Photo Resource At 14:45, about a dozen demonstrators left the camp and made their way towards the Omnia entrance. Their protest was aimed at the opening of the academic year.
At the bottom of the Omnia steps, they were met by three security officers clad in black, blocking the path with their arms crossed. The demonstrators — wearing the regulatory ‘funeral clothes with keffiyeh’ — tried to get closer to the Omnia entrance, but the security officers stopped them. The protesters unfurled their banner: ‘WUR, the more you’re silent, the louder we shout!’ But there was no shouting today.
Opening of the academic year
Next to the banner is a small passageway, providing access for people attending the opening of the academic year. They had to get a QR code scanned by staff in green before they were allowed to pass. The first chants were only heard at 15:15, when the venue for the event in Omnia was starting to fill up.
The activists think it is hypocritical for WUR to start the academic year with speeches about the link between water and food security when both are lacking in Palestinian territory.
