PST occupies Dante Building during Night University
Activist group Palestine Solidarity Tilburg (PST) occupied the Dante building on the Tilburg University campus during the science festival Night University. The main entrance has been barricaded with chairs, tables, and chains, making the building inaccessible to visitors attending the evening’s scheduled events.
Dozens of protesters are gathered outside the entrance, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans such as: ‘Tilburg, shame. Blood on your hands.‘ With this action, PST aims to pressure the university to cut all ties with Israeli universities and institutions. Visitors attempting to enter the building are being redirected or turned away by security and staff.
According to PST spokesperson Rami Fransawi, the occupation is intended as a peaceful but determined protest. ‘We will stay here until the university severs all ties with Israeli universities,’ Fransawi stated.
Police Notified
The university has stated that it considers the action a disruption of public order and has informed the police. It remains unclear whether and how the remainder of the Night University program will be altered or relocated.
The Night Talk about the Sanda Dia case, given by journalist Pieter Huyberechts and originally scheduled in the Dante building, was hastily moved outside and is now taking place in front of the Cube building. The lecture was set to start at 7:00 p.m., exactly when the occupation began. Students who helped organize the talk have expressed deep disappointment.
PST’s action follows a previous encampment set up on the lawn next to the university library and is part of a wider protest movement at Dutch universities. Last week, Tilburg University announced it would suspend ties with two Israeli universities, but PST claims this is untrue and that the university maintains those connections.
So far, there has been no police intervention.
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