« We are back »: one hundred students blocks rectorate UGent and protests against collaborations with Israel (Ghent)
A hundred students and staff, pro-Palestinian activists, went to the rectorate of UGent on Tuesday morning to block things there. The promotion is a direct call to all universities to stop collaborations with Israeli institutes.
« We are back. Stronger and more united than ever, » writes the action group on social media. They announced that on Tuesday morning with a hundred students, staff and other concerned citizens they block the entrances of the UGent rectorate. They want to make a call to all Belgian universities.
« We have been asking an academic boycott for more than a year and all Belgian universities are still working together with Israeli institutions that actively contribute to the genocide in Palestine, » says spokesperson Bas. « We’re not going to stop until the boycott comes. »
The Pro-Palestinian action group therefore wants all partnerships to be stopped with Israeli institutes. Ever since the start of the war in Gaza has been protested at UGent, for stopping all collaborations. « This promotion is part of a broad national movement, originating from last year’s student occupations, » says the action group.
Students occupy the rectorate on Tuesday morning. – © If
Forty days occupied
On 6 May last year, almost exactly a year ago, students occupied the UFO university building for forty days. They then left the building with a threat of forced evacuation after more than a month. That was really against their will, and they also showed that with a banner « We will be back ».
Since then, the activists have made their voice heard several times. They also appeared during the well -known Toet der Togati on the birthday of the university. They think that the university is not listening to them and lagging. « We don’t stop until all the tires are broken, » they said.
Read too. « Time is gone »: UGent students protest again for Academic Boycot
