The University of Florence in Italy cuts ties with Israeli academic institutions

Five faculties at the University of Florence have declared that they are severing their academic and research relations with Israeli institutions — a move taken in solidarity with the Palestinian people and as a response to the occupying policies of the Zionist regime.

According to the Hebrew-language website Ynet, the university’s Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science has ended its cooperation with Ben-Gurion University. In addition, the Faculties of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences have also announced they are cutting ties with Israeli counterparts.

The Faculty of Architecture has likewise ended its collaboration with Ariel University, which is located in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences has reported that it is terminating its joint project with the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center at Tel Aviv University.

These decisions are considered part of the University of Florence’s participation in the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, and have been made in protest against the “crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the West Bank.”

The move has been welcomed by pro-Palestinian groups, and observers view it as part of the growing trend of academic and cultural boycotts against Israel across Europe.