By Elea Jürß and Federica Nuccetelli
On the 27th of March, the Palestinian flag flew above Science Park. Equipped with drums, Amsterdam University Free Palestine (AUFP) members stood on the benches in front of the AB as students joined them in their chants1. The day before, AUFP had called for an “emergency protest” in response to allegedly being denied permission to hang a banner in commemoration of Israeli Apartheid Week.
AUFP voiced their outrage in the AUC WhatsApp group chats over an alleged informal encounter between two of their members and an “AUC administrative representative”. According to AUFP, the representative accused them of making antisemitic statements, called them responsible for emotional violence against staff members, and faulted them for getting AUC shut down due to their disruptive behaviour. During AUFP’s speech at the protest, they revealed that this representative was Dean Bruce Mutsvairo. Their opening statement was titled “AUC is broken”. According to them, this was a direct quote from the dean.
Mustvairo recalls the unplanned meeting with the students differently. On his account, he had asked AUFP to consider more subtle means of protesting, as staff members had informed him that previous student protests had caused them emotional stress.
The protest began at 12:30 and quickly moved inside, where about 70 people filled the cafeteria, the lobby and the stairs. In a series of speeches, AUFP addressed the impacts of modern colonialism, increasing militarisation within the landscape of Dutch higher education and the possibility of AUC being shut down due to their protests.
Photo by Elea Jürß
The demonstration gained support from activists outside the current student body, including a 2024 graduate and two advocates for the “Amsterdam Palestine Referendum”. Dr Misha Velthuis also approached AUFP to provide an unplanned statement.
As attendees, including Dean Bruce Mutsvairo, looked into the cafeteria, AUFP members called out AUC’s management for “attacking AUFP students’ rights to freedom of speech and the humanity by which we [the student body] function.” They recalled being held “responsible for emotional violence against staff members”. According to them, a comparison was drawn “between the emotional violence inflicted on staff members and the real suffering of the Palestinian people”.
Members of AUFP proceeded to hang the banner they had previously been forbidden to display, which portrayed experiences by victims of apartheid worldwide. This was done in commemoration of Israeli Apartheid Week: a grassroots campaign bringing awareness to oppression in Palestine, which has been hosted annually by student activist groups since 2005.
Multiple victims of Israeli attacks were honoured, such as Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif2, as well as Muhammed Hoshieh and Malek Ibrahim Al-Khatib3, two of many children killed in the conflict. AUFP also paid tribute to victims of oppression in both Congo and Sudan4.
Mutsvairo was present for the entire protest. “I am speechless. Some of the things in the statement that they accuse me of saying are not accurate. But I don’t take it personally, I remain calm,” he says.
The dean also spoke on AUFP’s claim of being accused of antisemitism. “If you write a statement like this [and refer to the AUC management] and it goes online, it stays there forever. That’s defaming us.” He stated that he had simply told AUFP that a staff member had reached out because one of the articles on their website could be read as antisemitic.
Mutsvairo sees an urgent need to restart dialogue. “This [misunderstanding] shows that there is a need for what I’ve always been saying, people need to come together and have a conversation, because you cannot continue like this,” says the dean. He proposed consulting an external social worker to help negotiate the situation between affected staff and students.
The dean stressed that his focus on staff wellbeing does not conflict with his stance on the suffering in Gaza. “I am not a Dean of Gaza and I could sympathise with what is happening there, but at least here is the place where I can have influence.”
In a conversation with the Herring after the event, AUFP reemphasised their statement: “It is precisely our goal to not let the encroachment, the oppression, the killings fade into silence, just for emotional comfort.”
Photo by Elea Jürß
- The chants included: “AUC You Can’t Hide, Victims of Apartheid!”
“Resistance Is Justified, When People Are Occupied!”
“Our University, Our Voices, AUC Where Are Our Choices?”
“Money for Military Spending, More Apartheid, Never Ending!”
“Freedom from Amsterdam to Gaza, Long Life the Intifada!”
“From Congo to Lebanon, Stop the War, Stop the Bombs!”
“Brick by Brick, Wall by Wall, Apartheid has to fall!”
“Fight the Power, Turn the Tide, End Israel Apartheid!”
↩︎ - “A Palestinian journalist who diligently documented the mass starvation in Gaza. His death was a result of a purposeful attack, justified by the false claim that he was a Hamas terrorist.” ↩︎
- “Both of their deaths resulted from the use of ‘expanding bullets’: a type of munition currently banned by international law, due to it causing excessive suffering to the victim who bears the wound.” ↩︎
- “Particularly, to a woman named Safa, who was forced to flee her hometown and journey towards a refugee camp in Chad. Her terrifying displacement was followed by the harsh living conditions in the camp, where many suffer from malnutrition due to shortages in food and water. Solange, a young woman, was forced to work the mines of eastern Congo to provide for her family and fund her studies. A victim of mass exploitation and extraction of wealth, she is burdened with gruelling work and paid miserable wages.” ↩︎
The Herring 