“Given how much TU Delft values numbers and quantitative data, to the point of worship almost, let us have an event that centres a number of Palestinian scholars that will use facts and figures from the ground to discuss the recent war in Gaza and what ICJ has just recently characterised as a plausible genocide.”
Using that argument, we introduced our event Architecturing Destruction in Gaza, Palestine during a meeting that took place on the 1st of February, between our group that later gave itself the name BK Scholars for Palestine and the Dean Dirk van Gameren and his team. In later correspondences with the Dean and his communication and security officers, we agreed on the shape and the time of the event, the list of speakers, the location, and the moderators. We also consulted with the team on the name of the event, the event poster, and the online registration page.
All seemed like it was working until it wasn’t.
Two months and 19 days later, on the 19th of April, 2024, in a late Friday meeting that we were informed about a few hours before, our event was canceled by the Dean, two working days before it was scheduled to take place on the 24th of April at 18:00 at the Orange Hall of our Faculty. The reasons we were given were vague and ambiguous, and they continued to be so until the time of writing this article. They were numerous in their wording but revolved around concerns about safety. Was it our safety or the safety of others? Were we the target or the threat?
What is quite remarkable about this situation is that it comes amidst rising concerns about the levels of social safety in TU Delft and the University’s recent efforts to make its students and staff feel safer, which was a sentiment that was highlighted in the statement that the Dean released after the cancellation of the event on the University website, stating that: “My wish is for the faculty to be and remain a place where everyone feels welcome, safe and that we can listen to each other respectfully and with mutual understanding.”
Was our event and its group of highly qualified and scholarly Palestinian speakers a threat? What was so dangerous about a group of scholars sharing parts of their research into the history of Palestine, the history of the Gaza Strip, and the history of Palestinian refugee camps, backed up by evidence, archival documents, facts, and figures from the ground, citing the reports of various international and humanitarian organisations, such as the ICJ, which has found that what is happening in Gaza is a plausible genocide? If the issue was indeed a matter of safety, then why were suggestions of moving the event online turned down during the cancellation meeting and again in several emails that we sent to the Dean afterwards?
When planning the event, we asked to have it at the Orange Hall, the central space of the faculty, because we believe that the unprecedented human catastrophe deserves to take centre stage, both in the literal and the metaphorical sense. As scholars in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, we were shocked by how Gaza was rarely discussed inside and outside the classrooms, despite the frightening images emerging out of it every day, the number of civilian Palestinian casualties and the size of the destruction. We wanted to occupy space to speak about Palestine, Gaza, settler colonialism, and the role architects and architecture schools play during times of conflict and war. Are architects only there to build, to make, to profit? Are we only concerned about construction? Where do we stand in relation to the destruction of schools, hospitals, residential buildings, and universities? Does our relationship with buildings end once their construction is completed? Where is the moral and ethical responsibility towards people, cities and the environment that surpasses the construction process and spans the building’s lifecycle, even after its destruction?
These were among the questions that we wanted to discuss with our speakers, reflected in the name: Architecturing Destruction in Gaza, Palestine. The word ‘architecturing’ meant to bring attention to the role of architecture and architects in the destruction in Gaza while highlighting how it is part of a systematic process working on weaponising destruction as a way to make the Gaza Strip inhabitable. Aren’t these all issues central to architecture education and practice?
One of the arguments used to justify the cancellation was that our event was shaping up to get political, rather than architectural. At the time, we were not sure what was more surreal, the assumption that architecture can EVER be not political, or that an event that aims to discuss a genocide was not going to get political. What is politics and when does it ever not influence our everyday lives and cities? To put things in perspective, on the 19th of April, at the time of canceling the event, the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army had already surpassed 30 thousand, yet we were expected to talk about destruction and death without making visible the system that has caused them, in a besieged territory that has been under a total blockade since 2007?
As organizers, we felt unsafe due to the lack of transparency and ambiguity in our communication with the institution during and after the cancellation. We also felt unsafe in the week leading up to the event, before the event was canceled, due to a number of intimidation tactics both in the online and physical space of the faculty. On our Eventbrite registration page, we received a number of racial and Islamophobic slurs from people signing up with names such as (Muhammad Abu Rapist).
Around the same time, all the 200 posters that we had pinned up on the four floors of our faculty were ripped off the walls and thrown in the trash. We actually went around and fished out some of them out and hung them again, in protest.
When we informed the Dean about this blatant hateful act of ripping the posters and asked him to begin an investigation into this incident, he told us that none of the surveillance cameras managed to catch the person behind it. His way of addressing the matter was to pin up a paper asking people not to rip off any posters and to speak to him directly if they had any problems with the posters or their content.
As a group, we expect a more direct and far-reaching condemnation of the act of ripping up the posters to avoid future repetition of these acts of threatening and intimidation in the corridors of our faculty.
As expected, the measures taken by the Dean and his team were not enough, as the second batch of our posters were ripped off, despite the Dean’s note. That is, of course, what happens when vandals and bullies are not held accountable for their actions and violations of TU Delft’s Code of Conduct. For example, only the cancellation in itself brings forward the following:
Firstly, in The Core Values of TU Delft 'DIRECT' it states clearly:
"The joining of diverse perspectives is an aspect we want to promote with our activities."
"We embed the social responsibility of TU Delft into our educational programmes, research, designs, projects, and in activities that support these efforts (impact for a better society)"
Secondly, in the TU Delft Integrity Statement, it says:
"A. All members of the TU Delft community treat each other with respect, irrespective of their culture, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender or sexual orientation."
By the vandalisation of the posters advertising the event the perpetrator has clearly violated respect for other faculty members and students.
Thirdly, in 3. Acting with Integrity, it states:
"Social integrity relates to how we treat others, with the corresponding goal of cultivating a diverse, inclusive, healthy and safe environment"
By canceling the event after vandalisation it shows that the faculty does not care about cultivating a diverse, inclusive healthy and safe environment.
"During our time at TU Delft, we are given opportunities and expected to critically engage with the material we study, with our instructors, and with each other."
This opportunity for critical engagement has not been afforded to this event.
In the second batch of posters, most of which we had to pin up again because they continued to be ripped off, we were reaching out to students and staff at our faculty through an online survey to ask about their opinions about the cancellation of the event. Despite the small number of responses we got (12 responses), it was crucial to hear back from students and staff at BK to know whether what we were confronted with was the sentiment of the majority or just a hateful few?
Some of the responses we got are the following:
Why do you think that?
“Because Architecture of Gaza is as important as any other Architecture in the world.”
“Because TU Delft is a place (or should be) of tolerance, acceptance and having true meaningful conversations and research on whichever topic. Just as this was an event of many events that people come together, teach their findings and discuss them.”
“I think it is important to educate people on political events going on. I had the chance to go to the event in the water tower and I think it could have been very valuable for more people to hear those stories.”
“A university is a place for dialogue. This is just the suppression of Palestinian voices.”
“Our faculty was willing to host Ai Wei Wei, who is critical against China. In my eyes that event was more dangerous than this canceled event of Architecturing Destruction in Gaza. The faculty could ensure security for the event of Ai Wei Wei, if they think this was dangerous why not take extra measures to make it safe instead of canceling it. (Maybe not a good comparison of events but I know BK can ensure our safety if needed/wanted)”
Why do you think that?
“Because the cancellation was unjust and unfair in the first place”
“Because Palestinian voices deserve to be expressed and be heard.”
“Because it is an event which is necessary. Apparently people need to learn what is happening otherwise they would not act that childish by ripping posters off walls. If TU Delft cancels it again, it shows their true colors. Politics and money over true factual discussions.”
“The faculty should be a safe space for all students. And there should be freedom of speech since we’re living in the Netherlands. The lectures about the architectural destruction in Gaza were very interesting and gave me lots of new knowledge. I think more students and tutors could benefit from gaining this knowledge.”
“The university should be a safe space for free speech and critical thinking. Canceling an event because it would supposedly be ‘unsafe’ is giving in to bullies and threats, and silencing those whose voices should be heard. The university should provide safety. People should be educated on this genocide.”
How did the cancellation of the event make you feel?
“I was shocked this could happen at our university. I might be naive, but I expected scholars to at least have respect to each others work or be able to show up and discuss if you don’t agree with certain opinions. Now I feel like the Dean or our faculty does not support or promote the mentality of academic discussions. So I am disappointed and angry that these bullies have power in our academic world.”
“Angry, disappointed, lost hope in humanity, and bullied by the university”
“VERY disappointed in the university. This passive attitude of universities in general made me lose respect. I guess I overestimated their importance in society.”
“The justification of why this happened was pure gaslighting. I felt disappointed but not surprised.”
“Quite disconcerted, especially because the cancellation notice from the Dean seemed deliberately hard to find (hidden in a corner of the website!)”
Because we were not going to cave in to bullies nor the grave injustice of canceling the event that we were subjected to at the faculty, and because of the responsibility we felt towards Palestinians in Gaza and also our audience (230 people had already registered through our Eventbrite link) and because we believe in freedom of speech, we held the event on the same day and time in an independent location outside the faculty, at RADIUS CCA in Delft. The event exceeded our expectations, and the value of the discussions that were held and the quality of the speaker’s presentations allowed us to leave the space more informed and aware of the current situation in Gaza, which cannot be understood in isolation from the longer history of settler colonialism in Palestine.
Now, back to the question of safety and the lack of it: how are any of these acts acceptable, and why were there no better measures to ensure our safety as employees and students of BK? Are we not also part of the faculty and also have the right to openly express our opinions and views without being attacked for them?
By canceling the event, the Dean has normalized vandalism and taught an entire generation of students that it is okay to attack people whose values you don’t agree with. The Dean also was indirectly teaching students that freedom of speech is conditional, that there is no room for public expression and that if you are scary enough, you can get away with your intimidation tactics and silence those who want to speak their truth?What kind of future does this paint for the faculty of architecture and the whole of TU Delft?
As the semester comes to an end, and after months of relentless attempts to host another event at BK, all our efforts have remained unsuccessful. To continue shedding the light on Palestine and Gaza, we independently hosted a second event in a hybrid format, both online and in person, at the conference hall Aula on the 25th of June. The event titled (De)colonial infrastructures in Palestine hosted a group of Palestinian scholars and architects that discussed the different infrastructures that have enabled the settler colonial state of Israel to gain control over Palestine’s land, sea and sky. Once again, contrary to the institution’s assumptions, the event ran smoothly without interruptions and the space we occupied proved to be welcoming and open to everyone with the talks now available online.
As BK Scholars for Palestine, we believe that architecture is produced at the intersection of political, economic, and social forces, engaging with the questions and phenomena that shape cities and influence daily life. It encompasses not just buildings as material entities but also the processes that construct and deconstruct our environments. Architecture involves creating spaces that go beyond the physical to foster social interaction—spaces where people can gather, converse, learn, and think differently. We had previously believed that this philosophy is deeply rooted in the architectural education at TU Delft, where we, as scholars, have understood and embraced these values as foundational to our faculty. As architects, we also do not passively await the future but actively prepare for it, striving to ensure that it is characterised by greater inclusivity, justice, and human rights for all. However, the normalisation of violence, as witnessed in the total devastation in Gaza and in more localised incidents, such as the threats and disruptions that led to the cancellation of our event and the destruction of our materials, is profoundly troubling. These events highlight urgent and pressing issues that we cannot continue to overlook, especially as we approach nine months since the onset of this war in Gaza and 76 years since Al Nakba of Palestine, which has resulted in the ethnic cleansing of more than 700.000 Palestinians from their villages and hometowns in Palestine, and the establishment of the settler colonial state of Israel.