University of Antwerp Workers in Solidarity with Palestine
We are an expanding group of faculty members at the University of Antwerp - comprising administrative personnel, PhD candidates, postdoctoral scholars, and professors - who firmly oppose all forms of colonization within and beyond Palestine. We are dedicated to upholding UAntwerpen’s principles regarding ethics and integrity, which state that "respect for human rights is fundamental to the university’s societal role." In this regard, we strive to ensure that our university fosters anticolonial goals focused on breaking down hierarchies and borders.
We are affiliated with the larger Palestine Interuniversity Network (PIN), which connects universities throughout Belgium. Additionally, we express our solidarity with various academic and non-academic groups at our institution, including UAntwerp for Palestine and Antwerp for Palestine.
UAntwerp Workers
for Palestine
An open letter from students and staff members across Belgian universities
Staff and students across Belgian universities have drafted anopen letter that:
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calls on universities to align their institutional practiceswith their stated commitments;
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builds on legal and ethical arguments articulatedby Albanese and Erakat;
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aims to turn recognition into concrete action.
Media highlights
“Honouring Francesca Albanese and Noura Erakat creates obligations. Universities cannot celebrate their work while continuing collaborations with institutions involved in the occupation, apartheid and genocidal violence that both laureates have extensively documented. That is why we call on Belgian universities to terminate all collaborations with Israeli institutions and companies involved in violations of international law.”
SUE
Prof. of Political Ecology, UAntwerp
Prof. of Political Ecology, UAntwerp
Prof. of Anthropology,
KU Leuven
“For too long, ‘complexity’ has been used as an excuse for passivity. But the genocide and educide in Gaza have made clear that universities and researchers must take a position. This is no longer a technical issue; it is a matter of legal obligations and moral responsibility.”
Prof. of Social Sciences, Hasselt University
“After decades of Israeli colonialism and oppression, the genocide in Gaza has produced what we are witnessing today: a fundamental shift within the academic community. Students, researchers and professors are no longer willing to accept that universities defend human rights merely in rhetoric while maintaining institutional relationships that contribute to impunity and help normalise and legitimise structural violence.”
Activity of the month
A letter is addressed to the Raad van Bestuur of the University of Antwerp, who will vote on the "Toekomstbouwers" plan to cut €14 million from the university budget. While it is largely the result of government austerity measures, it goes beyond the cuts imposed by the government and was created in secrecy without input from staff or students. Paired with this, the university administration has not supported staff and students in their efforts to defend higher education against the government austerity measures.
With this letter, the employees, students and affiliates of the university and civil society make the following demands:
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Restrict “savings” to the minimum,
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Operate with full transparency,
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Support students and employees in pushing back against the government austerity.
Universiteit Antwerpen collaborates on 9 current projects, as well as 21 past projects, with 23 Israeli partners.
Source: www.academiccomplicity.eu
Rima Hassan, member of the European Parliament, has extended her support for the encampment at the University of Antwerp.
Professor Noura Erakat, from the Rutgers University, who was recently awarded an honorary degree in Development Studies by UAntwerpen, has extended her support for the encampment at the University of Antwerp.
Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who was recently awarded an honorary degree jointly by UAntwerpen, UGent, VUB, has extended her support for the encampment at the University of Antwerp.
Message from Rima Hassan
Message from Prof. Noura Erakat
Message from Francesca Albanese
...while the ties continue
...even when we had voices of support coming from all directions
While you're here,
do not forget the encampment that the university forcefully evicted
"Tents are unacceptable, but collaborations with institutions and companies involved in occupation, apartheid, and genocidal violence in Palestine prove to be manageable."
UA Workers 4 Palestine