Amsterdam universities taking measures to protect Jewish and Israeli students

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the VU University Amsterdam are expecting new Gaza support protests now that the academic year is starting and are taking extra measures to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students and staff are safe, Parool reports.

VU told Parool that it has taken extra security measures in and around the campus on De Boelelaan in Zuid. It didn’t say what the measures entailed. The UvA will start using access codes at some events. Attendees must register and receive a QR code ahead of time to gain entrance. Coats and bags must be checked in.

A day after the first tent demonstration at the UvA campus on Roeterseiland in May, the university already said that it regretted that students feel unsafe. “There are students and staff with a Jewish background who no longer dare to come to campus and who tell us so,” a spokesperson told Parool at the time. “And we also want the pro-Gaza students to feel heard. That has not been successful.”

The National Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism (NCAB), Eddo Verdoner, said on Thursday that Jewish staff at various Dutch universities are increasingly concerned about the safety of Jewish students and lecturers. “We see that the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unfortunately accompanied by anti-Semitic expressions at our universities,” he said.