Pro-Palestinian Advocates Confront Israeli Propaganda at Maastricht University
The lecture by pro-Israel activist Rawan Osman at Maastricht University in the Netherlands ended prematurely on Wednesday evening due to widespread protests by pro-Palestinian activists both inside and outside the venue.
A university spokesperson stated that the protesters decisively confronted the event, with their chants and disruptions making it impossible to continue. The demonstrators banged on windows and created significant noise, scenes of which were documented on the Instagram account of a pro-Palestinian group in Maastricht.
Earlier, the group “Free Palestine Maastricht” had described the lecture as “propaganda” and called for its boycott and protest. Similar demonstrations occurred earlier in the week at Radboud University in Nijmegen, where protesters attempted to block Osman’s car after her lecture, reflecting widespread rejection of narratives deemed misleading and disconnected from reality.
Osman was invited by the Dutch branch of “StandWithUs,” a pro-Israel organization founded in the U.S. in 2001, which focuses on supporting Israel and combating antisemitism globally. These events underscore the intense debate surrounding the Palestinian cause in academic circles and the rise of a new intellectual wave in these societies that challenges and deconstructs the Israeli narrative.
