2025 Utrecht University pro-Palestinian campus occupations
The 2025 Utrecht University student protests are a series of demonstrations and encampments initiated by students and staff at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Following several smaller protests earlier that year, after May 2025 protesters established an encampment and other occupations on university grounds to demand that the university sever all academic and financial ties with Israeli institutions and companies in response to the ongoing Gaza war and the genocide of Palestinians.[1][2] BackgroundThe protests took place amid widespread global demonstrations in support of Palestinian rights and criticism of the role of the Israeli military in the genocide of Palestinians. In 2024 in the Netherlands, students began organizing encampments and protest actions similar to those seen on campuses in the United States and elsewhere in Europe.[3] In 2025, similar student protests and encampments were happening across the Netherlands, where some were met with police violence.[4][5] Protests, encampments, and occupationsUtrecht Science ParkIn late March 2025, pro-Palestinian activists chained themselves to the entrance of the administration building at Utrecht University in the Utrecht Science Park, temporarily blocking access. The protest followed a previous blockade and a ten-day ultimatum that the university did not meet. While the building remained accessible via emergency exits, approximately 150 employees were inside during the action. Protesters, accusing the university of complicity in genocide and apartheid, organized cultural and educational activities during the demonstration. The protest called on the university to sever all its institutional ties with Israeli partners.[6][7] Utrecht University Library courtyard On 7 May, a year after the previous attempt at a student encampment in the same location, students and staff set up tents and banners in the courtyard of the academic library of Utrecht University.[2][8] The occupation is ongoing and has not been met yet with police intervention.[9] The encampment was established as a permanent protest site and features daily teach-ins, workshops, public lectures, documentary screenings, and community discussions. The encampment was named in honor of Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat that was killed on 24 March 2025 by an Israeli airstrike.[10][11] The occupation lasted until 19 May.[12] Drift 13 buildingOn 19 May, the thirteenth consecutive day of the encampment, protesters also occupied Drift 13, a Utrecht University building, to protest what they viewed as insufficient action by the university regarding its ties to Israeli institutions. The occupation followed the university's announcement that it would suspend new collaborations with Israeli partners and end select agreements, including those with the Israeli Ministry of Health and the University of Haifa. Activists argued this does not go far enough, as existing collaborations remain intact.[13][14] On 19 May, Dutch police intervened in the pro-Palestinian occupation of Drift 13 building on Drift street. Dozens of demonstrators had entered the building earlier in the day, demanding that the university cut all institutional ties with Israeli companies and institutes.[15] After repeated orders to vacate, police entered the premises and forcibly removed the students. Outside of the building, several protesters were also hit with police violence, with some sustaining injuries.[16] The riot police arrested 49 individuals for trespassing and transported them by bus to another location in Utrecht, with most being released later that night.[17][18][19] Lawyer Daan Gaasbeek, representing some of the demonstrators, announced that legal action is being prepared against the police, alleging excessive force, including overhead baton strikes.[20] Janskerkhof 15a building On 3 June, protesters established a new peaceful occupation of another university building, Janskerkhof 15a, after what they claim is insufficient action from the university. Lectures were not disrupted.[21][22] On the morning of 4 June, following the overnight occupation of the Janskerkhof 15a building, the police and Executive Board gave the demonstrators a final eviction warning. The activists evacuated the building peacefully and voluntarily.[21][23] The Executive Board recognized the current situation in Palestine, citing the blockades of food and aid and the forced displacement of residents being carried out by the Israeli government. It also encouraged the students to continue to let their voices be heard through the existing channels in the university, but made no promises regarding the future of the existing collaborations with Israeli institutes.[24] Drift 25 building On 18 June, pro-Palestinian activists blocked parts of Drift street in Utrecht and occupied the university building at Drift 25, prompting the university to close the University Library and other nearby buildings. The protesters demand that the university sever all ties with Israeli institutions and intend to remain until their demands are met.[25] Although the street blockade has ended and the library has since reopened to those with a university pass, other buildings on Drift remain closed.[26][27] The occupation lasted until 20 June, when police entered via a crawlspace only to find the building already completely empty.[28][29] ReactionsOn 15 May, staff members of the Contesting Governance Platform from the Utrecht University issued a statement supporting the student encampment, endorsing its call for the university to cut ties with Israeli institutions linked to human rights violations against Palestinians.[30] On 16 May, Utrecht University announced its intention to end a project involving the Israeli Ministry of Health and to suspend new collaborations with Israeli organizations, citing concerns over the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Existing ties will continue for now, while an advisory committee is being formed to evaluate future collaborations.[31] On 20 May, the Executive Board of the university condemned the occupation of the Drift 13 building, and made no mentions about disproportionate police intervention.[12] The UCU Teachers Against Genocide condemned the police brutality against the students and staff, and showed support for their right to protest.[32] The Utrecht mayor Sharon Dijksma also criticized the violence by the police, stating that they were instructed to act in a phased, de-escalating, and non-violent manner.[20][33] In response, police officers expressed anger at Dijksma’s public remarks, with some suggesting they no longer wished to operate under her authority.[34] Over the following days, several groups of teachers and staff of the university also expressed support for the demands of the protesters and condemned the police intervention on campus.[35][36] A group of over 60 professors from the university submitted a letter to the Executive Board criticizing its tightened policy on collaborations with Israeli institutions as insufficient, given the ongoing violence in Palestine. The letter, accompanied by a petition, argued that universities must act when fundamental values are at stake, citing precedents like UU's previous decisions to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry and Russian institutions. The Executive Board has indicated it will enter into dialogue with the professors.[37] See also
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