A student at İstanbul's Marmara University has been suspended for one month following a protest against the school's academic partnership with Israel’s Haifa University. The demonstration took place on Oct 7, the anniversary of Palestinian groups' massive attacks on Israel, during a panel discussion about human rights issues in Gaza organized by the university’s New Media Club.
During the protest, students demanded that Marmara University cut ties with Haifa University as part of a sister school agreement. In response, the university administration launched a disciplinary investigation against one of the students involved.
Following the investigation, E. Ö., a second-year journalism student, was suspended for a month on the grounds of displaying a banner that "damaged the honor and dignity of university administrators and staff," verbally repeating the protest slogans, and sharing related content on social media.
E. Ö. criticized the decision, arguing that calling for an end to cooperation with an institution that supports Israeli state policies should not be considered a crime.
The student also argued that true solidarity with the Palestinian people requires cutting such ties. “The fact that we were punished for this protest suggests that this cooperation will continue,” E. Ö. said.
Additional investigations and allegations of violence
E. Ö. revealed that the university had previously launched another investigation over a separate protest related to Palestine. The student also mentioned that disciplinary action had been taken even for demonstrations condemning gender-based violence.
“Even our protests for Ayşenur Halil and İkbal Uzuner, who were murdered by Semih Çelik in Fatih, were subjected to an investigation,” they said.
Additionally, the student claimed that a fellow protester had been targeted by members of ultranationalist groups on campus but that the university rector, Mustafa Kurt, had taken no action in response.
“On the contrary, these groups can move freely on campus, while we face investigations and suspensions for showing solidarity with the Palestinian people,” said the student. “We also requested a meeting with the rector about the status of the university’s agreement with Israel and raised our concerns on social media, but we received no response.”
E. Ö. concluded by saying, “We will continue our struggle at our university until all ties with the ‘occupation academy’ are severed.” (AV/RT/VK)