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Students stage memorial at NUS to honour Palestinian victims and urge universities to cut Israeli ties

On 13 January, 124 students and alumni in Singapore held a memorial outside NUS’s CREATE building to mourn Palestinian students killed in Gaza.

Featuring 124 pairs of shoes symbolising lives lost, the memorial urged Singaporean universities to sever ties with Israeli institutions and cease complicity in the ongoing violence.

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SINGAPORE: On 13 January, marking the 465th day of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, 124 students and alumni in Singapore staged a solemn memorial to mourn and honour the Palestinian students who have been unjustly murdered in the conflict.

The gathering was organised by the student group Students for Palestine Singapore, and it sought to draw attention to the ongoing human rights violations in Gaza, as well as the role of Singaporean universities in perpetuating these atrocities through their ties to Israeli institutions.

The memorial was held in front of the CREATE building, a research facility at the National University of Singapore (NUS), which houses a research alliance between Singapore and Israel.

124 Pairs of Shoes and a Burial Shroud Symbolise Lives Lost and Call for Justice and Accountability

At the centre of the memorial were 124 pairs of shoes and a white burial shroud, symbolising the lives lost and the collective demand for justice.

Each pair of shoes was intended to represent two lives: one Palestinian student killed in Gaza, and one student or alumnus in Singapore standing in solidarity with the victims, urging an end to local universities’ complicity in the ongoing violence.

The burial shroud, which was adorned with a graduation cap and scroll, symbolised the tragic loss of education in Gaza.

All universities, along with more than 80% of schools in Gaza, have been destroyed during the ongoing conflict, erasing the hopes and dreams of countless students, the group said.

In their statement, Students for Palestine Singapore expressed their grief for the Palestinian student martyrs, many of whom should still be alive today, pursuing their education and contributing to their communities.

Among those memorialised were individuals such as Samar al-Fara, a doctoral student preparing to defend her PhD thesis, and Medo Halimy, a young man whose daily vlogs brought the reality of life in Gaza to a global audience before his tragic death in an Israeli airstrike.

The 124 pairs of shoes displayed represented only a fraction of the overwhelming human toll in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 17,400 children in the past 15 months, a staggering figure that underscores the scale of the violence.

The group’s call was not just one of remembrance, but also a demand for action, particularly in addressing the relationships between Singaporean universities and Israeli institutions.

Memorial Held Outside CREATE Building to Protest Singaporean Universities’ Ties with Israeli Military-linked Institutions

The group said the memorial was held outside the CREATE building, a location that holds significant symbolic weight, as it houses the Singapore-Hebrew University Alliance for Research and Education.

This partnership involves NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an institution deeply involved in the Israeli military and its operations in Palestine.

The statement critisied that the Hebrew University is known for hosting training facilities for the Israeli Occupation Forces, running academic programmes with military ties, and supporting the Israeli government’s policies that have led to the ongoing occupation and violence in Gaza.

Students for Palestine Singapore expressed their outrage over the continued academic ties between Singapore’s top universities and Israeli institutions, which they argue are complicit in perpetuating occupation, apartheid, and genocide.

The group pointed out that both NUS and NTU have research partnerships with Thales, an Israeli weapons contractor, and that NTU collaborates with Israeli Aerospace Industries, which manufactures weapons specifically designed for use in Gaza.

These partnerships, they argue, represent an unacceptable alignment with a regime that continues to perpetrate violence against Palestinians, including the destruction of their educational institutions.

Calls for Divestment, End to Ties with Israeli Institutions, and Protection for Activists

In their statement, the group called for a number of actions to be taken by Singaporean universities and leaders.

They demanded that universities divest from any financial investments tied to companies profiting from the Israeli genocide, particularly those involved in the production and distribution of weapons.

They also called for an end to all collaborations with Israeli universities that support the occupation, including research attachments, student exchanges, and internships.

Furthermore, the group sought an end to the surveillance and intimidation of students who have been peacefully voicing their solidarity with Palestine, particularly those who have faced police investigations and repression for their activism.

This memorial marks the latest chapter in a growing movement of student activism in Singapore, advocating for Palestinian liberation and opposing the ongoing violence in Gaza.

Last year, students from both NTU and NUS hosted teach-ins and solidarity events, such as solidarity picnics and graduation speeches in support of Palestine.

Despite the growing momentum of these protests, however, Students for Palestine Singapore expressed disappointment that the government and local authorities have failed to take meaningful action, instead opting to repress student voices through surveillance, intimidation, and legal threats.

The memorial organisers also acknowledged the humanitarian efforts of ordinary Singaporeans who have contributed to fundraisers and mutual aid for Palestinians in Gaza.

However, they stressed that these individual efforts, while valuable, cannot make up for the institutional complicity of Singapore’s universities, which continue to maintain ties with Israeli institutions that play a direct role in the oppression of Palestinians.

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