‘Hamas’ role in the suffering of Jews ánd Palestinians is not even mentioned’

A petition to suspend academic collaboration with Israeli institutions and partners that directly or indirectly support military activities. A so-called teach-in where the injustice in Gaza is discussed, but where Hamas’ terror is left unaddressed: the war between Israel and Hamas is leading to expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians at TU Delft.

But there are also Jewish staff members and students on campus. How do they see what is happening at TU Delft and how is the university administration handling this? Delta discussed this with a Jewish staff member and a Jewish student.

Unsafe
Both wish to remain anonymous. That decision hit the staff member – we will call her Maya – hard. “There is so much hatred against Israelis and Jews to be seen in violent demonstrations in the Netherlands and around the world right now that I do not feel safe to speak openly,” she said emotionally. “This is the hardest aspect. I want to talk openly, but I don’t dare to. This is the first time in my life I’ve felt this way. I stand behind what I want to say, but I have a family to consider.”

The student – we will call him Jechezkel, his Jewish name – was in doubt about anonymity. His parents were the deciding factor. “They said that I should be careful that I would not become a sort of spokesperson for the Jews, as everything I say is only my personal opinion.” Also, he does not feel unsafe and he wants to keep it that way. “I think it would be unsafe if my name and photo were placed on internet.”

‘Check several sources’

Jechezkel is a bachelor’s student. His friends know that he is Jewish. But the Hamas attack on 7 October and the war in Gaza are not a topic of discussion. “The conflict has been going on for much longer of course, and I had talked about it with a friend. He was clearly more on the side of the Palestinians while I was more on the Israeli side.”

One-sided
Since then, Jechezkel avoids the subject and other people do too. He leaves it at that. “I am afraid that it may otherwise break friendships, and I don’t want that. I do not have family in Israel, so that makes a difference in how I feel about it emotionally. It does not occupy my mind all day.”

That does not mean that he sometimes does not feel angry. He did get angry during the teach-in on campus mentioned above. He went so that he could stay updated, but also in the hope that he could drop his suspicion that the positions taken there were one-sided. “The event was sold as an objective teach-in, but I only heard speakers that were on the side of the Palestinians. Why were there no speakers from the Jewish or Israeli perspective? It was very disappointing and I felt powerless.”

Jeckezkel says that he is hoping for a “fast end to the bloodshed on both sides”. And he hopes that TU Delft remains neutral. Not by avoiding the subject, but by facilitating a balanced discussion. “I want to encourage students and staff to do some research themselves, to check several sources, listen to different perspectives, and to really think critically.” He suspects that many other people want this too. “I saw students taking notes at the teach-in. They really wanted to learn something. Only, what they heard was not the whole story. And when someone said something about this, others shouted ‘Free Palestine’.”

‘The petition was so one-sided’

That was the point at which Maya, angry and sad, left the room. She says that she came to listen too, hoping for a dialogue. When she talks about it a few weeks later, she gets emotional again. Up to that point she felt safe at TU Delft, but not after that, she says. 

Renouncing Hamas
She came to the Netherlands in 2007 for her bachelor’s. Her mother is Dutch, though she had to learn the language when she came here from Israel. She now speaks it fluently. She studied, earned her doctorate, spent a couple of years abroad doing a post-doc, and has been an Assistant Professor at TU Delft for the last three years. “During my studies and work I made friends with people from countries like Iran and Lebanon, which never would have happened if I had stayed in Israel. I really like it. We worked on our academic studies and learned to think critically. Politics did not enter the picture.”

At first this remained the case after 7 October. Her colleagues asked her how her family in Israel were faring and sympathised. But when she read the petition and saw who had signed it, something changed. “I felt a physical pain in my stomach. The petition was so one-sided. It would have been very different if they had distanced themselves from Hamas. While the people who wrote the petition do say that the hostages must be freed, the rest is only about the Palestinians. I am also very worried about them, but Hamas’ role in the suffering of Jews ánd Palestinians is not even mentioned.”

Dialogue
For Maya this is hard to swallow. She explains that she grew up with suicide attacks in buses, that she knows people who were killed in these attacks, that one of her sisters has friends who were caught up in the attacks of 7 October, that her other sister was called up for the army. “To not even mention the context of the horrific attack on 7 October is an injustice.” When Maya said something about this during the teach-in, but was given little space, she left the room crying. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I was too emotional and did not feel welcome.”

But Maya says that she does not want to avoid the dialogue. She sent a message to the Executive Board and had a conversation with the diversity officer at her faculty. What does she hope for? “Something like a meeting with the organisers, or a discussion table where different sides of the story are covered. For me it is important that we do talk about it. We can’t ignore it. I understand that this meeting was organised by individuals, but it does take place on campus. This is why I believe that the Executive Board can require meetings to be balanced.”