VU staff statement and call to join uva walkout

We, staff members of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, are shocked by the response of our Executive Board regarding the complicity of our university in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the repression of protests in Amsterdam this week. Protests at the UvA campus were attended by the VU staff and student community, and the demands of the protestors are also addressed to the VU. Staff and students have been subjected to extreme police violence. In its response, the VU Executive Board is silent regarding police brutality and continues to ignore the demands of their own students and staff. We find this reprehensible, absolutely unacceptable and we condemn this in the strongest possible terms.

Police violence

We are shocked by the level of police violence that has been directed against our students, our colleagues, and the broader public. Riot police bulldozed protest areas, brought in police dogs, beat, pepper-sprayed and arrested nonviolent protestors. We urge the VU Board to prioritise the safety of its students and staff by ensuring it does not repeat or normalise the actions of the UvA Board. The university must respect and protect the rights of its students and staff to freedom of speech and assembly.

Response of the VU board

The last statement of the Board was filled with unclarities and was devoid of commitment to meaningful action. The Board cites the example of KU Leuven but fails to mention that on the basis of the "human rights test" conducted there, KU Leuven has decided to continue existing research collaborations with Israeli universities. This is unacceptable in light of the clear evidence that these institutions contribute to the planning, implementation and justification of apartheid, while censoring Palestinian and critical scholarship. The education system in Gaza has been systematically destroyed as a result of the relentless bombing. UN experts have described this as a scholasticide.

Call to action

As all universities in Gaza have been demolished and the death toll continues to rise, we call on the VU Board to recognise the genocide taking place in Gaza, to reveal and cut its ties with Israeli institutions, companies and organisations that participate or profit from the occupation of Palestine​​​​​​​.

There is still an opportunity to set an example in this regard, and we strongly encourage the board to demonstrate its commitment to human rights by adopting an active moral stance. The VU has recently committed to divesting from the fossil industry and positioned itself as a leader in the green transition. The VU can follow the strong example set by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Kunstacademie, as well as other universities in Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Norway who have adopted uncompromising stances regarding the destruction and loss of life in Gaza.

Staff walkout

We underscore that VU Amsterdam does not consist of its Board, but of its students and staff, without which it would not exist. Denying this fact threatens a severe breaking of trust between the Board and the staff and students who are the heart of the university and the foundation for its right to exist.

We call on all VU employees to congregate on the Roeterseilandcampus on Monday, 13th May at 11:00am.