campus. 

Itaï van der Wal, the spokesperson for the protestors, says the demonstration is a reaction to the university's silence following the ceasefire in Israel. "The situation is still bad for Palestinians. By collaborating with Israeli universities, UU is indirectly supporting this genocide. The university should explicitly distance itself from this."

Most employees who came to the Administration Building in vain reacted with resignation, grabbing their bikes and going back home or heading to the Ruppert building to work. One employee talked to the protesters, saying: "What do you aim to achieve with this? With this action, you are supporting Israel and not the Palestinians." He explains to DUB that he believes the activists are playing into Israel's hands as people relate the Palestinian question to terror and the fight against Israel loses goodwill.

Van der Wal disagrees. "We have deliberately chosen the administration building as this is where the people responsible for the bad policy are. Besides, we are not affecting educational activities in any way. Sometimes, you've got to take action to show people the matter is serious. The Executive Board will continue to work with the Israeli universities, which we believe are playing a role in this genocide."

The demands remain the same as last year, with one additional demand. "We want the Executive Board to support the strike on March 11," says the spokesperson. "It's weird that an executive board that claims to be against the budget cuts is coming up with all sorts of austerity measures and not supporting the protests against the government's budget reduction."

The activists intend to blockade the building all day. A demonstration against UU's policy regarding Palestine began at 10:00 am. By 10:15 am, no more than twenty people were present, but the group quickly grew to fifty or so protestors.