On the leafy campus of a Dutch-speaking university, students have been demanding for months that their school sever ties with Israeli academia over the Gaza war.
Their campaign borrowed heavily from the U.S. school protest playbook. The students have set up camp. They hold demonstrations every day. They sometimes use slogans that many Jews consider to be calls for the annihilation of Israel, such as “From river to sea, Palestine will be free.”
In the United States, the protests took place amid a highly polarized political environment, contentious relationships between students and administrators, and heated congressional hearings. But in the Belgian capital, the protests at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) were far more peaceful, due to a unique combination of factors: A supportive political environment (Belgium is an outspoken critic of Israel) ; Proactive president; Strict protest rules; Crucially, a small Jewish community on campus chose not to confront protesters, despite being upset by some.
As a result, as like-minded protests sparked by the war brought chaos and violence to campuses across the United States and Europe, students on the Brussels campus were proud not only of the protest’s success; in the atmosphere.
“Look at America, look at what’s happening there, it’s crazy,” said Rua, a protester of Palestinian descent. She said she did not want her full name used for security reasons.
She said the contrast between her campus setting and the protests students saw online and on social media was stark. In the United States, the pro-Palestinian movement on college campuses has intensified due to widespread media coverage and the presidential election. There, campus confrontations have opened up a new line of attack for Republicans, forcing President Joe Biden to directly address the issues that divide the party.
The difference in Brussels, Rua said this reflected Belgium’s political context. The Belgian government has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s war in Gaza and was one of the first in the European Union to call for a ceasefire.
That didn’t shield it from sometimes heated debate about the war. Belgium has a large Jewish population, as well as a Muslim minority mainly of North African descent. Groups following both trends report that anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are both prevalent and have worsened since the Oct. 7 attacks.
At VUB, students are tasked with protecting their camp by enforcing a set of rules posted on the wall. No drugs and alcohol, no outsiders, violence, anti-Semitism and hate speech.
Rua praised university leadership for engaging with protesters from the beginning. Several pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students at VUB said the school’s president, Jan Danckaert, began a campus listening tour shortly after Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. More than 200 people were killed.
Pro-Palestinian students have expressed frustration that Mr Dankat has not done enough to support their cause. Pro-Israel students countered that he should do more to keep the campus neutral and free of graffiti and slogans. But both acknowledged he was paying attention to their concerns.
Mr. Dankart authorized the encampment, but he designated a small space on the edge of campus and insisted on strict rules for protesters. He also hit back at the demands and chants of pro-Palestinian protesters, sometimes at the behest of Jewish students.
Dankart said in an interview that he firmly supports free speech but strictly opposes hatred. “As long as these actions are peaceful and respectful of other members of the university community, we believe the protests fall within our students’ freedom of expression and social participation,” he said.
In the United States, college presidents who try to stay out of the conversation or dodge questions at congressional hearings sometimes cost their jobs.
Then there’s the important question of money. In the United States, students have been pushing for their universities to divest from donations or investments linked to Israeli or defense companies. in Europe, Universities are mainly funded by the state.
This allowed pro-Palestinian student activists at VUB to focus more narrowly on the idea of an academic boycott and scrutinize their university’s partnerships with Israeli institutions.
In response to the students’ demands, the university said its ethics committee was reviewing seven projects with Israeli partners and had said it would withdraw from one of them.
Jouke Huijzer, a doctoral student who teaches at VUB, said suspending the collaboration for ethical reasons was a “brave step”. But Mr. Huijzer, Ruaa and other pro-Palestinian students The movement insists a broader suspension of ties with Israeli academic institutions is needed, but Chancellor Dan Carter has rejected the request.
“VUB does not advocate a general academic boycott as we believe it is best to engage in dialogue with critical voices within Israel,” the university said in a statement last month. “Universities are often places of resistance, or at least providing a critical perspective to the authorities.”
Three Jewish students who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns said there are only a handful of Jewish students at VUB but they do not have an organized representative group. Instead, some Jewish students spoke directly to Mr. Decter.
The university is a staunchly secular institution, which, according to one student, is why many rabbis choose other schools. The smaller Jewish community on campus also reflects the fact that the majority of Brussels’ Jews are French-speaking and prefer to attend French-speaking universities, such as the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), which is located near the VUB Brussels.
The three Jewish students were politically divided, expressing views ranging from primarily pro-Palestinian to primarily pro-Israeli government lines. But everyone said slogans like “Give us 48 years” and calls for a “global uprising” were threatening.
Some said that while they felt safe on campus — albeit awkward at times — they believed the student protests had their greatest impact outside Liberty, contributing to a broader climate of tolerance for anti-Semitism.
At the nearby French-speaking ULB, where there is a larger Jewish student body, some pro-Israel students directly confronted pro-Palestinian protesters, and in at least one incident, an altercation broke out, leading authorities to intervene.
Three Jewish students interviewed by The Times for this article all said they experienced anti-Semitism on campus before and after Oct. 7, including on student forums and WhatsApp groups.
Organizers of the VUB protests say they are determined to ensure their pro-Palestinian messaging is not conflated with anti-Semitism. They also rejected claims that the slogans they used were anti-Semitic, noting that pro-Palestinian Jewish spokesmen spoke at their protests.
“Anti-Semitism is real and Jews have faced a lot of hate over the years and still face it,” Rua said.
She said the VUB protesters’ main goal was to end their university’s “complicity” in what they called a genocide, a charge Israel strongly denies. She added that this was not “spreading hatred against anyone.”
Koba Rickwalter contributed reporting from Brussels, and Jonathan Rice From Tel Aviv.
