Solidarity With Students & Allies Protesting For Palestinian Rights 

The ELSC stands in solidarity with, and endorses the principled demands of, student protestors in Europe to disclose, divest and cut all ties with Israeli universities, corporations and all those complicit in the state of Israel’s crimes of genocide, colonisation, occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. 

We have seen among the most extreme police violence against students and university staff, as well as the supporting local community. Often with the implicit support of university executives and in cooperation with the police and city mayors. In the Netherlands, for instance, an army of riot police, attack dogs, bulldozers, pepper spray and batons have been used against protestors, and we also documented police violence in France, Germany and Austria. The ELSC firmly believes that protestors have a right to defend themselves from police violence. 

The political establishment, from elected politicians to the unaccountable police force, are giving rise to an increasingly hostile environment that allows for repression not just from the state but the far-right who are emboldened and given free rein to attack Palestine protesters. 

University administrations, who instead of showing a duty of care to their students, are acting as enforcers of repression. In doing so they are showing a complete disregard for the health, rights and just demands of their students and staff. Their complicity in the wholly disproportionate punishment of students is matched with their complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. It also fully exposes such bodies, not as institutions of free thought and public learning, but as protectors of the state.  

More than 35.000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed by Israel – but the healthcare infrastructure to record the death toll has collapsed, meaning the real death toll is likely far higher. Rafah has been invaded, displacing at least 450.000. The border crossing to Egypt is closed, preventing evacuations and the entry of humanitarian aid. Forced hunger leading to famine is rising and Gaza has become completely unlivable. A large number of European universities insist on maintaining ties with research institutions and companies who are deeply embedded and complicit in the Israeli state and industrial complex that drive genocide. 

We call on everyone to support Palestinians and their allies as they continue to fight for justice, despite all odds to see liberation in our lifetime. 

Please make sure to: 

• Report all incidents of repression and request legal support here: Report an incident (elsc.support) and see here why it is important to report repression to the ELSC 
• Stay safe by consulting our ‘know your rights’ resources for Palestinian rights advocates, including protesters, in the Netherlands, in the UK and Italy here. 
• See more ‘know your rights’ resources for other countries/ contexts here