A growing wave of academic institutions worldwide are cutting ties with Israeli universities, citing their complicity in Israel’s actions in Gaza, where more than 63,000 people—mostly civilians—have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. From Brazil’s Federal University of Ceará canceling an innovation summit, to universities in Norway, Belgium, Spain, and Trinity College Dublin ending collaborations, the boycott movement is gaining traction. The University of Amsterdam halted its student exchange with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the European Association of Social Anthropologists has urged members to avoid Israeli institutions, British daily The Guardian reports.
Stephanie Adam of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel argues that Israeli academia is complicit in “Israel’s decades-long regime of military occupation, settler colonial apartheid and now genocide.” Israeli historian Ilan Pappé echoes that, stating that boycotts are a “necessary conversation” to highlight academia’s role in an “oppressive system,” noting that Israeli academics “provide courses and degrees to the secret service, police and are agencies of the government that are oppressing daily the Palestinians.”
But resistance to boycotts persists in the U.K., France, and Germany. Universities U.K. opposes academic boycotts, citing “the free exchange of ideas” as a core principle. Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan expresses mixed feelings: “The Israeli government’s approach to Gaza has been hugely disproportionate, harming civilians … [but] a boycott would penalize those who are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.”
The impact of the boycotts is debated. While some Israeli researchers claim their work remains unaffected, the potential loss of EU funding—Israel received €875.9 million from Horizon Europe since 2021—raises concerns about a brain drain. Adam points to Israel’s €22 million allocation to counter the boycott as evidence of its impact.
Informal boycotts are also occurring, as some researchers choose not to collaborate with potential colleagues from Israel.
