Since early last year, students have been occupying Leuven University (KUL) Belgium’s College De Valk to protest the institution’s cooperation with Israel. On Thursday evening, around 30 university teaching staff joined them in solidarity. Professors and lecturers gathered at College De Valk to support the students’ cause, with some staying overnight, as reported by the local news website VRT.
Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology Karel Arnaut told journalists, “We are here primarily to support the students. What they are doing is admirable. The students are paying the price for 76 years of normalizing Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing. It is extremely difficult to oppose it. The university never uses the terms ‘apartheid’ or ‘ethnic cleansing,’ so there is still a long way to go to change the discourse on this subject.”
The students demand that Leuven University end all cooperation with Israeli universities. Vice-Chancellor Luc Sels’ recent comments in a press interview have further fueled their protests. Student spokesman Niels De Ridder stated, “It most certainly isn’t ‘easy’ to protest against an institution where you have yet to get your degree or where you are a PhD student. The Vice-Chancellor saying that we would be better targeting the government is simply unfair. Leuven University plays a leading role on other subjects but remains silent on this.”
At around 8:30 PM on Thursday, approximately 100 activists staged a protest on Ladeuzeplein. They chanted slogans such as “Free, free Palestine,” “Shame on KUL, boycott Israel,” “Shame on Luc Sels,” and “Israel is an apartheid state.” The protesters formed a large circle and sang songs around the Totem Statue.