Around seventy participants joined the first protest march of the academic year, taking place around lunchtime. The activists demanded that the university sever its ties with Israel.

Today’s protest marked the return of Pro-Palestinian activism after the summer break. As usual, participants gathered on the lawn next to the Collegezalencomplex before continuing their route through the Berchmanianum. Approximately seventy people took part in the march.

‘This is the first of many campaigns,’ one activist addressed the crowd through a megaphone. ‘We will keep this going until our demands are met.’

Committee

The demands remain unchanged from before the summer: the university must cut ties with Israel, as protesters claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. ‘We were promised that an ethics committee would be formed,’ the activist explained. ‘Do you see that committee anywhere?’

In June, the Executive Board assured protesters that an advisory committee would be established to review not only collaborations with Israel but also partnerships with universities in conflict zones. However, early this month, it became clear that the deadline—set before the start of the academic year—had not been met.

Encampment

Upon reaching the Berchmanianum, several participants delivered speeches about the situation in Gaza. Students held placards with messages like “A New Academic Year? Not in Gaza,” and chanted “Cut the ties.” The slogan “Blood on Your Hands” was written in chalk on the wall of the former monastery. Protesters continue to accuse Radboud University of complicity in atrocities against Palestinians. The Middle East conflict has been ongoing for almost a year.

Campaigns on the Nijmegen campus began in May with an encampment. Since then, there have been marches, sit-ins, and occupations of the Erasmus building and Thomas van Aquinostraat 1. The police cleared the camp on June 6 by order of the mayor, ending four weeks of protests.