The behavior of the demonstrating pro-Palestinian students is “disheartening”, says spokesperson Koen Augustijn. “It is unacceptable” that an open debate about the situation in the Middle East was made impossible. According to him, such a debate was exactly what the organizers—several Jewish students—had in mind when they invited the outspoken pro-Israel speaker Rawan Osman. UM is now investigating whether the protesting students violated the university’s code of conduct “and whether there are grounds to file charges.”
According to the protesters, Osman spreads “Zionist propaganda” and condones Israeli violence against Palestinians. She is a Syrian activist who lives in Berlin, holds German citizenship and advocates for the normalization of relations between Arab countries and Israel. Recently, the former Hezbollah supporter gave a speech to the United Nations in which she argued that Israel is not primarily responsible for the situation in Gaza, but rather several Arab countries and Hamas.
A lot of noise
The students managed to prevent her from speaking by making a lot of noise: a group of about thirty protesters outside chanted slogans and banged on the windows, while five inside continuously interrupted her. Since they refused to stop, they were asked to leave the room. Most left voluntarily, while one protester was escorted out by police officers. According to those present, there was only "shouting and some pushing and shoving", but no fighting, contrary to reports in some media.
The lecture was eventually ended after enforcers and the police advised to do so, says the spokesperson. But should the event have gone ahead at all? After all, Osman's lecture at Nijmegen's Radboud University had already been disrupted on Tuesday, and Maastricht Encampment (the group that occupied the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences last year) had called for a protest that same day. In consultation with municipality and police “we were not advised to cancel it”, Augustijn responds. “And we didn't want to preemptively give in to the demonstrators.”
“Uneasy” atmosphere
Should there have been more security? At the event, UM security staff (along with a few police officers protecting Osman, who had received threats on X) were present inside, while enforcers and police were stationed outside. However, the police did not intervene, and when asked why, they declined to comment.
Augustijn believes the security presence was sufficient, emphasizing that while the loud noise and the demonstrators’ face coverings created an "uneasy atmosphere, no physical violence occurred. However, he adds, "we will evaluate whether this was the right location" for such a controversial event—held on the ground floor, easily accessible, and with large windows allowing anyone outside to see what was happening inside.
And what about Free Palestine Maastricht, which supported the demonstration? FPM is listed on the UM website as a student organization and holds offices in Building A, elsewhere at Tapijn. “It's a complex issue”, Augustijn admits. UM also wants to provide space for organizations that use their right to demonstrate. “But what happened on Wednesday evening gives us reason to reassess how we relate to each other.”