Talks between pro-Palestine demonstrators and universities

Published: Wednesday, May 8th 2024, 16:41

In the protests by pro-Palestinian students, the universities in western Switzerland are focusing on dialog for the time being. On Wednesday, talks were held between the university management and the protesters at the universities of Geneva and Lausanne and at the EPF Lausanne.

In Geneva, representatives of the student movement met with Edouard Gentaz, Vice-Rector of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), for a discussion this afternoon. "The aim of this meeting is to advance our demands," explained representatives of the movement at a media conference prior to the meeting.

The pro-Palestinian students are demanding that UNIGE "take a stand on the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza" and call for an immediate ceasefire. They are also demanding that the university cease its cooperation with Israeli universities.

According to its spokesperson Marco Cattaneo, UNIGE has agreements with two Israeli universities, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

Occupations continued

Talks between students and the university management also took place at the University of Lausanne. The results of the dialog may be announced in the late afternoon or evening, it was reported.

Meanwhile, the occupations of buildings at the universities of Lausanne and Geneva continued. The pro-Palestine protests at Swiss universities began last Thursday with a sit-in in a hall at the University of Lausanne. Since then, the protests have spread to other universities.

The protesters at EPFL ended their occupation of a hall on Tuesday evening at around 5.30 p.m. following a request from the university management. Talks with the EPFL management were planned for late Wednesday afternoon. EPFL announced a media conference at 7 pm.

On Tuesday, the Zurich city police broke up a sit-in blockade in the entrance hall of the ETH in Zurich and reported 28 people to the police. The police had previously given the ETH occupiers an ultimatum. The ETH filed a criminal complaint for trespassing. The university's premises are not available for political activism, it said in a statement.

Concern among Jews

The ongoing protests are worrying the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG). It observes with concern that the mood at the universities concerned is clearly escalating. Universities are democratic institutions where open debates should be cultivated, the SIG stated on Wednesday when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency.

"However, the loud voices of the protesters are ideologically radicalized," wrote SIG General Secretary Jonathan Kreutner. They gave the impression that all students shared their positions.

This is certainly not the truth. Ultimatums and extremely one-sided demands are being made. Dissenters are intimidated. For Jewish students, a university would no longer offer a protected environment.

In this respect, the question clearly arises as to whether the protests, particularly at the University of Lausanne, are covered by the values of a university and should be tolerated, the umbrella organization of 16 Jewish communities in Switzerland stated.

©Keystone/SDA

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