Representatives of Trinity College Dublin Student Union (TCDSU) and Trinity BDS joined thousands last Saturday who participated in a National Demonstration for Palestine. The demonstration was organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and supported by more than 150 Irish civil society groups.
The protest began outside the Garden of Remembrance, marching down O’Connell Street towards Leinster House.
TCDSU President Jenny Maguire, one of the TCDSU’s representatives at the Demonstration, explained of the Union’s participation: “We’re here today to demand institutions, like Trinity, like the government, to take real tangible steps. We’ve had great progress in our fight for an apartheid-free Ireland, but now when it’s time to deliver, we see hesitancy, we see fear coming back in, we see some delays coming back in. And so we’re here today with Trinity Students Union and Trinity BDS to say we are still here, and we are still watching.”
Chair of Trinity BDS Patrick Keegan also attended the demonstration. Regarding the demonstration, he gave the following statement to the University Times: “Today, Trinity BDS and TCDSU are attending the National Demonstration for Palestine, organized by the IPSC and supported by many civil society organizations. We are here to protest for Palestinian freedom, and within that, to protest the shameful recent actions by the new Irish government, where they are reneging on their campaign promise to pass the Occupied Territories Bill. This bill is a very important piece of legislation, as it would ban trade with businesses that operate in the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.”
Keegan went on to explain how he viewed Ireland’s role in the Palestinian struggle, explaining “Ireland should be a beacon for how things could be done to make for a better world, Ireland led the charge against Apartheid South Africa, and we should do the same against the Apartheid and Genocidal state of Israel. Also, Micheál Martin recently said that Ireland will adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which is again shameful, as this definition seeks to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, which is a dangerous path to go down. The people of Ireland rightly stand up against apartheid and genocide, and the Irish government should join us.”
While the demonstration focused on the actions of the Irish government, Keegan pointed out the work currently underway to pressure College to divest from Israeli firms, and end partnerships with Israeli institutions. “Within Trinity, the struggle continues. The work on the taskforce continues, and I remain cautiously optimistic regarding the college cutting ties. Recently the college has acted carelessly by buying from a new Israeli supplier, which I condemn. That’s why the work of the taskforce is so important, and I again stress that the taskforce must move forward with a sense of great urgency, as the longer we wait, the longer the college remains complicit in genocide and apartheid.”
