campaign proposal

BACK TO
SCHOOL

To the proposed coalition

  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the activists // Dutch Scholars for Palestine, Docenten voor Palestine, HvA4Palestine, VuforPalestine, Rotterdam Encampment, Amsterdam Encampment, Encampment Universiteit Utrecht, Delft Encampent, Encampment Leiden The Hague, free.palestine.nl, SJPAmsterdam, StudentsforPalestine, AUfreePalestine, leidenscholarsforpalestine, wageningenforpalestine, bkscholarsforpalestine, enschedestudentsforpalestine, hrstudentsforpalestine, utrechtuni4palestine, hku.4.palestine, radboutstaff4palestine, cvaforpalestine, erasmusstaff4palestine, ruastaff4palestine, uva.intifada, uva.staff4palestine, student.encampment.nl, nwoistaff4palestine, rugforpalestine, thehague.encampment, gra.si.students4palestine, studentintifadanl, hanzeforpalestine, delft_student_intifada, Eindhoven.encampment, kabkstudentunion, hanstudents4palestine, kcstudents4palestine, maastricht.encampement, rosaradicalstudents, tilburg.encampment, nijmegenencampment en orca_amsterdam. 
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  
  • // To the NGO’s // Oxfam Novib, Save the Children, Stichting Plant een Olijfboom and The Rights Forum. // To the brands // Patta, Daily Paper and Eleven x Colors // To the unions // AsvA Studentenvakbond, LSVB, Vakbondsleden Solidair met Palestine and Workers4Palestine // To the media // One World, FunX, Leftlaser, de Correspondent and Links in het nieuws // To the debate centers // Spui25, VU 3D, Cultureel Platform FLOOR HvA, Room for Discussion, Stadium Generale, Dwarsdiep, SG Erasmus, Radboud Reflects and SeSi Community Center.  

July 14th 2025
Source: Aljazeera.com

By Ayman Sobh, Omar Milad and Asad Asaad

An open letter from the presidents of Gaza universities

We, the presidents of Gaza’s three non-profit universities— Al-Aqsa University, Al-Azhar University-Gaza, and the Islamic University of Gaza — together accounting for the vast majority of Gaza’s students and faculty members, issue this unified statement to the international academic community at a time of unprecedented devastation of higher education in Gaza.

Israel’s ongoing genocidal war has brought about scholasticide—a systematic and deliberate attempt to eliminate our universities, their infrastructure, faculty, and students. This destruction is not collateral; it is part of a targeted effort to eradicate the foundations of higher education in Gaza—foundations that have long stood as pillars of resilience, hope, and intellectual freedom under conditions of occupation and siege. While academic institutions across Palestine have faced attacks for decades, what we are witnessing today is an escalation: a shift from repeated acts of destruction to an attempt at total annihilation.

Yet, we remain resolute. For more than a year, we have mobilised and taken steps to resist this assault and ensure that our universities endure.
Despite the physical obliteration of campuses, laboratories, libraries, and other facilities, and the assassination of our students and colleagues, our universities continue to exist. We are more than buildings — we are academic communities, comprised of students, faculty, and staff, still alive and determined to carry forward our mission.

As articulated in the Unified Emergency Statement from Palestinian Academics and Administrators issued on May 29, 2024, “Israeli occupation forces have demolished our buildings, but our universities live on.”
For over a year, our faculty, staff and students have persisted in our core mission — teaching — under unimaginably harsh conditions. Constant bombardment, starvation, restrictions on internet access, unstable electricity, and the ongoing horrors of genocide have not broken our will. We are still here, still teaching, and still committed to the future of education in Gaza.
We urgently call on our colleagues around the world to work for:

  • A sustainable and lasting ceasefire, without which no education system can thrive, and an end to all complicity with this genocide.
  • Immediate international mobilisation to support and protect Gaza’s higher education institutions as vital to the survival and long-term future of the Palestinian people.
  • Recognition of scholasticide as a systematic war on education, and the necessity of coordinated and strategic international support in partnership with our universities for the resilience and rebuilding of our academic infrastructure and communities.

We appeal to the international academic community — our colleagues, institutions, and friends — to:

  • Support our efforts to continue teaching and conducting research, under siege and amidst loss.
  • Commit to the long-term rebuilding of Gaza’s universities in partnership with us, respecting our institutional autonomy and academic agency.
  • Work in partnership with us. Engage directly with and support the very institutions that continue to embody academic life and collective intellectual resistance in Gaza.

Last year, we formally established the Emergency Committee of the Universities in Gaza, representing our three institutions and affiliated colleges — together enrolling between 80 and 85 percent of Gaza universities’ students. The committee exists to resist the erasure of our universities and offer a unified voice for Gaza’s academic community. It has since established subject-focused subcommittees to serve as trusted and coordinated channels for support.

We call upon academic communities around the world to coordinate themselves in response to this call. The time for symbolic solidarity has passed. We now ask for practical, structured, and enduring partnership.

Work alongside us to ensure that Gaza’s universities live on and remain a vital part of our collective future.

Campaign proposal

How complicity must make way for meaningful solidarity.

Introduction

Since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian education system in the Gaza Strip has been almost completely destroyed. According to a report by the Global Education Cluster (1 April 2025):

 

  • 95.2% of schools in Gaza have been damaged.
  • 88.5% of school buildings require complete reconstruction or major renovation.
  • 241 public schools have been severely damaged.
  • 111 public schools have been completely destroyed.
  • 91 public and 89 UNRWA schools have been directly bombed or destroyed.
  • In northern Gaza, 100% of schools have been destroyed or damaged.
  • In Gaza City, 92.8%; in Rafah, 91% of schools have been damaged.
  • More than 720,000 students have experienced a complete interruption of their education.
  • 13,419 students have been killed and 21,653 injured.
  • 2,791 teachers have been injured, and hundreds of students and staff have been imprisoned.
  • 62% of damaged schools are currently being used as shelters.

 

The figures mentioned refer only to confirmed cases. The actual number of deaths and injuries is likely much higher. We also view the killing of at least 18,000 children as part of Israel’s strategy to destroy the future of the Palestinian people and the development of Palestinian society.

Students killed

0

Schools damaged

0 %

Teachers injured

0

Join the campaign

‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ is a national campaign launching at the start of the new school year (from 18 August 2025). It draws attention to the scholasticide in Palestine: the systematic destruction of the education system in Gaza and the West Bank. The campaign calls on students and staff to show solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues and to hold their institutions accountable for their silence or complicity.

 

Through visible actions—such as wearing T-shirts, organising events, and collectively continuing to voice the demands already presented to university boards—the campaign seeks to raise awareness about the ongoing scholasticide in Palestine and the ways in which the Dutch education system contributes to it. By building on the existing solidarity movement within Dutch education, the campaign aims to broaden and strengthen collective resistance. Activist and civil society groups are currently forced to confront a well-organised system of complicity and wilful ignorance on their own—but the key to real change lies in building a united front. That means working together with social justice organisations, unions, NGO’s, and action groups.

 

With this campaign, we aim to contribute to the broader movement that seeks to end Dutch complicity and to increase pressure on the Dutch government to impose academic, cultural, and economic sanctions on Israel.

 

Solidarity also means supporting the reconstruction of the Palestinian education system — and ensuring that Dutch educational institutions play an active role in that effort.

The objectives 

Both for now and in the near future.

 

  1. Raise awareness and inspire action within the Dutch education system around the destruction of Palestinian education (scholasticide), and the broader context of Israeli apartheid and occupation.
  2. Foster solidarity between Dutch and Palestinian academic communities by supporting Palestinian students, educators and institutions under attack.
  3. Expose and end complicity—both active and passive—in genocide by identifying and challenging collaborations and investments between Dutch institutions and Israeli institutions or companies that are involved in or benefit from the oppression of Palestinians.
  4. Form a broad-based coalition capable of exerting collective pressure on Dutch knowledge institutions to end ties with complicit Israeli institutions and companies.
  5. Create space within Dutch education for the Palestinian perspective by advocating for curriculum reform, academic freedom and open dialogue.
  6. Strengthen support for humanitarian and grassroots initiatives through visible solidarity and fundraising efforts.

Interested in joining?

Tell us about your organization and how you wish to contribute. We’ll follow up from there. Fill in the form and let’s do great things together!

Sign up here

Targeting Dutch academic complicity collectively

How complicity must make way for meaningful solidarity.

Why educational institutions?

 
Dutch universities and colleges actively and passively contribute to the normalisation of oppression by:

 

  • Collaborating with institutions that contribute to the Israeli military and propaganda apparatus;
  • Failing to speak out against human rights violations by a so-called democratic ally;
  • Not providing space for discussion of the subject.

 

Solidarity is also possible in education. Doctors for Gaza set an example: they speak out and take action for their colleagues. This is also necessary and possible within education.

What can educational institutions do?

 

Educational institutions can contribute to this campaign and show their solidarity in many ways:

 

  • Speak out publicly against scholasticide and in favour of protecting education as a human right;
  • Facilitate internal discussions about international solidarity, human rights and academic complicity;
  • Suspend collaborations with Israeli institutions involved in human rights violations;
  • Make scholarships available to Palestinian students;
  • Facilitate educational activities: debates, lectures, commemorations, exhibitions;
  • Support teachers and students who speak out publicly;
  • Provide active support to aid organisations working to rebuild education in Palestine.

Wearing awareness

Starting on 18 August, we are calling on students, pupils, educators and staff to wear T-shirts with slogans about scholasticide and/or the logos of Palestinian universities and colleges.

 

A central website will make the T-shirts available for order and provide information about the campaign, as well as upcoming meetings and actions coordinated by the coalition. The shirts are the visual driving force behind the campaign: they increase the visibility of the protest and strengthen the sense of solidarity with our colleagues in Gaza and the West Bank.

 

The T-shirts will be sold at cost price. We do not aim to make a profit, but people will have the option to add a donation when placing an order. These donations will be used to support activities and actions organised by the collective.

 

We are currently in conversation with the Palestinian embassy in the Netherlands to obtain permission for the use of official logos from Palestinian institutions of higher education.

 

Follow up: Educational institutions in the Netherlands will be contacted, addressed and challenged to speak out, engage in dialogue, and examine their own institutional involvement in the destruction of Palestinian education.

 

Just being transparant

The T-shirts are sold at cost price, with no profit motive involved. The price solely covers the actual costs incurred throughout the production process. When placing an order, people will have the option to add a voluntary donation. These donations will help fund activities and initiatives that raise awareness about and support the reconstruction of the Palestinian education system.

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Ambassadors Wanted

This campaign thrives on the energy, commitment and courage of people who speak out—loudly, clearly, and consistently. Across the educational landscape and beyond, we are seeking ambassadors who embody the values of justice, academic freedom, and solidarity with Palestine.

 

These are individuals—teachers, students, researchers, activists, artists, journalists, public figures—who dedicate their voice, time and visibility to breaking the silence on scholasticide. We want to thank them and amplify their message. Each ambassador will receive a campaign T-shirt as a gift, along with the invitation to share a photo wearing it. These images will be used—only with their permission—to inspire others and build momentum through our website and social media channels.

 

Do you know someone who should be visible in this campaign? Let us know. We welcome all suggestions for people who stand with Palestine and are willing to wear that commitment proudly.

Sign up today!

Call to action and timeline.

We call on educational institutions, staff, students and social partners to actively support this campaign. Solidarity is possible, visible and necessary. Join “BACK TO SCHOOL”. Help raise education to a place of justice and humanity. Fill in the form and let us know how your organization want to contribute. Let’s do great things together!

 

Interested in joining?

Tell us about your organization and how you wish to contribute. We’ll follow up from there. Fill in the form and let’s do great things together!

Sign up here
  • 14 - 25 july

    Approach partners and ambassadors

  • 28 July - 8 August

    Produce shirts, draft manifesto, build website and social media

  • 11 - 15 August

    Approach media, draw up overview of local actions

  • From 18 August on

    Public appeal, start wearing t-shirts, letters to boards, local educational and action-oriented initiatives.