Amsterdam University Recovering After Pro-Palestine Protest
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Students and staff members at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) are recovering after an angry crowd of anti-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters stormed and vandalized the 18th-century Maagdenhuis (Maiden House), the UvA’s administrative complex.
In a statement seen by Worthy News on Wednesday, the UvA said the repairs to damages caused by the activists would cost an “enormous” amount. Worthy News saw pro-Hamas and pro-Palestine slogans painted on the historic walls of the building and on computers, while furniture had been destroyed.
Protesters demanded that the university cut all ties with Israeli universities over the war in Gaza.
Monday’s rally was organized by the activist group Amsterdam Student Encampment, though many spoke English. Numerous protesters carrying Palestinian flags and smoke flares in the same colors, participating in the violence, had their faces covered.
It prompted calls from Christian and rightwing legislators to ban masks and other face coverings at protests.
MORE PROTESTS
Pro-Palestine activists also rallied at Radboud University in the eastern city of Nijmegen, occupying a footbridge between two university buildings. They, too, demanded that their university sever all ties with Israeli institutions.
At least five people were seen being led away by police officers during the violence-tainted demonstration at the Maagdenhuis building in Amsterdam’s historical city center.
Riot police using batons clashed with a smaller group of several hundred students and activists outside the building, Worthy News observed.
A spokesperson for the Amsterdam mayor, police, and prosecutor told local media that protesters broke into offices in the Maagdenhuis, disabled cameras, and barricaded emergency doors. “A police officer was also hit in the face with an as yet unknown corrosive substance, which resulted in minor injuries.”
The Amsterdam Student Encampment group defended its actions, saying it did not cause “any unnecessary damage” to the building or personal belongings.
Activists “only added something to the rich history of the building” with the graffiti on the walls, it added.
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