- Intro
- 18/08/2025
Another protest, but Intro participants show little interest
Once again, members of EindhovenStudents4Palestine stage a protest on campus against TU/e’s ties with Israeli institutions. This time, they hope to raise awareness among new students. But the Intro participants show little interest in the demonstrators or their message.
A few dozen protesters gathered on Monday morning at 18 Septemberplein and then marched to the TU/e campus. They argue that the university and regional companies such as ASML are complicit in the violence Israel is committing in Palestine, and they call for all ties with Israeli institutions to be severed. Despite the measures taken by the university, the protesters plan to continue their actions in the new academic year.
Rebrand
The demonstrators believe TU/e is not living up to its own guidelines and that problematic collaborations are still ongoing. “That’s why we are ‘rebranding’ TU/e’s four core values: Curious, Open, Respectful, and Responsible,” Vesnik explains. He hands out a flyer in which the TU/e logo has been altered to read TU/g – Genocidal University of Technology, with the slogan ‘Where innovation meets complicity.’ On the flyer, the four core values have been changed to: Complicit, Oppressive, Repressive, and Relentless.
The group says it is important to inform students and staff about TU/e’s activities. That is why they scheduled the protest for the first day of Intro, so new students will be aware of this. According to Vesnik, dozens of TU/e students and staff members oppose the university’s ties with Israel. “But because of the hierarchy within the university, they don’t always feel free to speak out,” he adds. For the same reason, he does not want to reveal his real name or appear in photos.
Right to protest
Despite the loud protest—demonstrators brought megaphones and banged on pots and pans—Intro participants walked right past. Some glanced back briefly, but they were clearly focused on other things: getting to know the university and their fellow students. That was also the case for Sem van de Pas. “I don’t really mind that the demonstrators are here,” he says. Sitting on a bench in front of Metaforum with his Intro group, right next to the protest, he adds: “They have the right to protest. But I’m not really getting involved, it’s just not my thing.”
Van de Pas was unaware that the protesters were demanding TU/e cut ties with Israel, just like his fellow participant Tim Suijkerbuijk, sitting next to him. Sander Ottenheim, however, knows that many Dutch universities collaborate with Israeli institutions. “I think it’s important that people protest, because you don’t really know what universities are supporting,” he says. “But I don’t think a protest of this scale will have much impact. If you compare it to The Hague, where the Malieveld was full of people protesting the war in Gaza, that made a much bigger impression. Here, it’s just a small group with a megaphone.”
Shock and dismay
In response to the protest, spokesperson Ivo Jongsma stated that in recent weeks much work has gone into elaborating and implementing the decisions made by the Executive Board just before the summer break. He referred to the establishment of a committee that will review sensitive collaborations with Israeli partners. “A coordinator and a working group have now been appointed. In addition, we have frozen the institutional collaboration with Technion University.” An intranet page has also been set up with all relevant information.
The Executive Board emphasizes that it is following the situation in Gaza with shock and dismay. “As an organization, we do not, in principle, take a position on the fact that protests are being held on campus—that fundamental right applies to everyone,” Jongsma said.
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.
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