More than 100 students demand that Ghent University stop cooperating with Israeli institutions and threaten to occupy the building on Monday

UGent and cooperation with Israeli institutions

Ghent University announced at the end of last year that it would examine all forms of cooperation with Israeli and Palestinian organizations and universities to determine whether and to what extent they were involved in human rights violations. “If this is the case, the necessary steps will be taken to stop cooperation,” the announcement said.

At the beginning of this year, Ghent University provided the first update, which showed that the university is involved in two European projects in which Israeli universities and research institutions also participate. Some Israeli institutions in these projects are said to provide material assistance to the warring forces or participate in the occupation of Palestinian territories. According to the university, it was not clear whether other research institutions participated. Ghent University did not want to specify exactly which institutions or universities were participating.

Because these are European projects, the university stated at the beginning of this year that it could not simply withdraw from this cooperation. “A decision regarding a possible exit from these joint European research projects is not currently on the table for Ghent University.”