Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among six individuals apprehended at Copenhagen University on Wednesday during a demonstration against the institution’s ties to Israel.
Thunberg participated in the protest alongside members of Students Against the Occupation, an anti-Israel advocacy group. Known globally for her climate activism, Thunberg has also engaged in various protests across Europe amid Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza.
“Students Against the Occupation and I are at the University of Copenhagen’s administration building,” Thunberg posted on Instagram. “Police have been called, forcibly entered the building with a battering ram and assault rifles. They are currently removing everyone.”
“Students have been arrested and are being transported to the station at this moment,” she added later.
The student group is demanding that Copenhagen University sever all partnerships and collaborations with Israeli universities and other institutions.
The group specifically highlighted the Erasmus student exchange program, which enables Israeli students to study in Denmark. They also criticize the Niels Bohr Institute, the university’s physics department named after the renowned physicist who was of Jewish descent.
Critics of Thunberg have labeled her participation in the protest hypocritical, alleging on social media that the university has collaborated with Israeli groups on programs aimed at addressing climate change. Digital could not locate such a program, but the Niels Bohr Institute does list “Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth” as a major research focus.
“We analyze the ice samples in our laboratories and study water stable isotopes, greenhouse gas, impurity concentrations, and ice properties,” the institute states on its website, emphasizing its goal to “comprehend both gradual and abrupt climatic changes of the past, present, and future.”
Copenhagen police reported that six individuals were apprehended from a group of approximately 20 protesters who staged a demonstration inside a university administrative building. Danish media outlets confirmed that five individuals, in addition to Thunberg, were arrested.
Police have confirmed that Thunberg has since been released.