Why is UT returning to campus for Palestine?
'In October last year, we stopped talking to the Executive Board and holding meetings. Those conversations drained the energy out of our organization. That's why we decided to focus on the city center of Enschede instead of the campus. Two reasons underlie our return to campus. Halfway through the summer, our organization revived. As a result, we can now better divide between the campus and the city centre. We also notice that more and more people at the university are angry about the UT's ties with Israel. So the breeding ground for action has grown. That's why it makes sense to return to the UT.'
At first, the organization was called Enschede Students for Palestine. Why did you choose a new name?
'That's right. The organization is now called University of Twente for Palestine. With the new name, we want to lower the threshold for UT employees to join us. We received signals that the old name did not encourage that.'
You are announcing new activities. What is going to happen?
'We start today with an open meeting for UT students and staff. We want to show solidarity with Palestine and at the same time involve more people by explaining the ties the UT has with Israel. On October 2, we are also organizing a cultural event. During that event, we will show a documentary from the 70s, which shows what the situation was like at the time. We are still thinking about new next steps.'
What are the goals and requirements of the University of Twente for Palestine?
'Our demands are largely the same as last year. We want the UT to make its ties with Israeli institutions public and to sever them immediately. In addition, we have added a new requirement: full openness and transparency about the ethical guidelines, so that they prevent the UT from becoming complicit in genocide. At present, the directives are still too vague and can easily be circumvented. Finally, the University of Twente for Palestine demands that the UT offers support to Palestinian students, academics and academic institutes, with special attention to Gaza.'
What does the Executive Board think about your return?
'The Executive Board is not happy with us. I expect that they are afraid of the critical sound that we are making.'
Have you tried to reopen the conversation with the Executive Board, or do you consciously opt for pressure through action?
'At the moment, we are mainly focusing on exerting pressure, because that seems to be the only way. We are open to discussions with the Executive Board, but only if they are useful and actually deliver something that meets our requirements. We hope to breathe new life into the conversations, but our experience shows that this often makes little sense. We are certainly open to it, but it must be a useful conversation that produces concrete results.'
What are the next steps if the UT does not comply with the requirements?
'Then we will continue to take action, including with petitions and demonstrations. We will not give up until ties with Israel are severed.'
* University of Twente for Palestine's spokesperson only wants to be called by his first name in this interview; His full name is known to the editors.
