On May 17, in response to the ongoing massacres of civilians in the Gaza Strip, the board of directors of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities pledged in a press release to “reviewing and, where appropriate, suspending collaboration agreements with Israeli universities and research centrer that have not expressed a firm commitment to peace and compliance with international humanitarian law.” The Spanish body brings together 50 public and 26 private universities.

In Jerusalem, Tamir Sheafer, rector of Hebrew University, is worried: “The boycott threats had been looming since October 7, 2023. But for the past two weeks, it’s been a tsunami. From the letters or information we receive, I can’t count the number of academic relations that have been suspended or even broken off.”

Israel’s university sector, considered to be one of the jewels in the crown of the Jewish state, has been dealt a severe blow. The country’s higher education establishments are ranked among the best in the world in the hard sciences, humanities and social sciences. They contribute to making Israel one of the world’s most dynamic economies.

Jeopardized programs

Israeli universities could perhaps do without cooperation with their Spanish counterparts, due to their close ties with American, British and German institutions. But Spain and Israel are integrated into the most important European research and innovation programs, such as Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. Israel has been participating in these platforms since 1996 and received €360 million more than its contribution for Horizon 2020 over the 2014-2020 period. It has joined the new program, Horizon Europe, which is expected to distribute some €95 billion in grants from 2021 to 2027.

On May 17, the University of Granada announced that it was suspending its relations with its Israeli counterparts, both bilaterally and within these European programs. The University of Barcelona called for Israeli institutions to be prevented from participating in these projects. Other European institutions, such as those in Norway, have also declared their intention to cease collaborating with Israel. While the vast majority of the European academic world has not announced a boycott, these initiatives, however isolated, risk jeopardizing these programs, as well as the European Research Area, a kind of continent-wide scientific common market.

The Forum of Israeli University Presidents reacted on May 21 in a strongly worded and concerned statement. It noted these institutions’ commitment in the fight against the judicial reform project, initiated by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and recalled that according to the Academic Freedom Index, Israel’s level of academic freedom is considered one of the highest in the world.

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