Board president Ten Dam: “If we take a stand, we fuel polarization”
The conflict between Israel and Hamas is dividing the UvA. Board president Geert ten Dam is deeply concerned. “A graduation ceremony or open day is not the time for a political statement.”
Geert ten Dam has been UvA’s Board president for about seven and a half years now. In that time, there has never before been a conflict that, in Ten Dam’s words, “polarized so enormously quickly” at the UvA as the current situation in Israel and Palestine.
She is worried, “tremendously worried”. Firstly, about what has happened and is still happening in Israel and Palestine – “appalling,” she thinks, “degrading and heartbreaking”. But secondly, closer to home, about the university.
For the UvA, operating “safely and at a great distance from the war’” is becoming noticeably more divided. Some seven hundred PhD students, students and staff urge the UvA administration to condemn Israeli actions against the Palestinians more sharply in an open letter. A number of Jewish scholars and students are also demanding this, NRC reported earlier this week.
At the same time, Israeli c.q. Jewish students with different views no longer dare to speak out at the UvA, making them feel unsafe, student rabbi Yanki Jacobs told de Volkskrant. Ten Dam also says he has received several messages from concerned students and staff. “From Jewish people, for example, who say: ‘I don't dare or don’t want to come to the UvA anymore. Is this still my university? Because I no longer feel at home here.” But also emails from Palestinian students asking, “Do you know what is happening there?”
Many do not feel heard or supported by the UvA. The key question is: how do you deal with this as a university? Folia spoke about this with board chair Geert ten Dam, in her office on Roeterseiland.
What makes this conflict so different from the war in Ukraine?
“The conflict has come into our own community; it is politicising at home. We are a hugely socially engaged university. I am also proud of that, so it is good that the discussion is taking place. But it has also become very personal over the past four weeks. The Holocaust is, of course, deep in the memory of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. That is one side. On the other side: the UvA always stands up for inequality and oppression. That’s a great thing.”
In your opinion, what exactly is the role of the university in such a conflict?
“Importantly, we have to stand firm for academic freedom. That means providing context and interpretation to this conflict. We have a huge number of academics to do this. They organize public discussions, for instance, where students can talk to each other in an academically dignified and responsible way. Everyone has to ask themselves: should I want to say something if this is perceived as very hurtful and intimidating by other groups within the UvA.”
In your opinion, where is the line between a public discussion and a political demonstration?
“A public discussion within a university is an academic debate with the accompanying values and manners. A demonstration is not, especially if, for instance, slogans are chanted. As a university, we are not for that. Moreover, you then do something to others ‘sense of security’.”
“Whereas the first teach-in (public lesson, ed.) was mixed with flags and chanting slogans, last Friday in the Oudemanhuispoort it did go well. So we are learning from that with each other, I am very happy about that.”
Still, there are plenty of people who say that the UvA should not be politically neutral in this conflict and should condemn Israeli actions in Gaza.
“At least the people who have articulated that loudly, yes.”
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“And possibly more. That's a substantial group. But as an administrator, I am responsible for guarding academic freedom and the safety of every student and staff member. That means preventing escalation and polarization. The moment we take a stand as a college, we feed polarization. So you should not do that as an administrator.”
“Moreover, I say in all honesty, I find it very complicated to take clear sides in this complex conflict that has been going on for decades. That also applies to countless students and staff. You have to have the space sometimes - I really do - to also be able to say: I don’t know.”
Geert ten Dam (Eindhoven, 6 November 1958) has chaired the Executive Board of the UvA since 2016. She is also a professor of education science at the UvA and a crown member of the Social and Economic Council (SER).
Rising intolerance
At the beginning of this academic year, Ten Dam already spoke about increasing intolerance at the UvA in her opening speech. There, she was still mainly concerned with whether or not to cooperate with the fossil industry. ‘The space for open debate should be as wide as possible, with the restriction that academics cherish their responsibilities.’
How does this neutral stance as director relate to the pasting of posters in the Maagdenhuis, condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. You pasted along yourself.
“I think that’s a very valid question. Especially recently, I’ve been thinking back to that a lot. I felt and feel that the situation then was different. It was a unique, unilateral aggression then, about which there was no polarization within the UvA, nor within the Netherlands.”
“Even in that situation, we tried to fulfil our duty of care to the Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian students to the best of our ability. And then nay - you can indeed ask whether we did the right thing at the time.”
That is the question, but what is the answer? Or let’s put it this way: would you do it again?
“I find that difficult, those are those ‘what if’ questions. But what I see now is that you have to be extremely careful and cautious about it. Never say never, though ... We felt it was justified at the time, but basically you have to stay true to your own academic principles.”
And to its own house rules, I suppose. After all, they explicitly state that pasting posters of a political nature is not allowed at all at the UvA. Since when exactly have those rules been in place?
“Since 2015. And it’s always good practice to review those rules over time. Both the Central Works Council and the Central Student Council have said: shouldn't we look at those rules together again? For example, it also states that any religious expression is not allowed at the UvA. Does that also mean that you are not allowed to wear a headscarf, or a cross?”
That doesn’t take away from the fact that those rules just apply.
“Certainly, which is why it is a valid point.”
In practice, by the way, it does not stop at public discussions either. Many political demonstrations are also held at the UvA where students show support for the Palestinian population. In contrast, Israeli flags or support for the hostages - even immediately after the Hamas attack and before the Gaza invasion - are nowhere to be seen. In your opinion, is there a strong pro-Palestine sentiment at the UvA?
“There is a definite sentiment. What I hear on the mail and from people I talk to is that Jewish students and staff no longer dare to speak out. Then you can say: ‘Come on, it’s all right to do that’. But no, the fact is that they say: we just don’t dare do this anymore, we feel attacked in our existence. I find that very bad, especially in the context of growing anti-Semitism. The university is a place where everyone is welcome, within the boundaries of the democratic rule of law and regardless of origin or religion.”
May we then conclude that engagement at the university sometimes goes too far?
“We are a socially engaged university. And I think that's a great thing. But if you start judging each other, you don't create a safe learning and working climate. We are all responsible for preventing that. Listen to each other, with understanding.”
“Last Friday, for example, at an open day at the Science Park, political slogans were chanted through megaphones for an hour. During an open day, 16-, 17-year-olds come with their parents to orientate on their choice of study. That is not the time for politics. Therefore, we urge our students and staff not to do so at such gatherings.”
In your opinion, does a circumlocution slogan like ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ belong within such a debate?
“Quite apart from the fact whether or not that statement is punishable - that is something lawyers have to find out - above all, you have to ask yourself the question: should you want to say that here within the university community if you know that by doing so you are deliberately and unnecessarily hurting others? I don’t think so.”
De Telegraaf recently reported on a Jewish family that felt unsafe during a graduation ceremony. A Palestinian UvA student there gave a personal story in which, among other things, he said ‘From the river to the sea’ in a different context and spoke of a ‘genocide in Palestine’. His name is now in international media. How do you feel about that?
“I think a graduation ceremony is not the time to make a political statement. People come there for a celebration and parents said afterwards that they were very sorry for what happened there.”
“The Palestinian student had a very personal, poignant story. The Telegraph then reported on it one-sidedly. That went viral and, fortunately, was nuanced. We spoke to the boy afterwards. He himself was very shocked by what happened afterwards. That his name is circulating on social media is very worrying, we are doing everything in our power to ensure his safety and that of his family.”
