No, the employee on the other end of the line says in a friendly but firm voice. She doesn’t want to be interviewed about the attack by Hamas, the subsequent war, the unrest these events have caused at Maastricht University too, and how she’s navigating the situation as a Jewish member of the university community. Why not? She’d prefer not to say either.
The sentiment reflects the feelings of part of the Jewish UM students and staff. Many are reluctant to speak up, avoiding openly identifying as Jewish for fear of negative reactions. Of the four students who agreed to be interviewed, two requested anonymity (their names are known to Observant). A Dutch medicine student is fine with his first name being used – “Bram is a very common name” – but not his last name. “I don’t want this article to resurface in a job interview five years from now and cost me a job.”
"Important we make ourselves heard"
But he does want to speak. The Gaza war has increased hostility towards Jews in the Netherlands, he explains. “I believe antisemitism often stems from ignorance rather than hatred. We’re a small group, so it’s very important that we make ourselves heard.” Another student who overcame her fear was Kephi Alkalay, a European Studies student with an Israeli father and an English mother, both of whom are Jewish. “For me, the Jewish and Israeli identities have been shaped by the struggles and existential threats we’ve faced as a people. There’s a collective sense of commitment to a better, brighter future, which is central to my Israeli identity.” She wants to speak to “honour the legacy of those who came before me”.
Scared and threatened
The loud protests of the student group Free Palestine Maastricht (FPM) have contributed significantly to their feeling scared and threatened, all four students say. The group initially described the brutal Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which marked the beginning of the current Gaza war, as a glorious moment in a struggle for freedom. “That’s celebrating the killing of Jewish people”, says a student at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE). “You can’t say that and claim you’re not antisemitic. Those kinds of demonstrations feel very threatening.” To Bram, it means that “at any moment here in the city and at the university, I could encounter someone who is essentially calling for the killing of Jewish people. It makes me angry and afraid; I look over my shoulder when I step outside.”
He describes the 7 October attack as a huge shock. “For the first 24 hours, I didn’t hear anything from my friends and family in Israel. I didn’t know if they were safe.” A third-year student of Global Studies from France says it felt “like I’d been stabbed in the heart. I have no special connection with the State of Israel – I’m against the current government – but it is my community that was attacked. That’s why it felt threatening to me as well. I feel less safe than before.”
Black and white thinking
Particularly hurtful is the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. “It refers to the area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, where Israel is. Those who chant this phrase are essentially saying they want Israel to be destroyed”, says the FSE student. “The Jewish people would lose control over their own fate again.” Alkalay spotted the phrase on a fellow student’s laptop. “My first thought was that he hated me and wanted Israel, the country where I hope to live one day, to cease to exist. When I asked him about it, he said that he sees it as a call for compassion. I was touched by his words, but at first glance, it feels like a call for a single, Palestinian state, a desire to erase Israeli culture and the indigenous Jewish connection to the land. This makes it very difficult to have a nuanced discussion.”
She would like to engage in constructive dialogue, she says; she’s highly critical of the Israeli government, whose thinking is “just as black and white” as that of some pro-Palestinian activists. “We need to go back to seeing each other as human beings, who have to come to a solution together. Here in Maastricht, too. But if you don’t talk to each other, nuance and depth disappear.”
Litmus test
“Jewish people have the right to a homeland, but none of the Jewish people I know wants what is happening in Gaza right now”, says the Global Studies student. Yet even non-Israeli Jews are constantly asked to justify themselves, according to the FSE student. “People subject you to a litmus test: where do you stand? Are you a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ Jew? It starts innocently – ‘What do you think about it?’ – but quickly turns into, ‘Israel is a Nazi state committing genocide, isn’t it?’” Bram has experienced this as well and perceives it as threatening. “I’m Dutch, first and foremost. And when Israel doesn’t do anything, people see me that way. But now, I’m constantly getting those kinds of questions. This isn’t the only war in the world – why do I have to keep justifying myself when it comes this one in particular?”
It has made him cautious. He no longer wears the Star of David around his neck but a chai necklace, a Hebrew symbol most people don’t recognise, and thinks twice before bringing up his Jewish background in conversations. The third-year Global Studies student has also stopped wearing the Star of David in public. “As Jewish students, we don’t want to be harassed”, says the FSE student, who increasingly keeps quiet about the Gaza situation for this reason. He sighs: “It’s my survival instinct. Others are braver. I avoid places like Tapijn Z, because FPM is based there. I still go to my lectures, but it’s tough to go to UCM or FASoS and see posters of people who have murdered Jews.”
"I want to engage in dialogue"
UM has taken a neutral stance on the Gaza war. Is the university doing enough for its Jewish students? Not entirely, says Bram, who regularly speaks with UM administrators in his capacity as a board member of the Jewish student association IJAR. He wishes UM would adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, as the Dutch government has. “They say they can’t for legal reasons, but they haven’t offered a real alternative. Sure, you can file a complaint with the Complaints Point, but how can you do so without a definition of when a slogan or poster is antisemitic? Moreover, a lot of students are too afraid to file complaints because you can’t do it anonymously.” According to the FSE student, the university has done little in response to previous complaints about FPM statements. “I wish UM would take real action against groups violating its rules. If openly supporting terrorist acts doesn’t fall under that, we have a deeper problem.”
Alkalay would also like to see more done: “This is a very emotional situation and the University should not take sides – it must make room for a robust discussion and hold space for deep emotions. I feel it’s trying to.” The first Studium Generale meeting on the Gaza war was held last Tuesday. The Global Studies student hopes that the Dialogue Table on Gaza will still take place as well; it was cancelled in January after fears the evening would be disrupted. “I want to engage in dialogue with pro-Palestinian students – not just to discuss the situation, but also to share our pain and desire for peace with each other.”