By Lou Boot, Violet Domínguez, and Ben Kiem
Please note: While this article is meant to highlight the emotions students feel at this moment, this is not an accurate representation of all affected. The scope is restricted to students who chose to share their experiences with us, and as such, it lacks the perspective of any Israeli students.
On 7 October, the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict thrust itself back into the global spotlight, prompting many discussions, actions, and protests worldwide. Within AUC, the subject has been ubiquitous, manifesting in protests, group chat discussions, and posters displayed throughout the Academic Building. Some students have actively engaged by initiating petitions advocating for a ceasefire, while others struggle to navigate academic life amidst the current crisis.
“What I feel is something like sadness set on fire. I’m both grieving for my people and angry for the genocidal complicity of our society, media and Western leaders.”
– Nael
Even though the current war has disrupted their life in an unprecedented way, these emotions are nothing new for two Palestinian AUC students, Samira and Nael, whose names have been altered to provide anonymity. “I often find myself paralysed and overwhelmed by the atrocities that are committed by the occupation,” Nael says, continuing, “it is impossible to convince myself that anything AUC-related is as important as combating the intensified genocide and oppression of the Palestinian people.” It feels wrong to them to live their normal academic life.
Commenting on their experiences as a student in the midst of these happenings, Nael is at a loss for words. “What am I supposed to tell you. My feelings are not one dimensional, nor do they fit into a box of ideal victimhood that may appease certain readers. What I feel is something like sadness set on fire. I’m both grieving for my people and angry for the genocidal complicity of our society, media and Western leaders,” they say.
Meanwhile, Samira emphasises that “this is not the start. There have been 75 years of occupation and colonial regime that people have overlooked.” Nael further asserts that, in order to understand them, one has to understand the Nakba, which they refer to as the ethnic cleansing and mass displacement of Palestinians that started before 1948. For Nael, the Nakba has never ended.
Their frustration also lies in the anger that they feel towards Western and media representations. “Since I have been to AUC, major events have happened,” says Samira, explaining that she has lost many friends and family, as have many other Palestinians, but that was not so discussed. “We have long suffered under the oppression of Zionist apartheid,” Nael adds. “The Western news simply doesn’t care. This is everyday reality that we have been affected by, even as we study at AUC.”
“If you have friends that are affected, ask them how they are doing and then just shut up and let them answer.”
– Jonathan Gill, Lecturer
It is not only Palestinian students that are frustrated, but Jewish ones as well. Anselm Herbst, a German first-year Humanities student, expresses annoyance at the “misrepresentation of these sorts of situations” when being taught about the war at AUC. At the same time, he faces overgeneralization. “Firstly, not all Jewish people are Zionists, or not all Jewish people are part of Israel,” he explains, challenging a common belief he encounters. He elaborates that he often faces an expectation for him to be pro-Israel due to his Jewish identity in Germany. “I always have to explain that that’s not something that should be equated,” Herbst says.
Lecturer Jonathan Gill considers it very important to assist students in navigating this challenging period, and offers individual conversations: “[Students] do not need to censor themselves in front of me, I want them to say what they think and know that they have someone of the faculty they know they can speak to freely.” Gill also offers some advice on how you can be there for those struggling: “If you have friends that are affected, ask them how they are doing and then just shut up and let them answer.”
Although Gill strives to be helpful and understanding, this does not seem to be the case for AUC as a whole, as both Palestinian students share sentiments of both AUC and UvA’s lack of support. Nael specifically highlights the contrast between the response to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the current one: “The horrendous difference between UvA and AUC’s reaction to the Ukrainian and Palestinian struggles is not lost on me. AUC’s stance on Palestine shows that it is far from immune from racism and colonialism.”
Gill takes a more balanced stance, yet he also acknowledges that silence so often benefits the oppressor. “I think that AUC is in a tough position and, are they doing it totally right? I don’t know. Are they really trying to get it right? I do think so.” He believes the management faculty to be aware of the variety of opinions, and in respect of those opinions. “I can imagine there are people on both sides who think that AUC is not speaking out strongly enough, and if you are in the position I am in, you can see how difficult it must be to get it right,” he says.
As students expressed their frustration with AUC’s reaction, they also highlighted the support they felt from the AUC student community: “To my surprise, people at AUC have been more supportive than ever. While I don’t lose sight of what’s happening in Gaza, these shows of support from peers do really mean something to me,” Nael says. Samira feels a general sense of disappointment seeing people’s ignorance, but echoes that she has also received “beautiful support” from students at AUC.
While the two Palestinian students agree that they are receiving general support from the students in person, they still mention that support has not been clearly visible online, specifically in AUC’s Buy, Sell and Trade group chat which is primarily used to purchase and offer items from the dorms, but often utilised by individuals to reach the highest possible number of AUC students and alumni.
Samira was astounded to see people’s irritation in the group chat when discussing the war. “What was said on the group chat was very disappointing. Not only did I feel uncomfortable, but I was just shocked that I share this university with people who find this topic annoying to read about,” she says, highlighting a disbelief around how students were “annoyed by little notifications, while people are dying”.
Herbst expresses similar disappointment with people urging not to discuss the subject, emphasising that the resources shared in the group chat proved helpful and informative for other students. He was astonished to find people criticising calls for protest by “tone-policing” the group chat.
Samira adds that “people were saying that the group chat is not a place to be political. This is AUC, there’s no space to be apolitical.” In the group chat, a student urged for actions to get donations in, but Gaza is currently not accepting aid, Samira explains. “I’m not saying that donations are not helpful, but right now Gaza needs a voice first to open the borders so then these donations can get through,” she says.
As an alternative, Polish-Turkish second-year student Maya Ozbayoglu decided to create an initiative to facilitate students’ call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Every Monday, Thursday and Friday in the AB’s common room, students will join to write to and call government officials. Accessing a link through a QR code, individuals can also easily sign a petition demanding that the U.S. Congress stops arming Israel. Ozbayoglu was “really disappointed by the fact that there weren’t many discussions or actions happening on this matter within AUC.” She shares that her motivations stemmed from being “done with passively watching the news and being a witness to such atrocities being committed.” Although she was still active and outspoken on social media, that did not feel like enough.
“It’s so important for non-Palestinians to see how privileged they are, in the sense that they can amplify Palestinian voices.”
– samira
In terms of student response, she received many positive messages and especially highlighted the Student Council’s help. Some people had already started drafting messages to politicians in their own native language. However, there were still other reactions. “Some of my peers said they didn’t have time, just ignored our stand or even did not know what ceasefire meant,” Ozbayoglu explains.
Samira believes that it is crucial for non-Palestinian people to be involved at a time like this. “It’s so important to not underestimate people’s privilege to be able to talk about this topic openly.” In the Netherlands and Europe as a whole, people have the freedom to speak freely, protest and post, she says, while Palestinian students feel at risk for doing the same thing. “It’s so important for non-Palestinians to see how privileged they are, in the sense that they can amplify Palestinian voices,” Samira reiterates.
The Herring 