Call for an academic boycott

Since the beginning of October 2023 the Israeli military has not only killed thousands of students and academics¹, but also destroyed every single university in Gaza, in some cases using controlled explosions. The UN has expressed grave concern over Israels systematic destruction of Palestinian education system – also known as scholasticide. All of this is taking place against the backdrop of decades of unlawful occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the continous expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and a well-documented and increasingly oppressive system of apartheid, which is a crime against humanity under international law.

For decades, Israeli universities have played an active role in planning, implementing and justifying Israel’s regime of occupation and apartheid, while maintaining an exceptionally close relationship with the Israeli military and arms industry:

• Multiple universities have military complexes integrated within their campuses and offer specialized and accelerated degree programs and scholarships for soldiers.
• Universities have been involved in developing the weapon systems and military doctrines deployed in the current assault on Gaza, including the so-called “Dhahiya doctrine”, which prescribes disproportionate use of violence and the systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure.
• Israeli universities have developed technologies used for the surveillance, control and dispossession of Palestinians, such as the remote-controlled, weaponized bulldozers used to demolish Palestinian homes.
• Universities provide legal and moral justification for the ongoing colonization of Palestinian land, extra-judicial killings and indiscriminate attacks against civilians. 
• Universities across Israel have not only expressed unwavering support for the Israeli military’s current assault on Gaza, but also provide financial compensation and other benefits for so-called “warrior students” serving in the army.

Meanwhile, Palestinian students at Israeli universities face systematic discrimination and silencing by the university administrations and are regularly subjected to harassment and threats by fellow students. Academic freedom massively restricted at Israeli universities, and academics and students who speak out against the Israeli system of oppression regularly face harassment, threats, suspension or even detention.

As employees and students at Danish universities we are horrified by the plight of our colleagues and fellow students in Gaza and deeply concerned with the involvement of Israeli academic institutions in the war crimes and crimes against humanity that are currently unfolding in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Considering that:

• Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet’s guidelines for international research and innovation cooperation state: “if there is a risk that your partner has close relations with the military, or political parties of a foreign state, you should be extremely cautious and tread extremely carefully when initiating any cooperation”.
• the European Union recently adopted a directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, obliging large companies to undertake risk-based due diligence to identify, assess, address and remedy potential and actual adverse impacts on human rights and the environment in connection with a company’s activities and broader business operations. As semi-public institutions, universities have a particular responsibility to lead the way.
• EU member governments are currently openly discussing imposing sanctions against Israel
• The Danish government – in line with UN Security Council resolution 2334 – recognizes Israeli settlements on the West Bank as illegal and “advises against engagements and activities directed at strengthening the settlements”
• Many universities across Europe, have already discontinued institutional collaboration with complicit Israeli universities, including universities in Belgium, Spain, Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Italy

We demand that Danish universities investigate and discontinue all institutional collaborations with complicit Israeli universities. We ask to be included in this process to defend the case and give answers to common misconceptions. This includes review of academic and professional partnerships, including but not limited to: exchange programs, careers service partnerships, and cooperations in research grant schemes.

There are already many examples to follow from universities around the world. Universities in Belgium, Spain, Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Italy, the USA, and South Africa, among others, have cut ties with Israeli institutions, on account of their complicity in crimes committed in Palestine. Learning from these experiences, we suggest adopting the following approaches:

• Transparency: we need an up-to-date system for tracking existing collaborations and investments between Danish universities and third parties such as private companies and academic institutions. The University of Geneva already provides such a system for tracking collaborations, and the University of Barcelona committed to establishing an online portal based on this model in its comprehensive commitment to ethical academic conduct.
• Cutting existing ties: given the immensity of violence documented by UN bodies in Palestine (see war on children, scholasticide and genocide), our existing relationships with Israeli institutions and third parties should, at minimum, be cut pending thorough ethical review.
• Rigorous ethical screening: the review process for establishing academic ties must be strengthened and made transparent, such that problematic relationships, like those presently with Israeli universities, cannot be instituted in future.

Urgent global pressure is needed to intervene against the violent injustices committed against the Palestinian people. In light of the direct involvement of Israeli universities in war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations unfolding in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it should be clear that suspending all collaborations with them is a matter of human rights due diligence. For our universities, this is a question of finding ourselves on the right side of history as well as maintaining integrity in our own policy frameworks.

We are concerned that these questions are not being taken seriously enough within the university management. Little evidence is currently being shown of the “extreme caution” which the UFM requires. The conversation around ending these relationships, and how Danish universities can collectively move to do so, must begin now, and accelerate rapidly. We ask to be included in this process to present the case and give answers to common misconceptions.