L‘Popular University of Brussels’ wanted to return to the events that occurred Tuesday evening on the Solbosch campus of the Free University of Brussels (ULB). The group of activists who denounce an “ongoing genocide in Gaza” by Israel regrets the sensationalist and defamatory headlines appearing in the press and recalls that it rejects all forms of racism and discrimination, including anti-Semitism.
As a reminder, tension rose Tuesday evening around Building B on campus between the pro-Palestinian occupants and Jewish students. According to the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium (CCOJB), the president of the Union of Jewish Students of Belgium (UEJB), Gad Deshayes, was beaten and insulted. A version refuted by a spokesperson for the “popular university of Brussels”.
In a press release, he mentions testimonies and images collected, according to which “there were some provocations, shoving, a theft of the flag and a few light blows”. But the spokesperson “formally contests that a student was beaten”. The press release also denounces the accusations of anti-Semitism launched by the CCOJB stating that the molested student was also the subject of anti-Semitic insults and specifies: “Students presenting themselves as Jewish spoke during our general assembly and they were welcomed in the same way as any other person who shows respect for our occupation and our fight with kindness. »
Complaints
Wednesday morning, rector Anemie Schaus affirmed that complaints would be “filed because there have been acts of violence, and in particular against the president [de l’UEJB] “.
Annemie Schaus recalled that these actions had not been announced or authorized, but that the ULB respected the freedom of demonstration “and the concern of these young people”, without tolerating the excesses of violence.
