{"id":184208,"date":"2025-12-11T14:11:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T13:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=184208"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:28:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:28:00","slug":"franse-ambassade-en-ministerie-bellen-met-cvb-over-afzegging-eva-illouz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/12\/11\/franse-ambassade-en-ministerie-bellen-met-cvb-over-afzegging-eva-illouz\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministry and French embassy call Executive Board over cancellation of Eva Illouz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Both the French embassy and the Dutch Ministry of Education have contacted the Executive Board of Erasmus University regarding the cancellation of a lecture by sociologist Eva Illouz by the Erasmus Love Lab, Bredenoord told the University Council on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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Eva Illouz is professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>

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Exactly what the embassy official asked or told Bredenoord is unclear. The embassy could not be reached on Wednesday. The ministry confirmed that a civil servant called the Executive Board president. In the University Council, the president implied that \u2018phone calls and emails from various directions\u2019 prompted the Executive Board (EB) to look into the matter, ultimately leading to the publication of an apology letter<\/a> to the French-Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz.<\/p>\n

\u2018Possible discrimination\u2019<\/h2>

The council asked the Executive Board about the reasons behind the decision to write the letter. The lecture was cancelled by the Erasmus Love Lab<\/a> in early October, as some team members felt \u2018uncomfortable\u2019 about the invitation, due to the position Illouz has at the Hebrew University. That is one of three Israeli universities with which Erasmus University has frozen institutional ties, because of the risk of involvement in human rights violations in Gaza.<\/p>\n

According to Bredenoord, the Executive Board was aware of the cancellation even before the article appeared in NRC<\/em><\/a>, but only later it became clear to the EB that this could be \u2018a case of discrimination\u2019. Several emails and phone calls pointed the Board in that direction. Bredenoord cited the French embassy and the \u2018assistant to the minister\u2019 as examples, although according to a ministry spokesperson, the call was only intended to verify media reports.<\/p>\n

Impact on Illouz<\/h2>

The Executive Board then contacted the Legal Affairs department, which warned that \u2013 even if not intended that way \u2013 the cancellation could be seen as discrimination. \u201cWe were also concerned about the impact the cancellation had on Illouz personally\u201d, Bredenoord said in the council. \u201cThat\u2019s why we wrote a letter of apology.\u201d<\/p>\n

A council member who openly wondered how the cancellation could be seen as discriminatory, quickly dropped the point. The University Council had agreed to discuss only the procedure followed, not the substance of the matter.<\/p>\n

Love Lab not directly involved<\/h2>

So the question went unanswered. Bredenoord did explain that the Executive Board does not determine researchers\u2019 invitation policies, but that \u2018there\u2019s a difference between not inviting someone and actively uninviting someone\u2019. \u201cUninviting \u2013 I prefer not to say cancelling because of the connotation \u2013 is a serious step\u201d, said Bredenoord. She partly took the blame for the fact that due to the institutional freeze, the Love Lab team thought individual invitations were no longer advisable. \u201cWe need to explain more clearly that that\u2019s not an issue at all\u201d, Bredenoord promised.<\/p>\n

The Love Lab was not involved by the Executive Board in drafting the apology letter. Nor did the Board directly ask the team about the situation, Bredenoord said during the council meeting. \u201cWe spoke with the dean, that\u2019s how our organisation operates.\u201d Rector magnificus Jantine Schuit added: \u201cThe dean informed us of what had happened within the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apology on behalf of the university<\/h2>

Schuit stressed that the apology letter was written on behalf of the university, not on behalf of an individual or the Love Lab. The Executive Board also contacted Illouz directly, inviting her to give a masterclass on academic freedom for executive boards. It is not known whether Illouz has accepted the invitation.<\/p>\n

Correction 15 December: Previously, the university informed EM that Annelien Bredenoord had personally received a call from the French embassy. It later turned out that a university staff member spoke to the embassy on the phone.<\/p>\n\n\t

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