Pro-Palestine Activism at Radboud University Nijmegen

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Pro-Palestinian Campus Encampment at Radboud University
Pro-Palestinian Students and Staff Protesters at Radboud University Nijmegen
Date	May 13, 2024 (2024-05-13) – present (6 months and 10 days)
Location	Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Methods	Walkout, Encampment, and Protest.
Status	Ongoing

On 13 May 2024, a group of students and staff members at Radboud University Nijmegen organized an occupation protest in the university campus in solidarity with Palestinians amidst the ongoing Israel–Hamas war. The protest took the form of encampment by setting up tents on part of the lawn between the faculty buildings, similar to other campus protests in the United States, The Netherlands, and other countries. The protesters demanded the university board to divest from Israel over its alleged genocide of Palestinians, and to support Palestinian students and universities.

Background

Pro-Palestinian student protests were organized at Radboud University as early as 18 October 2023 and continued sporadically until the latest escalation, in the form of encampment, came in response to the eviction of similar occupation protest in the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Utrecht University. In the UvA, the riot police used bulldozers to demolish the barricade set by the protesters, and physical conflict between protesters and the police took place. In response, a national Walkout was announced by student groups in various Dutch universities in support of the UvA protesters and to voice the same demands of severing university ties with Israel. The walkouts took place in the University of Groningen, Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, Maastricht University, and Radboud University Nijmegen.

Timeline

File:Pro-Palestine protest at Radboud.jpg

Pro-Palestinian protest at Radboud University on 12 March 2024.

12 May 2024

A group of pro-Palestinian students and staff at Radboud University Nijmegen issued a statement condemning the actions took by the Executive Boards of the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University who have "authorized extreme police violence against their staff and students who were engaged in non-violent protests against the complicity of Dutch universities in the ongoing genocide in Gaza". The letter also called for a walkout by staff and students the following day.

In response, the University's Executive Board issued a statement titled "Concerns and manifestations at the university" in which they echoed calls for an end to the violence against civilians and permitting humanitarian aid. They also mentioned that they generally "view international cooperative contacts between academic staff as an opportunity to maintain an open line of communication, even in times of conflict."

13 May 2024

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at Radboud University in May 2024.

Students and staff protesters gathered in the Erasmus Square on the university campus and chanted slogans such as "Free Free Palestine" and repeated their calls for the university board to divest and sever all ties with Israeli universities and companies. The students then occupied a part of the campus's lawn and installed their tents with signs and chants reflecting their demands from the university board.

A representative from the university board informed the protesters that they need to remove their tents and leave by 6 pm or they might call the police, but the encampment continued to the following day with no interference.

14 May 2024

Tents of protesters at Radboud University

The encampment continued to the second day with various speeches and the same chants for peace and justice for Palestinians. They vowed to continue their occupation protest until their demands are heard. Later that day, the NijmegenEncampment Instagram account called for a march on 15 May at 12:15 o'clock towards the offices of the university's executive board.

Reactions

The Executive Board of the Radboud University Nijmegen issued a statement on the official website stating that they are in dialogue with the students about the "content and form of the protest."

The Dutch political parties GroenLinks and PvdA have announced their solidarity with the protests and encampment at Radboud University Nijmegen. They further called on the Municipality of Nijmegen and the University Board to allow this protest to take place.

15 May 2024

The protest organizers announced solidarity with the Al-Azhar University – Gaza which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in November 2023.

See also

• 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses
• 2024 Sciences Po pro-Palestinian occupation protest
• Dutch Scholars for Palestine

References

This article "Pro-Palestine Activism at Radboud University Nijmegen" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Pro-Palestine Activism at Radboud University Nijmegen. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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