University of Amsterdam employees strike to suspend ties with Israel, increase rights to protest

University of Amsterdam (UvA) employees are holding a four-day strike demanding that the institution suspend ties with Israeli schools and offer greater rights to protest against Israel.

An estimated 150 – 250 employees will strike from today until Thursday after the university’s executive board refused to respond to the FNV union’s ultimatum, FNV says. The strike was cheered on the Facebook page of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.

The union’s demands include greater freedom to demonstrate, a democratic committee to assess collaborations, and that the university suspends ties with Israeli institutions until further investigation. All three conditions are understood to be anti-Israel measures.

UvA board chair Edith Hooge says the university was surprised by the ultimatum, noting that progress was already being made on the issues of expanding demonstration rights and assessing collaborations. She does not address the demand to suspend ties with Israel.

“This is the democratic way of decision-making within the UvA,” Hooge says. “We believe any further actions are unnecessary.’

Last May, UvA was the site of violent clashes between protesters and police as activists demanded that the university cut all ties with Israeli institutions. Hundreds were arrested and an estimated 1.5 million euros in damages was sustained as students and other protesters occupied campuses and blocked access.

Protesters demanded in May that UvA disclose its collaborations with Israeli institutions, and the school does so on its website. “We see no reason to think that these collaborations contribute negatively to the situation in Gaza: as far as we can tell, they do not contribute to military violence or human rights violations,” the university says.