“Non-verbal aggression and destroying property during demonstrations is counter-productive”
Law student Winnie Terra believes the anger over what is happening in Gaza is unfairly placed on the UvA. Just as guilty of what is happening in Israel and Gaza are our forefathers and their choices in history, she argues.
Let me start by saying: It is a great tragedy what has been happening in Gaza since October 7th, 2023, just as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a great tragedy since February 2022. But the students and sympathizers who have been involved in the demonstrations and occupations at the UvA for the past two days should direct frustration at their powerlessness and their anger not at the UvA Board of Governors, but at their (great) grandparents in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe who are primarily responsible for the tragedy occurring now.
In an article on the NOS site last May 7th, the ASVA Student Union states that the police last May 6th unjustifiably cracked down on the orders of the administrative triangle (mayor, police and Public Prosecution Service). According to the Student Union, the demonstration and occupation were peaceful and the disturbances were caused by outside agitators, not by the demonstrators and occupiers. It is a little more nuanced as far as I am concerned.
Last Tuesday, as I walked for a while through the crowd gathered on the Roeterstraat in the late afternoon, I overheard several conversations between attendees. These conversations were about the police who had broken down their barricades. I talked to a couple of people and asked them why barricades were necessary and why they believed things from the university needed to be damaged. After all, the university belongs to everyone and doesn’t play any role in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, in my opinion. I said it’s a shame that my college money is being used to repair damage caused by peacefully protesting students. They had no clear answer, except to say something along the lines that people in Gaza are dying because of Dutch tax money. Emotions ran high.
It would be wise for ASVA to publicly take responsibility in the future for the less pleasant aspects of what is happening now. In addition to Monday night’s havoc, Jewish students now no longer feel safe, and university activities are being blocked in some places. Taking responsibility for this is part of the call to demonstrate and is many times more convincing and commands respect. This contrasts to pointing the finger at others such as the police, the mayor, or the Executive Board.
“Our” grandparents
Because of the close socio-cultural ties with the Palestinians, I sincerely understand the frustration, powerlessness and anger of (former) students and groups who came to the Netherlands because of war or other social tensions in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and also Palestine. What is currently going on in Gaza must affect them deeply and I can imagine that they want to express this through demonstrations. Out of solidarity with the Palestinian people, I can also imagine how this applies to Dutch students.
But Dutch students are forgetting a crucial step in their solidarity. It was “our” grandparents in Europe and thus also in the Netherlands who caused the problem occurring now in the first place. Of the nearly seven million Jews living in Europe before the start of World War II, about 1.2 million remained after the war. The tiny country of the Netherlands was the most fanatical by comparison. Of the approximately 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands, 107,000 were deported in a short time to concentration camps where they were then gassed. How it could have come to this we will never know.
All of this comes in addition to what took place in other parts of the world in previous centuries. It was not the first time that Jews were routinely expelled and murdered. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in the First World War, among others, and then the Second World War, have led to Israel facing daily bombings, suicide bombings, or rocket attacks carried out by radical groups seeking to destroy the Jews.
Counterproductive
Even though not all students are non-verbally aggressive and not all students are destroying property, it still happens and is, in my opinion, counterproductive. In the short term, perhaps it will lead to a success like the “list” containing names of Israeli organizations and scholars with which to collaborate that the CvB prepared in response to a demand from the protesters. A low point. What is the next step if the BoE does not do what the protesters want? List-making is not an option.
Besides, the UvA cannot change anything about the conflict. For that, students need to be in The Hague, the United Nations, and elsewhere in countries like Iran, Iraq, or Syria. Requiring the BoM to accuse Israel of committing genocide is something that cannot be asked of the BoM. It is a university, not a political human rights organization. Because of the images on TV, I fear societal and partly political support for the protesters will quickly crumble. And that is incredibly unfortunate. It does not help the Palestinians who have been in these tragic circumstances for decades due to internal politics in Palestine.
Reconstruction
I hope that from now on the ASVA and the protesters will also work hard for the reconstruction of Gaza once this painful conflict is over and that the protesters and sympathizers will contribute to it for a longer period of time. Many Dutch people are currently doing the same in Ukraine. I, too, will be going back to Kharkiv and Kyiv in August to work voluntarily for organizations that, for example, cook for the thousands of Ukrainians who no longer have a home because of Russia and otherwise cannot eat, walk dogs that no longer have an owner because he was killed, organize activities for children whose parents are no longer there, and so on. It generates a lot of stress and anxiety, but it is a way for me to turn my powerlessness into concrete (positive) action.
Gaza and the Palestinians deserve not only (peaceful) protests and occupations but also the long-term commitment of the concerned protesters and sympathizers in the area itself once this conflict is over. Only then will the Palestinians who for decades have faced and been victims of internal and external terror on a daily basis feel seen, heard, and loved rather than merely mistreated.
Winnie Terra, sociologist and UvA law student (finishing in July)
