The activists chose the TU/e NanoLab as the location for their protest because of the cleanroom facilities in the building. According to the activist group, Dutch universities have direct and indirect ties to the Israeli military sector through Horizon Europe research projects, including in the field of microchips. The group demands that TU/e withdraws from collaborations in which defense-related Israeli companies are directly or indirectly involved.

Why the NanoLab?

According to the activists, research projects are being conducted inside the NanoLab in which knowledge from TU/e is transferred to Israeli partners through collaborations that include Horizon-funded projects. A spokesperson also mentioned SMART Photonics, a TU/e spin-off that uses the lab.

“SMART Photonics collaborated with Mellanox Technologies in a European project. Mellanox develops high-performance networking equipment. At the same time, Mellanox was also working closely with the Israeli Ministry of Defense, with Elbit Systems, and with other Israeli defense companies.”

According to the spokesperson for the demonstrators, one of the reasons for the protest is the university’s lack of action. “About a year ago, Eindhoven University of Technology said it would establish a committee for sensitive collaborations, but that committee still hasn’t been created. Nothing is happening.” According to him, attempts to engage in dialogue with the university’s executive board have led nowhere.

Update 13:23

According to a TU/e spokesperson, there are no activists inside the NanoLab. No disruptions have been reported in the building either. The university has ordered the protesters to come down from the roof for safety reasons. The activist group has indicated that it does not intend to comply.

TU/e is currently in contact with the municipality and the police to determine what measures can be taken. The spokesperson emphasized that the university generally gives demonstrations “plenty of space,” provided they are “safe and peaceful.” “The protesters are therefore more than welcome to continue a peaceful demonstration elsewhere on campus.”

Update 13:43

The police have ordered the protesters to come down. If they refuse, they will be arrested. A team from the police Special Intervention Unit has been called in. 

Update 14:21

The protest ended around two o'clock. The demonstrators on the roof, who were supported from the ground by around twenty pro-Palestinian activists with flags and a megaphone, have come back down.

About six people are required to identify themselves to the police in connection with possible damage, while several activists flee the scene. One activist refuses to show ID and is subsequently arrested.

Update 17:20

Because TU/e expected there might be damage, the university asked police during the protest to identify the demonstrators.

“That was in case we decided to file a police report. If we did, the people responsible for any damage could be linked by police to the report,” spokesperson Ivo Jongsma explained. According to Jongsma, TU/e will not request the activists’ identities from police.

Whether the university will actually press charges remains unclear, he said. “So far, we have not been able to establish any damage.”

Toxic substances

It is also unclear whether the activists may have been exposed to harmful substances emitted from the building’s chimneys. Although the installations comply with strict regulations and are regularly inspected, Jongsma noted that those standards are based on emissions dispersing at high altitude.

“It can therefore be dangerous to stand on the roof close to the chimneys. We asked the demonstrators to keep their distance from them,” he said.

The spokesperson of the protest declined to comment on whether the demonstrators were aware of the danger posed by toxic substances from the chimney. He did say, however, that they were not trying to put themselves in danger.