Maandag rond het middaguur drongen vijftig tot honderd gemaskerde pro-Palestijnse activisten het bestuurscentrum van de UvA binnen. De daar aanwezige medewerkers moesten het pand verlaten.
De bezetters eisten dat de universiteit alle banden met Israëlische universiteiten direct verbreekt. Het opschorten van de samenwerking met de Hebrew University is volgens hen lang niet genoeg. Ze barricadeerden ingangen, hesen de Palestijnse vlag, hingen spandoeken uit de ramen en staken groene en rode fakkels aan.
Leuzen
Het college van bestuur weigerde in gesprek te gaan met de gemaskerde bezetters en deed aangifte. Tientallen sympathisanten op straat moedigden de bezetters aan, meldde universiteitsblad Folia in een liveblog. Ze raakten slaags met de politie toen ze door de afzetlinten heen wilden breken.
De politie ontruimde het Maagdenhuis en voerde de bezetters af die het pand nog niet hadden verlaten. Binnen hadden de demonstranten leuzen op de muren gespoten als ‘Free Gaza’ en ‘UvA cut ties now’. Stoelen waren omgegooid of gebruikt als barricade bij de nooduitgangen. Volgens het bestuur is er in het pand aanzienlijke schade aangericht.
Loopbrug
In Nijmegen hielden gemaskerde pro-Palestijnse activisten sinds maandagmiddag een overdekte loopbrug tussen gebouwen van de Radboud Universiteit bezet. Na een aantal waarschuwingen deed het bestuur gisteravond aangifte, maar tot een ontruiming door de politie kwam het nog niet.
Ook de Nijmeegse bezetters willen dat het bestuur de banden met Israëlische universiteiten direct verbreekt. In een gesprek met hen zei collegevoorzitter Alexandra van Huffelen dat er binnen enkele weken een beslissing zal volgen op basis van het recent verschenen rapport van de adviescommissie samenwerkingsverbanden en op basis van “extra informatie die we daarnaast krijgen – onder andere van jullie”. Ze wil zich niet op een exacte datum laten vastpinnen, meldde universiteitsblad Vox.
Na een laatste waarschuwing van het Radboud-bestuur hadden de 21 overgebleven demonstranten de bezetting van de loopbrug zelf opgegeven, meldt Vox. Een ontruiming door de ME, die in busjes was aangerukt, bleek niet nodig.
Acties
Ook bij andere universiteiten vonden de afgelopen tijd pro-Palestijnse acties plaats, bijvoorbeeld in Utrecht, Maastricht en Tilburg. Vorige week woensdag nog was er een bezetting bij de VU. Daar eisten de demonstranten inzage in de samenwerking met Israëlische instellingen, meldde universiteitsblad Ad Valvas. Het VU-bestuur liet weten het recht op vrije meningsuiting belangrijk te vinden, maar bezettingen niet te accepteren. In de namiddag ontruimde de politie het gebouw.
Open letter to the VU Executive Board: We do not want the VU to call the police on our students
(This open letter will be presented to the VU Executive Board. Collection of signatories continues)
On 9 April, the VU called the police on our students. Seven students were arrested, handcuffed, removed from the campus in a prison bus, and put into a prison cell. The police force that entered the campus counted 30 officers, were equipped with guns, tasers and batons, and included at least one police dog. The signatories of this open letter – staff members of the VU – assert that the decision to call the police on our students was wrong.
The students were arrested for engaging in protest, making a demand that is neither unreasonable nor unprecedented. They asked the VU to disclose its ties with Israeli universities, which is a request for transparency, and can easily be met. Other universities in the Netherlands have already done so. The student protesters sought to engage with the VU Executive Board (CvB) on the issue, which refused. We believe that this refusal to engage with the students was unwise.
Calling the police was unnecessary and excessive also in light of the nature of the protest. It consisted of a standing protest at the campus square, and the occupation of a small hallway area on the first floor of the BelleVue building. Neither the protest nor the occupation caused significant inconvenience. We could observe first-hand that participants were taking significant and successful measures to prevent disruptions of examinations and of property damage. University occupations are a time-honored, valid form of protest, and should not be criminalized.
We ask the Executive Board to abstain from calling the police on students in the future. We strongly encourage its members to engage in good faith with the students, which is in line with the values of our academic community.
Signatories
Clemens Kaupa (Assistant Professor, Law Faculty); Pepijn Brandon (Professor, Faculty of Humanities), Marije Renate (Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences); Phoebe Hargrave (Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences); Simone Burger (Phd student, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Elif Keskiner (Assistant Professor, Sociology Department); Geert Luteijn (Lecturer, Faculty of Social Science); Yolande Jansen (Professor by special appointment, School of Religion and Theology); Koen Lemaire, (assistant professor, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Alessia Matano (PhD candidate, Faculty of Science); Jelle Bruinsma (PhD, Faculty of Humanities); Pola Cebulak (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Dimitris Pavlopoulos (Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Ismintha Waldring (Assistant Professor, Sociology Department); Sarah Eskens (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Wiebe Ruijtenberg (Assistant Professor, Anthropology); Maddalena Ghiotto (PhD candidate, Faculty of Science); Arno Lodder (Professor, Faculty of Law); Jessie Levano (Lecturer, Faculty of Law); Elise van Triest, (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Anne de Hingh (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Nicky van Oostrum (Policy Advisor Student Affairs); Nicky Bosman (PhD student, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Marthe Wens (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science); Lewis Jon Grace (Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences); Marina de Regt (Associate Professor, Dept of Social and Cultural Anthropology); Nana de Graaff (Professor Global Politics and Networks); Yasemin Ozer (thesisbegeleider); Martina Stankova (PhD candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Fabian Holle (PhD candidate, Sociology department); Nikos Kondylidis (PhD Student, Computer Science Department); Margherita Martorana (Research Associate, Faculty of Science); Laurine Blonk (Lecturer, Sociology Department); Saartje Tack (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Maurice Remy (PhD Candidate, Athena Institute); Boris Slijper (Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); Mauricio Garnier-Villarreal (Assistant professor, Sociology department); Elena Ponzoni (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Stef Bouwhuis (assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); S. Miske (PhD candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Alexandra Greene (PhD Candidate, Sociology); Evelien Wolf (Lecturer, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Sammia-Sarafina Elbakry (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Joshua Nooij (PhD candidate, Science Faculty, chair of the VU PhD council); Datin Manzoni (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences); Dimitris Dalakoglou (Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanity); Nina Vergeldt (Lecturer, Sociology department); Silvia De Conca (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Anna Aris (PhD candidate, Faculty of Science); Nadira Omarjee, (Lecturer, Sociology); Jop Koopman (PhD candidate, Anthropology and Lecturer Organization Sciences); Elliott Hoey (assistant professor, FSG); Jaša Veselinovič (Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Laura Eberlein (PhD Candidate, Sociology); Julia Christis (PhD candidate, School of Business and Economics); Felix Blommaert (PhD Researcher, Law Faculty); Zakia Essanhaji (Assistant Professor, Organization Sciences); John Hogan (Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); Graham Hagen-Peter (research technician, Earth Sciences); Tom Molenaar (Research Assistant, Sociology); Timo Korstenbroek (PhD Candidate, Sociology); Bent Bos (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Joram Pach (teacher and PhD candidate, Sociology); Ying Shen (PhD candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Anna van Harmelen (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Dominique Ankoné (PhD, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Mariecke van den Berg (Professor of Religion, Gender and Sexuality, School of Religion and Theology); Anne-Sophie Siemons (PhD candidate, Institute for Environmental Studies); Pieter Coppens (Associate Professor, School of Religion and Theology); Flávio Eiró (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); John van der Kamp (Associate Professor, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Halleh Ghorashi (Professor of Diversity and Integration, Sociology); Abdallah Al-Janabi (PhD candidate, Computer Science department); Dion Kramer (Assistant Professor, Law Faculty); Marijana Matosevic (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Tamara Happé (PhD candidate, Institute for Environmental Studies); Mariska van der Horst (Assistant Professor, Sociology); Loek van der Kallen (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science); Maurice Crul (Professor, Sociologie FSW); Rachma Lutfiny Putri (PhD Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Jessica Hill (Assistant Professor, Law Faculty); Razi Quadir (Assistant Professor, School of Religion and Theology); Jed Muff (PhD Researcher, Computer Science); Alvin van Asselt (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Lucas Poy (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Louise Wolff (Teacher & Researcher, Sociologie FSW); Najat Mahnin(HRM); Miriam Ocadiz (PhD candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences); Guus Pengel (Coördinator Anton de Kom Leerstoel); Irma Lammers (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Tasniem Anwar (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Peter-Ben Smit (Professor of Contextual Biblical Interpretation, School of Religion and Theology); Hortense Jongen (Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); Erika Kuijpers (Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Mariken van der Velden (Associate Professor political communication, faculty of social sciences and humanities); Edwin Reuvers (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Wim Manuhutu (Lecturer, Faculty Social Sciences and Humanities); Yusuf Celik (Assistant Professor, Social Sciences); Matteo Sciumbata (PhD candidate, Faculty of Science); John van Harten (policy officer, Faculty of Sciences); Susie Protschky (Professor of Global Political History); Eva Seuntjens (PhD candidate); Bronagh Dunne (PhD candidate, Philosophy); Martijn Stronks (Associate Professor, Faculty of Law); Melisa Soto (Lecturer, Sociology); Janneke Stegeman (teacher, school of theology); Michelle Donovan (Researcher, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Isabella Leroy (PhD Candidate, Law Faculty); Marleen de Ruiter (assistant professor, Faculty of Science); Nicole van Maanen (Postdoctoral researcher, IVM); Martijn van Heusden (VU Uitgeverij); Sofia Zampedri (VU Education Lab); David Rossati (Assistant Professor, Law Faculty); Emmy van Boven (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences); Mónica Ávila Currás (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Greta Albertari (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Lea Krause (Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Science); Victor de Boer (Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science); Jordan Dez (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law); Gün Barış Eser (PhD Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Jessica Hrudey (data stewards, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Joey Stofberg (PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); Nancy Hakizimana (PhD candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Elena Liberati (PhD Candidate, Anthropology); Alina Carrozzini (Lecturer, Law Faculty); Daan de Bruijn (Lecturer, Transnational Legal Studies); Sofia Stolk (Assistant Professor, International Law); Willemijn Born (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law); Julia Schaumburg (Professor, SBE); Lise Woensdregt (Assistant Professor, Sociology); Eva-Maria Merz (Professor, Faculty Social Sciences and Humanities); Mathieu Blondeel (Assistant Professor, IVM); Medha Guru (Management Assistant, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology); Leonidas Oikonomakis (MSCA Researcher, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology); Julia Rone (Assistant Professor, Political Science & Public Administration); Filip Ilievski (Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science); Loes Aaldering (associate professor; department of Political Science and Public Administration); Lars Tierolf (PhD candidate, Faculty of Science); Alexandra Filius (Program Manager, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities); Bastiaan Van Apeldoorn (Professor of Global Political Economy and Geopolitics, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); Robin Kautz (PhD Candidate, Law Faculty); Venja Beck (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Camilla Ucheoma Enwereuzor (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Leila Salvesen (Post-doctoral researcher, Department of Experimental & Applied Psychology); Duru Özkan (Lecturer, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Águeda Fuentes-Guerra Toral (visiting PhD candidate); Gaia Gragnolati (PhD student, Cognitive Psychology); Babak Chawoush (PhD candidate, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences); Ningkai Wang (PhD candidate, FGB); Giacomo Zamprogno (PhD candidate, Computer Science department); Keri van Douwen (PhD candidate, Faculty of Law); Katja Swider (Assistant Professor, Law Faculty); Emma Haske (PhD candidate, Athena Institute); Nina Fokkink (PhD student, Faculty of Law); Anvita Pant (PhD candidate; SBE); Jessica Coetzer (PhD Candidate, Athena Institute); Tanne Harris-Nijmeijer (PhD candidate, Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty); Francesca Cavallini (PhD student, Mathematics); Jonathan Luger (PhD candidate, Athena Institute); Flora Pennartz (junior lecturer, Athena Institute); Riya Dogra (PhD Student, Mathematics); Lara Clauss (Lecturer, Faculty of Science); Tobia Jones (PhD candidate, Athena Institute); Rosa Spruit (PhD candidate, Athena Institute); Efrat Gommeh (postdoctoral fellow, faculty of science); Sjamme van de Voort (post doc, Athena Institute); Galina Cornelisse (Professor, Faculty of Law); Sara Lusini (Director of Education, Department of Computer Science); Jan Winnubst (Student-Assistant, Faculty of Law); Hans C Ossebaard (lecturer, Planetary Health); Riya Dogra (PhD Student, Faculty of Mathematics); Laura Bonizzoni (Education Officer at Green Office VU); Bengi Dönmez (PhD student, Mathematics); Leila Idaassi (Student-assistent, faculty of law); Dore Alkemade (Junior Researcher, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); John Miers (postdoctoral researcher, FHSS); Riya Dogra (PhD Candidate, Mathematics); Alain Chavarri (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Science); Alba Sendón Blanco (PhD student, Mathematics); Juliana Chueri (Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration); Jelmar Meester (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law)
Do we even know the masked occupies were in fact (VU) students?
I would be very happy to see the same level of outrage and response over the gutting of the Department of Earth Sciences and the dismissal of 27 fellow academics.