Israel has been violating various fundamental tenets of international law over a prolonged period, as attested by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israeli universities and research institutions are inextricably embedded in the Israeli state’s system of racial discrimination and apartheid. They have continued to deliver strategies and technologies that support Israel’s practices, and some of them maintain close ties with the Israeli armed forces. Notwithstanding, Israeli institutions continue to benefit from cooperating with universities in Europe (and around the world). In a European context, such cooperation takes the form of (bilateral or multilateral) student and staff exchange, or of research projects, often as consortia with various partners and often funded by the European Commission under its Framework Programme funding schemes. Such cooperation provides additional funding for Israeli universities (not only for the research project at hand, but also overhead/indirect costs, that can contribute to other activities of the university). Moreover, it gives legitimacy not only to Israeli universities by adding to their reputation and networks but also to the Israeli state as a whole, which uses its research and innovation capabilities to bolster its international legitimacy, which in turn works to legitimize its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territories.
The ICJ has made clear that the international community has an obligation not to aid or assist Israel’s violations of international law. Some norms of international law are so fundamental that they bind all members of the international community. This policy brief shows that this duty also extends to universities, as members of the international community and organs of society. Public universities can arguably be considered akin to state organs. Private universities also have duties in a way similar to corporations, for instance through the application of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The policy brief argues that the risk of complicity in the international violations perpetrated by Israel is too great for European universities who continue to cooperate with Israeli universities. Therefore, they should halt cooperation until these violations come to a definitive end.
Bilateral cooperation can be contractually ended. In research projects, universities should discuss the continued participation of Israeli partners. They should use the mechanisms in their grant agreements and consortium agreements to invoke human rights clauses and end cooperation.
Research Project: