Trinity Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (TCD BDS), in collaboration with the Trinity branch of Academia for Palestine (AfP), held a protest at the annual Spring Open Day event against College’s refusal to cut ties with Israeli institutions and its neutral stance on the conflict in Gaza.
Protestors stood on the steps of the Exam Hall with a banner that read: “Trinity is Complicit in Genocide”.
Members of the group held several Palestinian flags and other signs echoing a similar message, including: “Trinity is complicit”, “Blood on your hands”, and “You can’t be neutral about genocide”.
On open days, prospective students, mostly in sixth year of secondary school, tour the campus and meet with current students, alumni, and lecturers to learn about College.
Protesters handed fliers to open day visitors detailing College’s engagement in “unethical investment practices”.
View this post on Instagram
In a direct message to prospective students, the flier read: “Do you want to attend a university that is neutral on genocide?”
“Today, Trinity will present itself to you as an open, accepting and diverse environment for its students,” it continued.
“It will claim to foster a space where its students feel seen and heard”.
Following this statement, the group listed several Israeli institutions and corporations involved in the war industry that College has ties with, including the Weizmann Institute of Science and Tel Aviv University.
They also noted three firms “blacklisted by the UN” for human rights failures, Bank Leumi, Shapir Engineering, and Energix, that College has continued ties with.
“These connections are immoral and despicable,” they said, referencing the over 30,000 individual murders and millions more at risk of starvation since the conflict in Gaza began.
The flier concluded with a message stating that the College’s neutrality after repeated calls for solidarity with Palestine shows it has “little to no concern for the views of its student and staff population”.
Members of TCDSU also took part in an online campaign, commenting on social media posts from College with #RipOffTCD and criticism of College regarding its stance on Gaza, fees and other issues.
