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University council wants CvB to ‘scrutinise’ ties with Israel

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The University Council has asked the Executive Board to ‘scrutinise’ its ties with Israeli universities and, if genocide is formally established, cut those ties. The letter was signed on behalf of the entire University Council.

Image by: Tyna Le

More about Israel-Palestine

According to an interim ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in January, it is ‘plausible’ that Israel’s actions in Gaza could amount to genocide, but a final conclusion has not yet been reached. If the Court finds that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, the council wants the Executive Board to actually sever ties with Israel.

Bar Ilan

There are currently no ties with a Palestinian university, the council members write to the board, but there are ties with at least one Israeli university, Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, an exchange agreement.

According to council members, that university cooperates in various ways with the IDF, the Israeli army, and the ISA, the Israeli secret service. For example, the BESA Center, a think tank that is part of Bar Ilan, issues opinions to military policymakers and held a conference in cooperation with the IDF, according to the council. The university also grants scholarships to army reservists and offers undergraduate courses to secret service officers.

First of its kind

As far as is known, the Rotterdam university council’s joint appeal is the first of its kind. At other Dutch universities, at most individual members or groups of a university council have made such an appeal. The Executive Board is expected to respond to the University Council’s letter next week.

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9 reacties

  1. Paul op 16 March 2024 om 10:31

    Uhm, I don’t think the UR represents me!

  2. Joup op 21 March 2024 om 17:28

    Ja – laten we de enige Joodse staat boycotten omdat die probeert zichzelf te verdedigen na een bloedbad. Laten we doen alsof dit geen vermomd antisemitisme is. Laten we de liberale universiteiten straffen in plaats van degenen die daadwerkelijk worden gebruikt voor terreur

  3. H. op 21 March 2024 om 20:29

    Council’s decision does not represent the majority. They’re basically bending their knee to terrorists..

  4. Tobias op 22 March 2024 om 11:02

    It is about time that EUR takes action, good to hear that the university council is pushing for the necessary change. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions are crucial to apply pressure and push for change!

  5. H op 22 March 2024 om 13:49

    Finally. We need to see more of this! No collaboration with those complicit in genocide.

  6. An op 30 March 2024 om 16:16

    I welcome this signal from the University Council in light of the recent development with specific regards to the preliminary ICJ ruling d.d. 26-01-2024 which deemed it is “plausible”that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Therefore, not re-assessing ties with Israeli universities and/or institutions at this point would be indefensible and in violation of our Erasmian values.

    Important to note is that there was enough basis to scrutinize ties with Israeli universities long before the ICJ trial. For decades Israel systematically violated Palestinians human rights and repressed Israeli’s who are critical of the illegal occupation and ever expanding settlement policies (in violation of the binding UNSC resolution 2334).Furthermore, Israel enforces a system of apartheid in the occupied West Bank and a suffocating blockade of the besieged Gaza Strip.

    Israel’s policies of violent dispossession of the Palestinian people have nog reached an undeniably lethal stage. As of now, in Gaza 2.2 million people are being denied access to humanitarian aid and food. The IPC d.d.18-03-2024 published a report on the stage of famine in Gaza. According to Oxfam the levels of starvation in Gaza are the “highest ever recorded on the IPC scale, both in terms of number of people and percentage of the population.”
    These alarming metrics are a reflection of the fact that the acute food shortage in Gaza is a direct result of Israel’s policies. Indeed, Israeli Defence minister Yoav Gallant in announced in a press briefing on 09-10-2023: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything will be closed. We are fighting against human animals, and we are acting accordingly.” To date, high-ranking officials including Josep Borrel (EU foreign affair’s chief) stated Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war, which is a warcrime and in violation of UNSC resolution 2417.

    Anyone who has studied the effects of acute food shortage, knows it will lead to unconscionable numbers of preventable deaths, stunted development in children and detrimental epigenetic effects in those who survive.

    If we want to remain committed and genuine to our Erasmian values and the EUR Code of Integrity, ties with Israeli universities need to be re-assessed and given the insurmountable documentation of human right violations by the Israeli military apparatus which is deeply entrenched with most – if not all – Israeli universities, these ties need to be suspended.

    Furthermore, not in the least collaborations and partnerships need to reflect our core values of respect for academic freedom and human rights. At Israeli universities academic freedom is severely repressed, where critical voices are increasingly being silenced or even punished.

    Sources mentioned:
    https://www.eur.nl/sites/corporate/wp-content/uploads/2019-09/eur-strategy-2020-2024_creating-positive-societal-impact_the-erasmian-way.pdf

    https://www.eur.nl/en/media/2021-12-code-integrity-eur.

    https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution

    https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/

    https://starvationaccountability.org/news-and-events/un-security-council-resolution-2417-unanimously-passed-a-landmark-resolution-acknowledging-the-deliberate-starvation-of-civilians-as-a-method-of-warfare/#:~:text=UN%20Security%20Council%20Resolution%202417,method%20of%20warfare%20%2D%20Starvation%20Accountability

    https://www.972mag.com/hebrew-university-nadera-shalhoub-kevorkian/

    See also this book from the Israeli author Maya Wind:
    Towers of Ivory and Steel: how Israeli universities deny Palestinian freedom.

    IPC report on the stage of famine in Gaza d.d. 18-03-2024:
    https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-97/en/

    UN report from independent expert and special rapporteur to Human Rights Council concluding “the threshold for genocide in Gaza has been met” d.d. 26-03-2024:
    https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147976

  7. Geke op 30 March 2024 om 16:45

    Wow I’m glad, this is a very important step. I’m hoping other universities/councils will soon follow our example.

  8. Paul op 30 March 2024 om 16:51

    Amazing, this is how the University Councel is supposed to represent us, the Erasmus-students, by embodying the Erasmian values of being socially engaged world citizens. Our university has a social responsibility towards the world. Looking forward to the Board’s response!

  9. Ayse op 30 March 2024 om 17:02

    This is a good step towards justice and despite all these false accusations of anti-Semitism, boycotting a state that is plausibly committing genocide under international law is a very basic human principle.

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