Disruption and Reaction: The Student Intifada August 4-17
National student march in Japan, big wins in Bangladesh, legal battles across Europe, and much more.
International
On Tuesday 6th, the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) suspended the Federation of Israeli Medical Students (FIMS) from active status within IFMSA. This is a result of two thirds of the General Assembly voting for suspension. The vote was proposed after FIMS repeatedly violated IFMSA’s regulations and agreements.
Bangladesh
On Monday 5th, the student movement in Bangladesh succeeded in their demand for the ruling party to give up power. One of the defining photos of the movement captured protestors climbing on the Bangladeshi Parliament building, displaying an enormous Palestine flag.
India
On Sunday 4th, around 80 students at Azim Premji University (Bangalore) displayed solidarity with Palestine at their graduation ceremony. Wearing Palestine flags and ‘End Genocide’ stickers, they also demanded that their institution cut ties with Tel Aviv University.
Japan
On Tuesday 6th, students marched in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, in protest against Israel's invitation to the Peace Ceremony. The National Student Action Network (全国学生行動連絡会) who organized the protests, interviewed students who participated, including students from Hiroshima Prefecture, Ritsumeikan University, Kindai University, Tohoku University, Kansai University, and Osaka Metropolitan University. The students’ testimonies unanimously called out the hypocrisy of the government’s supposed commitment to peace and its complicity in genocide. A student at Kansai University said:
果たしてこの先はどうなるんだろうか。来年も私たちはパレスチナの虐殺をやめろと 叫ばなければならないのだろうか。早くを枯らさなくても良い世界になってほしい。ただ声が届いてほしい。
What will happen from here on? Will we have to keep shouting ‘Stop the genocide in Palestine’ next year too? I want the world to be a place where we don’t have to exhaust our voices. I just want our voices to be heard.
South Korea
On Friday 9th, organizers at Seoul National University put out an open letter about a series of vandalism attempts of pro-Palestine posters in June. Student organizers had put up posters publicizing their demand for SNU to close the Israel Education Research Center, and cut ties with other Israeli institutions. These posters were vandalized five times, and with the university administration taking no action, the organizers investigated the incident themselves. The Campus Safety Unit then attempted to protect the vandalizer. Previously in February, an Israeli professor had also vandalized pro-Palestinian posters, and faced no consequences.
Australia
On Tuesday 6th, student and staff organizers at Australian National University (Canberra) staged a sit-in, occupying the School of Art and Design Project Space. This follows ANU removing pro-Palestinian art from an exhibition, refusing to return the pieces, and failing to meet their commitment for a new showing of the art. Students at ANU decamped on Saturday 17th.
On Wednesday 7th, students at the University of Sydney staged a protest at the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Mark Scott. This was in response to his previous repression of the encampment, and plans to expand USyd’s connections to Israel.
On Thursday 8th, students and staff from the Faculty of Engineering and IT at the University of Melbourne put out an open letter demanding that the school cut all ties with weapons companies and those on the BDS list, and to stop platforming these companies at career fairs.
On Friday 9th, student organizers at the University of Queenland led a disruption of a university career fair hosting Lockheed Martin – one of the most prominent weapons companies complicit in the ongoing genocide. UQ disclosed last week that they have received $4.8 million from Lockheed Martin as part of its ongoing research partnerships.
Sweden
On Wednesdays 7th and 14th, the joint trials of 14 students from the Lund University ”Palestinagård” took place. The previous defendant was forced to accept the charges levied against them.
Poland
On Thursday 8th, police interrogated students who were part of the evicted encampment at the University of Warsaw. The motion for prosecution was issued by the University’s authorities, who also have the right to withdraw it. This is a second round of interrogations, nearly 2 months after 29 students were questioned for the same case.
On Friday 16th students occupying a building at the University of Wroclaw issued a new, sixth demand to the University officials. It requests direct support of the Palestinian academic community, involving things like recognition of graduation exams, financial support, and developing residency programs. The aim is to actively fight the ongoing scholasticide.
Portugal
Student activists at the University of Lisbon, alongside other pro-Palestine and climate-focused student organizations, have sent a call-out to receive legal representation in light of charges brought against them during encampments.
Belgium
On Saturday 10th, the students of Shaima College at KU Leuven announced that they were being sued for a third time by the university administration in an attempt to evict them from the encampment. The encampment won their first two lawsuits, and have now put out a call for support in paying their legal fees.
On Tuesday 13th at Antwerp Pride, student organizers from the University of Antwerp hung Palestinian banners and flags from the UA Pride float. They were met with severe resistance from UA staff and Pride organizers, both physical and verbal. UA staff eventually called the police on the students, who removed them entirely from the parade.
Czech Republic
On Saturday 10th, the Academics Against Apartheid collective launched a petition urging Prague Pride to “reject Israel’s apartheid and pinkwashing”. Together with other groups they formed a pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist bloc during Prague’s Pride.
Germany
Also on Saturday 10th, police attacked the University of Hamburg student encampment in its racist and aggressive way. More than 40 officers violently entered the camp based on an alleged physical altercation within, despite bystanders testifying it was clearly friendly roughhousing. Students involved stated:
Die überproportionale Polizeipräsenz, die Sirenen und die aggressive Herangehensweise der Polizei führten dazu, dass bei zwei Geflüchteten aus Gaza Posttraumatische belastungsstörungen ausgelöst worden sind, die zu krampfanfällen und zur bewusstlosigkeit führen.
The disproportionate police presence, the sirens and the aggressive approach of the police resulted in two refugees from Gaza triggering PTSD and suffering seizures and unconsciousness.
On August 2nd, students and employees of Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) formally presented a series of demands to the University’s administration. Their main demand is for TUB to investigate and stop cooperations with all partnered Israeli Universities complicit in international law violations. They provided the university administration with an extensive research report on how their Israeli partner Universities are violating human rights laws and aiding the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Recent reports uncovered that TUB published a brochure which labeled the call for Palestinians’ right to return as antisemitic. The brochure, now removed from the TUB website, was created for the Berliner Zentrum für Hochschullehre. The prominent anti-zionist Jewish organization Jüdische Stimme sent a letter to TUB criticizing the administration for offering “a platform for anti-Semitism” as they “have different standards for Jews and tear us out of history by saying that we are not subject to international law”.
Egypt
On Monday 12th, the administration of the American University of Cairo responded to the ongoing student protestors’ demands that the institution cut all ties with BDS-associated companies, and stated their refusal to endorse or fulfill this or any similar demand. Organizers at AUC put out an open letter condemning this course of action, and made a call for students, staff, and alumni to join their call for boycott.
Indonesia
Also on Monday 12th, as the new academic year commenced at Brawijaya University, more than 10,000 students put on a mass demonstration of solidarity at the student life programme. Thousands of students could be seen waving Palestinian flags.
United Kingdom
On Wednesday 14th, after 100 days of occupation, students at the University of Cambridge decamped.
United States
On Wednesday 14th, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik officially stepped down, citing the massive wave of criticism she had received over the 2023-2024 school year following her response to pro-Palestine student protestors, which had included calling NYPD on students at encampments and suspending student organizations such as Columbia’s chapter of the SJP and JVP.
Between August 16th and 23rd, the University of Chicago is increasing the number of campus police and around residential dorms for students, and according to numerous UChicago staff the University has been housing police for the upcoming DNC in student dorms as well as feeding them in the dining hall.
Following Temple University’s disciplinary actions against students for participation in off-campus peaceful protests for Palestine, the ACLU of Pennsylvania has stepped in to defend two of the students, claiming that Temple’s actions violate their first amendment rights.
The administration at DePaul University, despite dropping some charges against student activists for Palestine, continues to attempt to charge the university SJP chapter, blaming them for actions not organized by them.
Aotearoa New Zealand
On Friday 16th, students at the Victoria University of Wellington staged a sit-in protesting the institution’s investment in Israeli government bonds. Reportedly, the institution holds $47,532 in investments, and the students demanded that they divest entirely.