Dear fellow student, on May 15, during our weekly sit-in. In the main hall of the VU we commemorated the Nakba (‘the catastrophe’): the violent displacement of more than 750.00 Palestinians by zionist militias in 1948. We read the names of Palestinian academics and children who have been murdered by Israel in the current ongoing genocide, which is a direct continuation of that same Nakba. Some students even looked up, others gave us a nod or a thumbs-up.
We see those gestures of solidarity. But let us be clear: they are not enough. We need more. We need your voice. Because studying is more than collecting ECs or obtaining a diploma. It is a time during which you discover who you are, what your principles are, what you stand for, and how you engage with the world around you.
That world does not stop at the walls of the universities. Especially not now. The genocide in Gaza is not something happening only far, far away. It is a continuing injustice which the VU, our university, is involved in, through collaborations with Israeli universities and other institutions that are actively contributing to the oppression, occupation and genocide. Students worldwide are making their voices heard, from Columbia University in New York to Dhaka University in Bangladesh.
What about us? What are we doing? Too often, we see silence. Silence of students who know what is happening, but who think: never mind. No time, no inclination to do anything, or: what difference is my voice going to make? Students who say: “So good that you are doing this”, but who do not join. Students who are afraid to speak out, out of fear or discomfort. We are not asking you to join VU for Palestine or another existing activist group, or for you to join an occupation.
Above all, we are asking you to stand up for what is right. To speak up. To take responsibility. Do so in your own way, with the people around you, but don’t stay quiet. And ask for help from those who have been fighting this fight for some time if you do not know how to start. You can participate in a protest, sign a petition, support a boycott or even simply talk to your friends and family. Small actions accumulate.
And those actions are needed. While other universities are at least creating the illusion that they will break some ties with Israeli institutions, the VU is not even moving. Not a single tie has been broken; the Executive Board keeps evading, delaying and ignoring. By doing so, the VU is not just morally negligent, but front-runner in passivity.
We should all be involved with the unjust policy of our university, precisely because it is our university. A university that is being financed with our tuition money.
And if, after almost two years of genocide and the persistent refusal of the Executive Board to distance themselves from complicit institutions, you still don’t understand why speaking out is necessary, then you are part of the problem. Because if genocide doesn’t wake you up, what will?
Your fellow students of VU for Palestine
Response to another article where the comments have been disabled by Peter Breedveld because he does not want people to see that he is committing defamation
I have carefully read the report referenced in this article. It is not an objective or independent analysis, but a politically motivated pamphlet compiled by members of ChangeVU and other outspoken opponents of the Vrijmoedige Studentenpartij (VSP). It was written and supposedly investigated by Morgan Deneubourg, with testimonies coming from one and the same activist circle: Rabia Alarslan, Constantin Saul, Shania van Sandijk, Josephine Hart, Ilgın Demirkır, Sanne Valkink, Joep van Dijk, and others. Each of them has a direct interest in damaging the VSP.
The allegations are not supported by any hard or independent evidence. They consist solely of subjective and mutually reinforcing statements, without any attempt at fair hearing. The fact that this very group authored and distributed the document completely undermines its credibility.
It is truly shocking that Ad Valvas would adopt this pamphlet without critical scrutiny as the basis for an article full of serious accusations. If these claims are false — and it is abundantly clear that they are — this constitutes defamation and reputational damage. This is no longer journalism, but activist framing disguised as reporting.
Moreover, when I posted this response under Peter Breedveld’s original article, it was deleted. The comment section has now been completely disabled. Apparently, the public is not allowed to see that these serious accusations are unsupported. The defamation he is committing must remain hidden.
Ad Valvas, shame on you.