The ‘Break the Chains of Academic Zionism’ encampment at University College Dublin is heading into its third week. What began on 7th September 2025, with one lone Social Rights Ireland activist refusing to stay silent about UCD’s collaboration with the Zionist entity, has grown into a determined camp of resistance.
Instead of addressing our demands, UCD management has chosen repression, lies, and intimidation. The events of Day 18 show that when dirty tricks fail, the state turns to open violence.
So what are we demanding?
- Full transparency on UCD’s Zionist collaborations.
- A public apology for betrayal.
- Revocation of management.
- Academic boycott of all Israeli institutions.
- Free housing for students.
Dirty Tricks and Harassment
From the beginning, management has waged a campaign of psychological warfare. They prohibited Palestinian and Irish flags from campus, terrified of the sight of solidarity. They spread misinformation about the encampment to confuse and isolate students and protestors. They employed disturbers to sow division, harassed activists with threats of disciplinary action, and even resorted to blackmail.
These insidious tactics were meant to demoralise the encampment, but they failed. The camp stood firm, grew stronger, and drew wider support.
Day 18: The Attack
When intimidation did not break us, UCD escalated. In the early hours of the morning, more than 20 men descended on the encampment. Gardaí were present, as was an agent provocateur. No written notice was issued, no legal explanation furnished—only a verbal warning the evening before that tents were “not allowed on UCD land.”
This was a lie. Maps on official planning portals show clearly that the area where the tents were pitched is public land, not UCD’s property. Management had no right to seize our banners, flags, and tents.
But legality was never their concern. Their aim was to destroy.
With contempt, they tore down the Tricolour and the Palestinian flag, dumping them like rubbish on the ground. That men who call themselves Irish could desecrate the national flag alongside the banner of a people facing genocide reveals the depths of their allegiance to Zionist imperialism.
They demolished the section of the camp where our lone activist had been sheltering, defending the camp through the night. Surrounded and outnumbered, one stood against twenty-plus lackeys, as the state and the university revealed their true face: ruthless, imperialist, anti-democratic, Zionist.
The Meaning of Repression
UCD management cannot answer our demands because they know the truth is on our side. They cannot tolerate flags of solidarity because they fear the unity of Ireland and Palestine. They cannot face open debate because they know their collaboration with Zionism will not withstand the light of day.
So they resort to dirty tricks, to raids under the cover of darkness, to Garda escorts. This is the behaviour of an institution backed into a corner.
Universities as Tools of the State
This struggle has shown what we already know: universities under capitalism are not neutral. They are not centres of free inquiry, as they like to claim. They are instruments of the ruling class, serving the interests of capital, empire, and Zionism. When challenged, they do not defend “academic freedom.” They call the police, hire provocateurs, and remove flags.
UCD is not unique. It is a microcosm of how the state defends imperialist collaboration. But the encampment is also a microcosm of something greater: how ordinary students and workers can resist.
A Struggle of Internationalism
Ireland’s own history gives us a duty to stand with Palestine. When UCD’s men tore down the Tricolour alongside the Palestinian flag, they spat not only on Palestine but on Ireland itself. Their contempt shows how tightly our fates are bound together. To fight for Palestine is to fight for Ireland. Two nations. One struggle.
We Will Not Be Silenced
They thought they could intimidate us. They thought a raid in the dark would scatter the camp. But we are still here. Every act of repression only exposes them further. Every flag they tear down will be raised again, higher than before.
Already, we have won one victory: no one on this campus can say they did not see or hear. The silence is broken. Everyone must choose: stand with genocide, or stand with justice.
We will not stop until the chains of Zionism are broken. 1-2-3-4: the Zionist empire will fall!
