Staff and students of Trinity College Dublin gathered at the steps of the Dining Hall in Front Square with SIPTU in support of the national workplace day of action on October 1st. This comes following a call from the international Boycott Divestment Sanctions National Committee (BDS) for a week of solidarity action to mark one year on since the beginning of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, in a demonstration organised by SIPTU, which was also attended by TCD BDS.
Jenny Maguire, Trinity College Dublin Student Union President (TCDSU), addressed the gathering by emphasising the importance of staying vocal in support of Palestine, but also in light of the recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon. She stated “We are here because we demand a better way that the world can operate, and we demand justice for every single person who has been murdered by the Israeli state for the sake of imperialism, for the sake of colonialism”.
Maguire concluded by demanding administrative action through the enacting of the Occupied Territories Bill on a governmental level, and also for national institutions to maintain their policies such as those achieved during the BDS Trinity Encampment last May.
Palestinian flags waved high atop the steps of Dining Hall as a representative from SIPTU spoke on the importance of union voices, including student and staff members alike, in the continuation of on-campus boycotts and divestments from companies and institutions complicit in the genocide in Palestine. He called for “solidarity and not charity,” urging people to attend the nationwide demonstration this coming Saturday, October 5th.
The gathering was concluded by a minute-long silence of reflection for the lives lost and devastation that has ensued over the past year of genocide, before a final chant of “Free Free Palestine” rang out through Front Square.
