In Amsterdam, Nijmegen, and Utrecht, pro-Palestine activists are once again staging university occupations, but things appear to be quiet at the UG. Is that really the case?
Exactly one year ago, students from the group Encampment RUG occupied the Harmonie square and set up camp there for several weeks. Now, there seems to be little sign of pro-Palestine activism at the UG—apart from a few Palestinian flags at the protest against higher education budget cuts last March.
Meanwhile, students at other Dutch universities are actively protesting again. Last month, riot police intervened during the occupation of the Maagdenhuis in Amsterdam. At Radboud University in Nijmegen, arrests were made last week after demonstrators entered a university building. And in Utrecht, students occupied the university library courtyard for the second time since last year.
But Groningen hasn’t been completely silent. Encampment RUG has continued to organise demonstrations and fundraising events elsewhere in the city throughout the past year. On Thursday, they are planning to hold a sit-in at the Academy building to commemorate the Nakba—the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, during which 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes.
Seminars
Meanwhile, RUG Students and Staff for Palestine—a continuation of the staff group that was formed last year to support the student encampment—has opted for a different approach: a seminar series on Palestine.
‘It has been a great success so far, and a way for academics to engage with a seemingly impossible situation in a way that is familiar to us,’ says Alexander Martin, assistant professor in phonology.
The seminars are open to everyone at the university and welcome a range of perspectives, Martin, who is Jewish himself, emphasises. ‘Of course I don’t agree with everything that is said at the events; that is the nature of debate. But I have enjoyed the critical discussions.’
Apartheid
Although the group has been able to organise events within the university, it hasn’t all gone smoothly. For instance, the Faculty of Arts management recently objected to an event that included the word ‘apartheid’ in its title. According to Martin, the board assumed external participants were involved, but the guests were actually two experts from Erasmus University invited by the group.
‘In the end, we reached an agreement that allowed the event to go through, but I find it problematic that management should have a say in what words we use to discuss research’, Martin says. ‘The UG has not, in my experience, felt like a safe place to be critical of Israel or to discuss the social and political situation in Palestine.’
Dialogue
The group has also requested a meeting with the university board to discuss safety concerns related to student protests, Martin adds. ‘There has been increasing violence on campuses around the country, and we are very concerned.’
They sent a letter in March but say they haven’t received a reply yet. ‘It is our understanding one is being prepared, but it’s regrettable that it’s taking so long.’
This Thursday, the group will host another seminar—this time on the diversity of sign languages in Palestine and the social and political causes behind it.
Conditions for Reservation
The Faculty of Arts states in a response that a number of standard conditions apply when reserving rooms. For example, events may only be held within an academic context (related to education or research), and rooms may not be reserved on behalf of an external party.
There is often contact with organizers during a room reservation to check whether the conditions are being met, according to a spokesperson from the faculty.
‘In this case, the faculty boards of Arts and Law were in contact with the organizers from both faculties, because the event initially appeared to be a political gathering in the context of Israeli Apartheid Week. However, at the event on March 28, the academic context was clearly ensured. It met all the conditions, and therefore permission was granted.’
The response from the Faculty of Arts was added after the initial publication.