Pro-Palestinian students block KU Leuven rectorate in protest over Israeli ties
A group of approximately 20 pro-Palestinian students temporarily blocked access to the KU Leuven rectorate on Tuesday morning to voice their dissatisfaction with the university’s ongoing research collaborations with Israeli institutions.
The students say they intend to keep up pressure on KU Leuven. In September, they were removed from the De Valk building after the university initiated a new process before the city’s Justice of the Peace. The students had been occupying it for four months in protest against academic partnerships with Israeli research teams.
“Nothing has changed,” said Niels De Ridder, one of the student protesters. “A genocide has been ongoing in Gaza for over a year, and we have been protesting just as long. But the university refuses to listen and maintains its partnerships without justification. The demand for an academic boycott remains and is more urgent than ever.”
"KU Leuven remains open to calm debate, provided that it occurs in a respectful and safe manner for everyone"
The demonstrators chanted slogans such as “KUL, stop the lies, cut the Israeli ties”, “Israel, back off, hands off Palestine”, “up up with liberation, down down with occupation” and “Luc Sels, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide”, aimed at the university's rector. Police escorted the students away after half an hour.
“The blockade makes it difficult for colleagues to continue their professional activities in a safe environment,” the university said in response. “KU Leuven remains open to calm debate, provided that it occurs in a respectful and safe manner for everyone. A blockade is not a way to engage in respectful and safe dialogue.”
Academic boycott
On Monday, 15 academics from various Belgian institutions, including KU Leuven, published an open letter calling for an academic boycott against Israel. They argued that Belgian universities should act on their professed values of social justice instead of hiding behind “weak arguments”.
The letter aligns with a recent petition from 3,400 Israelis demanding sanctions to push for a ceasefire, and calls on universities to suspend all collaborations with Israel until it becomes a fully inclusive democracy.
#FlandersNewsService | Students protest in front of an entrance at KU Leuven © BELGA PHOTO INE GILLIS
Related news
