The professor nominated for the Nobel in 2015, Massimo Zucchetti, chained himself to the gates of the Polytechnic of Turin together with some of his students who were demonstrating for the Palestinian cause. Protesters have long been calling for the interruption of any collaboration between Italian universities and Israeli universities.
Nine students from the pro-Palestine university collectives chained themselves this morning, Thursday 13 June, at the entrance gates of the main headquarters of the Polytechnic of Turin in Corso Duca degli Abruzzi. The event is part of a series of initiatives implemented by pro-Palestine movements that have been asking the University for months to interrupt relations with Israeli institutions and universities. The professor was also chained with them Massimo Zucchetti, full professor at PoliTo and candidate for the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2015.
The teacher he chained himself to the gate along with his students to show solidarity with them and to participate in protests in the name of the Palestinian cause. “Am I also a ‘troublemaker of the social centres’? An outsider, a stranger? If it wasn’t for the students, the Polytechnic would have made a terrible impression” shouted the teacher next to the kids. “This should be a university, not an exam factory or a career factory.” Then the teacher turned to the other teachers. “Take a position – he asked, chained to the gate -. Are you university professors or not?”.
“It’s not a violent action, it’s a decisive action because we don’t bother anyone except with our words – Zucchetti explained again -. The Polytechnic must become a decent university, many others must express their opinion as I am doing it myself. I am with the students, in favor of a convincing operation to ask that the university world, especially the Israeli one, join us in clear opposition to the invasion that is taking place in Gaza”.
Students chained in Turin: “In Gaza people are burning alive, agreements with Israeli universities are over”
In the same morning, the students then attempted to reach the rector entering the university and passing security who however pushed the protesters out of the building. “We want to talk to a person who hasn’t considered us for months” reiterated the student to security. In the scuffle, a girl suffered bruises to her arm and side after being pushed to the ground.
For a month, activists have been participating in the occupations of the three university buildings in the Piedmontese capital to demand a stop to agreements between Israeli universities, institutions and universities. Late this morning, the surprise: the teacher Massimo Zucchetti, who teaches the Nuclear Plants course, joined the demonstrators.
The teacher is in the inter-university Peace Studies Committee and was part of the No Tav movement. In 2022 he was among the teachers who asked the Polytechnic to renounce the agreement with Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency which deals with the “control” of migratory flows.
