On March 19, 2024, the University of Groningen (RUG) prevented a student group from showing the movie Farha, about a Palestinian girl forced to leave her home in 1948.

The student group Groningen for Palestine planned to show the move as part of anti-apartheid week, during which students screen a movie each year. Previous movies have focused on Palestine, the war in Ukraine, and the Lebanese civil war. Students had booked a room at the university previously, along with a back-up room.

On March 19, university officials blocked the screening, saying that Groningen for Palestine was not an official student organization because it includes both student and non-student members. In addition, a university spokesperson stated that the invitation to the screening had been publicly posted on Instagram, making it an “external party.”

The group attempted to move the screening to a back-up room at RUG, but were also barred from doing so. They eventually screened the movie at an old youth synagogue nearby.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about an attempt by higher education authorities to limit the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly on campus by denying a student group the space to hold an extracurricular event. University authorities have a responsibility not to interfere with student expression and assembly, so long as it is undertaken peacefully and responsibly. University actions that limit the rights to free expression or association on campus have a chilling effect on academic freedom and university autonomy, and undermine democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://northerntimes.nl/censorship-on-campus-rug-blocks-screening-of-palestinian-movie/
https://ukrant.nl/ug-accused-of-censorship-for-blocking-screening-of-palestinian-movie/?lang=en