Pro-Palestinian protesters are mainly focusing on universities, but these are the wrong target, says UG professor Frank Hindriks (philosophy) in a letter. ‘They should occupy the Torentje, not the Maagdenhuis.’
Pro-Palestinian protesters are mainly focusing their efforts on universities. But it’s time they change their strategy. They should occupy the Torentje, the prime minister’s office, rather than the Maagdenhuis (the administration building of the University of Amsterdam). They should be protesting at the Malieveld. If they do, I’ll join them.
In general, the Netherlands is fairly pro-Israel. This is concerning. The intense damage that Netanyahu and his people have done to the Gaza strip is unfathomable. But what’s really the biggest concern when it comes to the Netherlands’ support for Israel? It’s not the universities; it’s the political support.
On 8 December, 2024, Geert Wilders shook Netanyahu’s hand. The day after, he visited the West Bank. He completely ignores the suffering of the people in Gaza, openly defying the official government policy. Here, he’s the one who’s being an extremist.
Not that our government is doing enough to put an end to the genocide in Gaza. Absolutely not. But that means that this could only be improved. Unfortunately, it’s been surprisingly quiet. Pro-Palestinian protesters are mainly fighting the good fight, but in the wrong place.
In the meantime, deans are being accused of being accessories to the genocide
The corporate world would be another great target. If we could convince them to stop trading with Israel, we’d actually accomplish something. But the protesters refuse to engage them. Instead, they focus on the universities.
While these might be pro-Israeli institutes in the US, they aren’t in the Netherlands. Here, university directors are at their wit’s end. They want to have a civilised discussion. But perhaps they should have done more, and sooner. Nevertheless, I wonder if they were ever a legitimate target.
In the meantime, deans are being accused of being accessories to the genocide, even if the faculties they’re in charge of don’t have ties to Israel at all. They’re being blamed by association, because they’re part of an institute that does have ties to the country.
But if that’s the way we’re doing it, there’s plenty of reason for the protesters to take a long, hard look in the mirror. You are doing damage as well; not just literally, but figuratively. But there are so many ways you can make a difference.
I was happy to see students being passionate and standing up for a cause
So why are pro-Palestinian protesters so focused on universities? Probably because many of them are students there. University provide a readily captive audience. It’s impossible for university directors to ignore.
At first, I wholeheartedly sympathised with them. In fact, I was happy to see students being passionate and standing up for a cause. But youthful idealism can also go too far; it’s a kind of righteousness that has its limits.
In the meantime, I’m worried about the universities themselves. There have been extensive budget cuts, decided upon by a populist government. Populists tend to not be fans of the intelligentsia. They constitute a threat, seeing through the populists’ tactics.
After the media and the rule of law, academic freedom is the third target in the demolition of democracy, with the aim of replacing it with authoritarianism. I protested against these developments on the Malieveld. I also joined the universities’ relay strikes.
Once the Christian parties got their way, they stopped caring about the rest of us
Are you aware of this at all? Did you notice that the Upper House ultimately agreed with the budget cuts to higher education? All of this barely made the news, apart from in the fall of 2024, when the negotiations started again.
The budget cuts to primary and secondary education were largely undone. But once the Christian parties had got their way – no monitoring of Sunday schools – they stopped caring about the rest of us. Thanks a lot, guys.
So pro-Palestinian protests shouldn’t focus on the universities (anymore). But it’s even worse. They undermine their own cause. The protesters can’t count on a lot of sympathy from people (and in fact have been garnering antipathy). Politicians are easily ignored. And all the public hears is that there’s another fuss at the universities.
That’s why the genocide in Gaza should be put into a much larger perspective in the Netherlands. For that, we should be using means that are more justifiable than the ones being used now and that lead to better results.
Frank Hindriks is a professor of ethics, social and political philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy