Students at the Trinity College Dublin (TCD) have ended up blocking access to the Book of Kells – a famous 9th century Celtic gospel manuscript stored at the university – in protest against Israel’s brutal military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
On the evening of May 3, protesters from the TCD’s student union and the college’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement set up a tent encampment on the Trinity College’s campus.
According to local media reports, some 43 tents have been erected by 70 students participating in this protest.
Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union President Laszlo Molnarfi announced that the protesters want the university to sever ties with Israel per the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions principles which, according to him, are “supported by the vast majority of students and staff.”
“We plan on staying here indefinitely, our message is there is no business as usual during a genocide,” Molnarfi told PA news agency.
“And when our academic institution, Trinity College Dublin, has ties to Israeli companies, entities and universities that are complicit in the war industry, we must speak up,” he added. “That is why we are doing this. And we must speak up in this disruptive, powerful way. Because when we tried to engage with the authorities, with petitions and letters and meetings, we were met with shameful silence.”