The general strike for Palestine fails in the Balearic Islands and does not involve the education sector.

PalmThe general strike called this Wednesday in support of the Palestinian people and against the Israeli genocide has registered an average of 10 percent participation in public services in the Balearic Islands, according to the STEI (Spanish Institute of Education). In the education sector, the strike was attended by a total of 796 teachers, according to data provided by the Ministry of Education. Of these, 740 belong to public schools and 56 to the private sector, which places the public sector at 93% of the total participation. By island, Mallorca accounts for the majority of participation, with 584 teachers, followed by Ibiza (129), Menorca (77), and Formentera (3). On all the islands, participation was clearly majority in public schools, and in Ibiza and Formentera, it was exclusively public, with no private sector teachers supporting the strike. In Menorca, 98.7% of the teachers who participated in the strike were from public schools, while in Mallorca, private schools were more prominent but still a minority, accounting for around 9.4% of participants.

Overall, the participation figures are very low. Considering that the 2025-2026 school year began with 18,779 public school teachers, this means that only 3.9% participated in the strike. Regarding private schools, 1.17% did so (54 out of 4,774).

General calm at the university

At the UIB, hundreds of students also called to strike entered the rector's office shouting "boycott, Israel, Palestine, freedom" and "Zionists out of the university." All this while it was beginning to rain and the sun was shining. After about ten minutes inside, they left the building under the watchful and serious gaze of the Son Lledó reception staff, who watched the protest with their hands clasped. Beyond the protest, from early morning onwards the campus generally maintained a similar atmosphere to usual: the parking lots were full and the bar terraces were well attended. Although the esplanade in front of the Mateu Orfila building was packed with young people, inside the Guillem Cifre de Colonya building, which houses the teaching and social science courses, there were fewer people. "There are fewer people than usual, but there are also classes where exams are given," explained a staff member at the center.

Right next door, the Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos building (Law, Economics, and Business) maintained the usual atmosphere of a school day. "At first, it was a bit more subdued, but then everything returned to normal," said an employee. Around 11:00 a.m., a picket of about twenty young people entered the school to demand support for the strike and invite students to gather in front of the rector's office. The rest of the students looked on in astonishment and with the occasional chuckle. The situation didn't escalate. Some of the students called by the ARA Baleares group didn't know there was a strike, while others preferred to go to class.

Generally speaking, the campus was calm: professors and students made their way around while a car with a loudspeaker drove around campus, reminding the university community of the 12 noon demonstration in front of the rector's office. There were also signs and small graffiti in support of Palestine and against Zionism throughout the campus. As is often the case during student strikes, some young people used cunning tricks to exploit the strike to their advantage: "We skipped the first two hours, but now we'll go to the third," two young people said to a third one in front of the Mateu Orfila building.

Against the rector's office

The students participating in the protest at the rector's office have denounced that some professors have attempted to restrict their right to strike. According to the spokesperson, today was "a day of strike by workers and students" and the Palestinian genocide "deserves resounding rejection." The students have demanded "the end of the colonial regime and the Zionist occupation" and urged governments to "break relations with Zionism."

Along the same lines, they have criticized the university's position, which, they say, has remained "immovable." They have pointed out that the UIB recently renewed its agreement with Banco Santander until 2026 for 250,000 euros, "even though the entity has invested millions in arms companies." They also noted that the rector's office did not clarify whether it still maintains agreements with companies such as Remax, which sold properties in the West Bank. The students lamented that the UIB Governing Council's declaration, which called for the severing of relations with entities that have supported Israel, has been fulfilled.We invite everyone to mobilize to stop a genocide that has lasted for years. We cannot remain silent," the spokesperson insisted.