VUB rector and president of the Flemish Interuniversity Council Jan Danckaert gave an interview on 5 May to the TV programme De Zevende Dag about the pro-Palestinian protests at universities. Ghent University student Siska – a pseudonym – spoke on behalf of the protesting students and called for an academic boycott of Israel. She calls the universities complicit in the deadly violence in Gaza. Flemish universities oppose a general boycott. Jan Danckaert: “We think that in Israel and Palestine we should let the moderate, reasonable voices have their say. There is a whole spectrum of voices. That’s why we want to look at it project by project, institution by institution.”
Siska explained why her organisation began its protest at UGent on Monday: “We feel that the university is not assuming its responsibility in relation to the occupation of Gaza and the sustainability policy.” The students demand transparency about ties with Israel and a clear plan and timeline for phasing out collaborations with Israeli institutions.
“We must not forget that in Israel, too, there are daily demonstrations against the government.”
Danckaert is pleased that students are taking up their social commitment and standing up for a more just, sustainable and peaceful world. “The VUB is a university with its roots in liberal humanism,” he said. “We uphold freedom of expression and we see that this conflict is affecting the academic community very much.”
The campaigning students at UGent want a complete boycott in which all ties with Israeli institutions are severed. Siska: “It has been proved that all those institutions have close ties with the Israeli military. An example: Tel Aviv University makes weapons systems that are passed on to the Israeli army.”
Human rights test
In response, Danckaert said he could offer transparency about the university’s links to Israel. He also stressed that the VUB has several projects with Palestinian institutions. “What we do not agree with is the general call for a boycott,” he said. “The Flemish universities have opted for a human rights test.” This examines the country for each academic project, the conflict in which the country is involved and the position of the institution itself in that country. “We must not forget that even in Israel there are daily demonstrations against the government,” he said.
“Back in October, the VUB, together with the Hannah Arendt Institute, made a statement and spoke out in favor of a cease-fire in this conflict.”
“We think that in Israel and Palestine, we have to let the moderate, reasonable voices have their say. There is a whole spectrum of voices. That’s why we want to look at it project by project, institution by institution.”
Still, the VUB is not neutral, he explained. “We take positions. Freedom of the press, freedom of speech, human rights ... the VUB made a statement back in October, with the Hannah Arendt Institute, and called for a ceasefire in this conflict.”
Siska said the student organisation to which she belongs is against any form of discrimination: racism, sexism, antisemitism. She did not speak out against the terror of Hamas “because an occupation of Palestinian territory has been going on for decades and the genocide is escalating”. Danckaert felt that if you stand behind human rights and universal values, then “you must condemn the violations that have happened on both sides”.
Dialogue
The student occupation at UGent began on Monday, and VUB students say they are also preparing actions. Danckaert had a constructive meeting the same day with a delegation of students of the Palestine solidarité network to discuss actions in response to the war in Gaza. He wants to remain in dialogue with the students.