Academic strike by the Student Council of the Polytechnic University of Valencia in response to the destruction and occupation of the Palestinian people This Monday, October 13th, the CEUPV Assembly approved an academic strike for October 15th, from 10:00 to 12:00, in defense of the Palestinian people. An academic strike means that classes may continue and students have the right to attend, but they cannot be forced to do so or penalized for not attending. During the strike, attendance cannot be taken, nor can any evaluation activities be carried out, thus guaranteeing the right to participate without academic repercussions. The approved statement is as follows: The Student Council of the Polytechnic University of Valencia expresses its profound rejection of the genocide and occupation policy against the Palestinian people.. We urgently call for the immediate cessation of all violence and the beginning of a genuine process of reconstruction, liberation, and restoration of dignity for the Palestinian people. Since 1948, Palestine has lived under an occupation that, generation after generation, has stripped it of its land, its fundamental rights, and even its right to live in peace. The current offensive on Gaza is not an isolated event but another manifestation of a long-standing policy of colonization and blockade that has condemned more than two million people to live imprisoned in what is already known as the largest open-air prison in the world. Deprived of freedom of movement and safe access to basic resources such as water, food, education, or healthcare, the population of Gaza survives under extreme conditions imposed by decades of occupation and siege. After two years of continuous bombings, more than 68,000 Palestinians have lost their lives—most of them children—and thousands more remain injured or missing. Gaza has been almost wiped off the map: no university remains operational, hospitals have been destroyed, and basic infrastructure has disappeared. Knowledge, health, and even life itself have been subjected to systematic destruction. Meanwhile, the State of Israel has repeatedly violated international law and human rights, often with the indifference or complicity of the international community. Military operations against civilians, the occupation of territories, and bombings of educational and healthcare facilities violate the core principles of the United Nations and humanitarian law. The recent detention on the humanitarian flotilla attempting to bring aid to Gaza and break the naval blockade in international waters is yet another example: even civilian initiatives are repressed with violence. These actions represent a direct assault on global solidarity and on the right of peoples to cooperate and support one another. As a university community, we cannot remain silent in the face of the destruction of the Palestinian educational and university system. This attack is not only against buildings but against the universal right to education, freedom of thought, and the possibility of a dignified future. Thousands of students and teachers have lost their classrooms, their research spaces, and, with them, an essential part of their voice. Despite recent ceasefire agreements, the damage is already immense. The ruins of Gaza are not only made of concrete, but also of lives, dreams, and knowledge. Now is the time to dismantle the narrative that justifies occupation and violence, and to work toward restoring the dignity of a people who have endured decades of injustice and continue to demand their right to live, learn, and exist in peace. For all these reasons, the Student Council of the UPV supports the academic strike on October 15, 2025, and makes the following demands: We demand the immediate cessation of all military action and the lifting of the blockade on the Palestinian people. We recognize the right of the Palestinian people to life, to freedom, and to exist in sovereignty and peace. We call for the enforcement of international humanitarian law and the effective protection of civilians, schools, hospitals, and universities. We urge a strong international commitment to rebuilding the Palestinian educational system and restoring the fundamental rights of its people. We encourage the entire university community to join the academic strike on October 15 (10:00 – 12:00) as an act of solidarity, protest, and commitment to peace and justice. Knowledge is resistance. Education is freedom.From the classrooms of our university, we raise our voices for Palestine—for its life, its freedom, and its inalienable right to live with dignity and peace.
