The Academic Intifada: How global campuses resist Israel’s genocidal war

An increasing number of universities, academic institutes, and scientific bodies worldwide are severing relations with Israeli counterparts amid revelations of these institutions’ complicity in the regime’s actions against Palestinians.

According to The Guardian, Israel has massacred more than 63,000 people in Gaza, though the actual figures are likely much higher. UN experts have confirmed that parts of Gaza—much of which has been reduced to rubble—are now facing man-made famine.

A growing number of universities have responded by distancing themselves from Israeli institutions. Last year, Brazil’s Federal University of Ceará canceled an innovation summit with an Israeli university, while several universities in Norway, Belgium, and Spain ended partnerships with Israeli institutions.

This summer, Trinity College Dublin joined the trend, while the University of Amsterdam terminated its student exchange program with the Hebrew University in occupied Jerusalem. The European Association of Social Anthropologists also announced it would not cooperate with Israeli institutions and urged its members to follow suit.

Although not all supporters of this movement back a full academic boycott, the campaign reflects concerns about the deep ties between Israeli universities, the military, and the government.

Stephanie Adam of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel said: “Israeli academic institutions are complicit in decades of military occupation, settler-colonial apartheid, and now genocide. There is a moral and legal duty for universities to end ties with complicit Israeli institutions.”

Still, only a handful of academic bodies in the UK, France, and Germany have cut ties. Universities UK (UUK) has stated it does not support academic boycotts. A UUK spokesperson claimed:

“UK universities, as a representative body, have a longstanding commitment to the free exchange of ideas regardless of nationality or location. For this reason, we do not endorse blanket academic boycotts, as they would infringe on academic freedom.”

Venki Ramakrishnan, former president of the Royal Society, said he had mixed feelings about boycotts: “On the one hand, Israel’s approach to Gaza has been disproportionate, harming thousands of civilians including young children. On the other hand, most Israeli academics I know despise Netanyahu’s government; academic boycotts punish those who are not responsible and who often sympathize with Palestinians’ suffering.”

However, historian and Israeli political scientist Ilan Pappé rejected that claim: “If Israeli academics truly sympathized, we would see them among the few hundred brave Israelis protesting this war. But we don’t. Most do not refuse military service and continue to provide training and qualifications to intelligence services, police, and nationwide agencies that suppress Palestinians daily.”

On the boycott, Pappé added: “This is a harsh but necessary discourse. Israeli universities are an organic part of the oppressive system, and it’s time to make them face the consequences. This has been the reality for 77 years, and now Israeli academics are being told there’s a price for their complicity.”

Gassan Abu-Sittah, British-Palestinian surgeon and president of the University of Glasgow, said students and academics across the UK have pushed for an academic boycott but have been blocked by university authorities.

“The moral outrage over Israel’s actions is pushing more academics toward personal decisions not to engage in joint projects with Israelis,” he said.

Whether academic boycotts impact researchers in the occupied territories or Netanyahu’s vabinet remains debated. Some Israeli university staff claim their research and collaborations have not yet been affected. But experts note that if the movement continues to grow, the situation could change, given the importance of Israeli partnerships with Ivy League universities in the U.S. and leading institutions in Western Europe.

Israel’s economy is heavily dependent on science and technology, meaning cuts in research funding could cause significant damage. Since 2021, Israel has received a net €875.9 million (£740.4m) from the EU’s Horizon Europe research program. In July, the European Commission proposed partially suspending Israel’s participation.

EU Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said the proposal would affect Israeli institutions in the EIC Accelerator, targeting startups and SMEs working on disruptive innovations and dual-use technologies such as cybersecurity, drones, and AI.

For now, suspension seems unlikely as 10 member states argue dialogue should remain open. But there are concerns Israel could be excluded from Horizon Europe’s successor program, scheduled to launch in 2028.

Signs of declining cooperation already exist: Israel allocated €22 million (£19m) last year specifically to counter academic boycotts, yet its share of EU research funding has fallen. On Thursday, it was revealed that of 478 early-career researchers awarded initial 2025 grants under Horizon Europe, only 10 were based in the occupied territories, compared to 30 out of 494 the year before.

Experts warn that if funding and prestigious partnerships dry up, Israeli researchers may leave the occupied territories, fueling a brain drain already troubling the country’s medical sector.

Abu-Sittah concluded: “The mere threat of academic boycotts is enough to pressure Israel to end this genocide.”