Student Uprising: A Wave of University Protests in the Netherlands

On May 6, 2024, a significant student uprising began with protests at the University of Amsterdam, rapidly spreading to other universities in the Randstad region and across the Netherlands. Though the protests initially started in October 2023, at the onset of the 2023 Palestine-Israel conflict, they intensified in May following the Rafah attack on May 6 and recent similar protests in the United States and elsewhere

The demonstrations surged in April 2024, spreading from the United States to other countries, reaching the Netherlands in May, the most challenging and violent month. By May 7, the protests had spread throughout Europe, resulting in mass arrests in the Netherlands. At Radboud University Nijmegen, students organized an early protest on October 18, demanding the university sever all ties with Israeli institutions. An educational session was held at Leiden University on November 9, 2023. Students at Delft University of Technology protested on November 29, 2023, calling for the university to cut ties with Israeli organizations. Subsequent demonstrations occurred at Utrecht University in December 2023 and January 2024. Other Dutch universities, including VU Amsterdam, Maastricht University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Tilburg University, and the University of Groningen, witnessed similar protests