How pro-Palestinian students at an Irish university had their day

As anti-war encampments spread to campuses across the world, student protestors demand universities to pull out their investments from Israeli firms and cut off ties with Israeli institutions as Tel Aviv continues with its war in which more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed.

While many university administrations opted to call the police upon their students, there are a few institutions that have taken note of the demands of the protestors and decided to divest from Israeli companies.

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s well-known university with over 400 years of history, stood out from others as it reached a negotiated settlement with students without allowing the temperature to rise.

There was no police presence during the 5-day-long student encampment and no one held counter-protests to intimidate the anti-war demonstrations.

In the United States or in other parts of Europe, the prevalence of a biased public opinion, alongside a largely pro-Israel political elite, exerts pressure on universities to take a harsh stance on pro-Palestinian protests, says László Molnárfi, president of the Trinity College Students’ Union.

“Whereas in Ireland where public opinion leans toward pro-Palestine sentiments, administrators may feel less pressured to resist such demands,” he tells TRT World.

What sets Trinity apart

Trinity announced on Wednesday that it will divest all its investments in Israeli companies that have activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and are listed by the UN as complicit in occupation.

The college said only one of its suppliers is based in Israel under a contract that ends in March next year.

It is also considering divesting investments in other Israeli companies and a committee of students and staff has been formed to review the matter.

While persistent protests in the US and beyond succeeded in forcing some universities to distance themselves from Israel, most of them fell short of turning into a complete victory like it happened at Trinity.

Brown University has only agreed to have its board vote on the divestment proposal later this year while the University of Barcelona has agreed to sever institutional and academic ties with Israel.

Northwestern University reached a compromise with students by establishing an advisory committee on investments. But that move was only after police action against the students on campus.

Disruptive and targeted actions

Ireland is regarded as one of the most pro-Palestine countries in Europe.

Irish people are closely associated with the Palestinian cause because like the struggle against the Israeli occupation, they had also opposed British colonialism.

This shared history has been the driving force behind the Irish solidarity with Palestinians, enabling Trinity students to exert pressure on the university.

During the ongoing encampment, students organised a solidarity rally outside Trinity, which attracted over a thousand people in just a few hours’ notice.

“That helped our campaign a lot,” says Molnárfi.

Over a hundred students erected tents on the Trinity campus grounds, blockading access to the library which houses the Book of Kells, a mediaeval religious manuscript that is displayed within the campus that draws a daily flow of tourists. That cost the college around $377,000 in forfeited revenue because visitors were unable to see the manuscript during the 5-day-long encampment.

This became one of the key factors why the Trinity students were able to exert pressure on the university administration.

That wasn’t the first instance of Trinity students using this tactic to corner the university. They had previously blockaded access to the Book of Kells in protest against the rising prices of student accommodation.

Molnárfi, 23, advised students at universities to learn from the “disruptive” and “targeted” actions taken at Trinity.

More hope now

As the student protests rapidly spread to more and more campuses, many people think that the cause for Palestinian liberation is more hopeful than ever.

All gains, whether big or small, contribute to this hope which in turn has a domino effect on the intergenerational momentum.

“The victory at Trinity College Dublin testifies that the power of the people is greater than the people in power,” says human rights lawyer Ousman Noor.

As people are exasperated by the hollow words of ‘concern’ expressed by politicians, “Trinity has shown us that we can win,” he tells TRT World.

Having initiated a call for a “Global Strike for Rafah” on Saturday, which urges people not to purchase any goods or services and ideally refrain from working, he believes that all of us must manifest our emerging power “and demonstrate our collective ability to unite in taking concrete action towards a free Palestine.”

“Our confidence and ability to take collective action are growing worldwide,” Noor adds.