The student mobilization against the war in Gaza continues on Wednesday on certain campuses in French-speaking Switzerland. The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (FSCI) observes with concern a deterioration of the atmosphere in the establishments concerned.
In Geneva, the occupation of the UniMail hall by pro-Palestinian students, which began on Tuesday, continued on Wednesday. Representatives of the movement will meet at the beginning of the afternoon with Edouard Gentaz, vice-rector responsible for living together at the University of Geneva (UNIGE).
“The aim of this meeting is to advance our demands,” explained officials from the Student Coordination for Palestine-UNIGE (CEP-UNIGE), the organization behind the action.
Pro-Palestinian students demand that UNIGE take a position “on the genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza” and call for an immediate ceasefire. They also demand that the alma mater cease its collaborations with Israeli universities.
According to CEP-UNIGE, “Israeli university institutions are fully involved in the colonialism project of the State of Israel.” The coordination affirms that this involvement is “very well documented”.
UNIGE has agreements with two Israeli universities, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv University, indicated the institution’s spokesperson Marco Cattaneo. He added that due to the ongoing armed conflict, the level of activity of these collaborations “has dropped drastically.”
Discussions at UNIL
On the Lausanne campuses, only the occupation at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), where the movement began last Thursday, is still in progress. Discussions between students and management were underway on Wednesday, with a possible announcement mid-afternoon or late in the day on the status of the situation.
On the EPFL side, the protesters’ occupation was lifted on Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. Discussions on their demands were planned for the end of the day with management, with a possible announcement at the start of the evening.
FSCI concerns
The continuation of pro-Palestinian demonstrations worries the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (FSCI). “Universities are democratic institutions in which open debates should be cultivated,” said the FSCI on Wednesday, contacted by the Keystone-ATS agency.
“The strong voices of the protesters, however, bear radicalized ideological traits,” writes FSCI general secretary Jonathan Kreutner. They give the impression that all students share their positions, which is “certainly not the truth.”
Extremely one-sided ultimatums and demands are made and people who think differently are intimidated, Kreutner continues. For Jewish students, the university no longer offers a protected environment.
The question therefore now arises whether the protests, particularly at the University of Lausanne, are covered by the values of a university and should be tolerated. There must be no tolerance for anti-Semitic excesses that clearly cross the line, such as the slogan “From the River to the Sea.”
Generally speaking, it is up to the teaching staff to take their responsibilities, underlines the secretary general. It is up to professors and university management to “control the situation and, if possible, to hold constructive discussions with the protesters”.
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
