{"id":167580,"date":"2024-05-10T17:17:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T15:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=167580"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:19","slug":"leefbaar-rotterdam-angry-over-cowardly-email-university-over-gaza-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/05\/10\/leefbaar-rotterdam-angry-over-cowardly-email-university-over-gaza-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"Leefbaar Rotterdam angry over \u2018cowardly\u2019 university message about Gaza protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local political party Leefbaar Rotterdam submitted written questions to the city council about an email sent by Erasmus University to its students and staff. The e-mail shared a list of collaborations with Israeli universities. According to Rotterdam’s largest political party, those academic partners are being \u2018thrown under the bus\u2019 by Erasmus University, reports newspaper AD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

A protest in the Sanders building against the violence in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWouter Holleman<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Executive Board sent the mail to students and staff<\/a> in response to an announced Gaza protest at Erasmus University, which will take place on Thursday, 16 May. In the mail, the board members express their concerns about the \u2018hardening\u2019 during the pro-Palestinian protests among others in the United States and at the University of Amsterdam<\/a>. \u201cWe would very much like to avoid that\u201d, they write. The board will \u2018certainly\u2019 offer room to \u2018meet again in the short term on campus Woudestein or in The Hague\u2019. \u201cBut as far as we are concerned, always in an open dialogue and with respect for each other\u2019s vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an attachment, the board shared a short list of collaborations with Israeli institutions. According to the university spokesperson, that list is complete as far as known. \u2018The board feels it is important to be transparent about this, given the events of recent times and the discussion about it at the university,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cowardly subterfuge\u2019<\/h2>

The university does not want to sever the ties or freeze them<\/a>. \u201cDoing so could also mean complicating our relationship with critical voices within Israeli universities\u201d, the Executive Board members write in the email. Leefbaar Rotterdam calls that argument \u2018a cowardly subterfuge with which the EUR plays into the hands of the group of radicals instead of defending its academic partners\u2019. The university\u2019s spokesperson let it be known that the EB \u2018takes notice\u2019 of Leefbaar\u2019s comments, but added that the EB did consider possible security risks for individual academics that would be mentioned on a list of collaborations with Israel. \u201cThat is why we communicate those collaborations at the level of organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Action groups Palestine Solidarity Rotterdam and Erasmus School of Colour have announced they will protest on campus Woudestein next Thursday. Among others, student union STUUR supports the protest.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t