Students at Trinity College Dublin, protesting Israel’s war on Gaza, set up an encampment that forced the university administration to restrict access to the campus and close the Book of Kells exhibition, one of Ireland’s top tourist attractions. .
The camp was set up late on Friday night after the students’ union said it had been fined 214,000 euros by the university for financial losses it suffered due to protests in recent months that were not exclusively about the war in Gaza.
Association president Laszlo Molnarfia posted a photo showing stalls stacked in front of the entrance to the building where the Book of Kells is on display. These manuscripts date from 800 AD. and is the work of Celtic monks.
“The Book of Kells is now closed indefinitely,” he added in his post on the X platform.
Trinity College management said it had restricted access to the campus for students, staff and residents for security reasons, adding that the Book of Kells exhibition would remain closed today.
Activists at Trinity are calling on Ireland’s oldest university to cut ties with Israeli higher education institutions and not enter into deals with companies with ties to Israel. Provost Linda Doyle said last week that Trinity College is reviewing its investments in various companies and that decisions on whether or not to work with Israeli institutions are left to individual professors.
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