Updates pro-Palestine protest: encampment must give way to festival and dialogue with the board

The university has asked the demonstrators of the pro-Palestine protest on campus to move their tents to park Noord, on the edge of campus Woudestein, by this Sunday at the latest. On Thursday, the Heartbeat Festival is planned on the Erasmus Plaza where the encampment is currently located.

Whether the protesters will comply with the request is not known at the time of writing.

The Heartbeat Festival is the closing of the university’s lustrum year. For this, the area around the plaza will be converted into a festival site. Park North is on the other side of the campus behind the Theil building. What the university will do if the protesters have not moved after Sunday is not yet clear.

Respectful conversation

It was also announced that the protesters and the Executive Board had an ‘open and respectful conversation’ with each other on Thursday. What the conversation was about, the university did not mention, but it did say that the meeting was the basis for follow-up talks.

Investigation committee installed

Furthermore, the Committee on Sensitive Collaborations (CGS) was installed by the board on Friday. The committee headed by ISS rector Ruard Ganzevoort will study the university’s institutional ties with Israel and advise on whether to continue or sever those ties. When the committee will come up with the advice is not yet known. More about the plan of action of the committee will be shared with the university community in the coming weeks, the university said on its website.

Meeting to talk about it

The university also announced that there will be a university-wide meeting on 24 June to talk about the situation in Israel and Gaza. Students and staff have received an invitation to attend this, advance registration is required. In addition to the Executive Board, the deans of the faculties and the chair of the CGS will be present at this meeting. The meeting was initially scheduled for Wednesday 12 June, but that date turned out to fall in a period of celebration for the Jewish community, which is followed by an Islamic holiday, so the meeting is only in two-and-a-half weeks’ time.

Open letter

In an open letter (at the time of writing), 263 scientists and staff from EUR and Erasmus MC are calling on the Executive Board to sever ties with Israeli institutions. The full letter can be read here.