Discontent over the war in Gaza has been building for months at Trinity College Dublin, but what had been a noise last week suddenly became a roar. News that Trinity has asked the students’ union for a large sum of money after protests prevented tourists from accessing the Book of Kells, a major attraction for paying visitors.
Trinity’s demand for about $230,000 outraged students and attracted media attention, and last Friday some anti-war protesters set up camps similar to those on American campuses .
Irish lawmakers are worried that the university is trying to suppress independence protests and there have been offers of help from lawyers and pro-Palestinian groups. The university closed part of its campus that day, citing security concerns.
As the campus dispute became a national issue, Trinity, Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious university, on Monday agreed to negotiate with pro-Palestinian protesters. Ending a few days of headaches, Trinity first agreed give up some Israeli investmentsa move that nearly all US colleges and universities have so far opposed, and which on Wednesday said they would consider divest from all such investments.
“It feels like we won,” said Jenny Maguire, student body president-elect. “Not only us, but everyone who campaigned for this won. We got exactly what we wanted and what we came there to do.”
She said of the university, “It was shocking how quickly they came back.”
Soon, the tent camp and two Palestinian flags that about 60 students had hastily erected just a few days earlier were cleared. On Wednesday night, students wearing checkered kaffiyehs packed up and left. Within minutes, all that remained were faded patches of grass.
A spokesperson for Trinity declined to comment on any connection between its change, currency demand and monitoring results. The anti-student union bill, as the university calls it, has not been discussed in divestment negotiations but will be discussed later, she said. Student leaders said they hope it will be rescinded.
But to some students and outside observers, it was clear that Trinity had seriously miscalculated. Instead of quelling them, it has added fuel to protests that are threatening not only the finances but also the reputation of a university whose alumni include writers such as Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and Samuel Beckett and a group of famous politicians, physicists and philosophers.
“The message the fine sends is that Trinity is trying to quell and destroy the student protest,” said Aiesha Wong, a spokeswoman for the student union. student, said, calling it a “scare tactic.”
“They may have decided that divesting from Israel would cost us less than not divesting,” said David Wolfe, editor-in-chief of student newspaper Trinity News.
The pro-Palestinian movement has been active in Trinity for many years, as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. And at Trinity, as at other facilities around the world, it gained momentum after the current war began seven months ago.
Students, faculty and staff have pressed the university to more strongly condemn Israel’s military attack on Gaza. Pro-Palestinian groups shared petitions, wrote open letters, and organized disruptions to campus meetings.
But nothing has attracted as much attention as the 214,000 euro fee the university assessed to block access to the Book of Kells, a world-famous illuminated manuscript some 12 centuries old kept. in the university library.
Each year, the book attracts about a million paying visitors. Their travel financially supports the university, and previous protests that had nothing to do with Israel have hindered access to the university as a way of putting pressure on the Trinity administration. The bill addresses protests for other causes that hinder participation in the Book of Kells exhibition, but it is pro-Palestinian protesters that have attracted the greatest attention.
In the days after news of the fine became public, more and more students joined the anti-Israel movement, the student union said. Plans for camping had been made, but the timetable had been accelerated.
legislator called on Trinity to withdraw what they described as “severe fines,” and a group of them sent a letter to the university asking officials to ensure that students have space to protest.
As at universities in the United States and elsewhere, there are some complaints that student leaders have failed to address the parallel rise in anti-Semitism. Agne Kniuraite, president of the university’s Jewish association, said in an article that Jewish students felt excluded by the student union’s stance. last month.
“Jewish students have been subjected to countless biases and have had to talk about the isolation, fear, and feelings of rejection they have experienced on campus this year,” she wrote.
On Monday, anti-Israel protest leaders and the university met at the office of a senior dean to negotiate an agreement.
“They have made it clear that they will immediately divest from companies in the occupied territories,” said Ms. Maguire, the student union president-elect. The university agreed not to call on outside forces to disperse protests or sieges, as some schools in the United States have done, and in a statement released after the meeting, Trinity called for protests. The response of other organizations is “inadequate”.
The school said it will divest from three Israeli companies listed by the United Nations for their involvement in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and has provided locations and fees for 8 Palestinian scholars.
Protest leaders say they have pushed for a stronger stance, and on Wednesday the university agreed to consider divesting from all ties with Israel. Students are still negotiating with administrators about how to ensure the university keeps its long-term commitment.
A university spokesman declined to say how much money it had invested in Israel, but said it involved 13 companies and only a “very small percentage” of the 250 million dollars in funding. million euros of the school; American universities say similar things about their investments. Ms Maguire said that during a meeting with administrators, students were informed that the total investment was at least 70,000 euros.
Aidan Regan, associate professor of politics and international relations at University College Dublin, said he imagined that Trinity’s leadership would consider the financial and reputational cost of dispersing the protesters. and instead seek a deal.
With public opinion in Ireland favoring students, he said, it was “unthinkable” for the university to call in the police to coerce students.
Many Irish people have drawn parallels between Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and centuries of British rule in their country.
Hannah Boast, a fellow at the University of Edinburgh who has researched politics and culture in Israel and Palestine, said: “Ireland has a long history of solidarity with Palestine, fueled by a shared colonial history ”. put pressure on the university to act.
The decision to divest is too big to be attributed to an image recovery after unintentional bad news, she said, but “the divestment announcement certainly seems to have made the bad news about the fine go away.” ”.
