01.04.21
Editorial Note
On February 22, 2021, the European Research Council officially announced Horizon Europe, the new European Framework Program for Research and Innovation for 2021-2027. Countries such as Israel, UK, Switzerland, Norway, and others, associated with the previous Framework Program Horizon 2020, will become associated with Horizon Europe by the end of this year.
According to the EU publication, Israeli participation in Horizon 2020 in signed grants was 1255 recipients. In comparison, Palestine had eight recipients.
On March 23, 2021, the Palestinian Ministry of Education, along with other Palestinian bodies, published a call against Ariel University receiving grants, titled “Ariel University and Horizon 2020: The EU is legitimizing Israel’s illegal settlements.” The Palestinian Ministry of Education’s call garnered 522 signatories of international academics, among them Israelis. Professor Goldreich from Weizmann Institute, a candidate for the prestigious Israel Prize, as IAM reported last week, is among the signatories.
The Palestinian call states that “Research projects should not be used to legitimize or otherwise sustain illegal Israeli settlements. The EU cannot resile from its own obligations in this respect without further empowering Israel’s unlawful military occupation and its oppression of millions of Palestinians, and without further undermining the Palestinian people’s inalienable and universally-recognized rights under international law…. Ariel University is falsely indicated on project material as located in Israel. The far-right-supporting, now defunct Trump administration made its support for illegal Israeli settlement institutions official, including by ending long-standing restrictions on research funding. The EU must and can do better. Authoritative Palestinian higher-education bodies, supported by prominent academics, are calling on international institutions not to recognize Ariel University and to abstain from giving effect to its pretentions of institutional legitimacy… we urge the EU Commission, Parliament and Council to devise, fund and implement the effective monitoring of participating research projects and hold transgressors accountable.”
Among the 522 signatories, some names stand out: Gilbert Achcar, SOAS, University of London, UK. Mona Baker, University of Manchester, UK. Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus, Stanford University, US. Richard Falk, Princeton University, US. Nicola Perugini, University of Edinburgh, UK. Jonathan Rosenhead, London School of Economics, UK. Ofer Aharony, Weizmann Institute, Israel. Aviad Albert, University of Cologne, Germany. Yonathan (Jon) Anson, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Outi Bat-El Foux, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Jerome Bourdon, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Haim Bresheeth, SOAS, London, UK. Raz Chen-Morris, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Nomi Erteschik-Shir, Ben-Gurion University, Israel. Snait Gissis, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Amos Goldberg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Amiram Goldblum, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Oded Goldreich, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Neve Gordon, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, UK. Nir Gov, Weizmann Institute, Israel. Erella Grassiani, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Raphael Greenberg, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Ilana Hairston, Tel Hai Academic College, Israel. Shir Hever, Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East, Germany. Itamar Kastner, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Hagar Kotef, SOAS, University of London, UK. Ronit Lentin, Trinity College Dublin (ret), Ireland. Yosefa Loshitzky, SOAS University of London, UK. Ruchama Marton, PHR-ISRAEL, Israel. Anat Matar, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Adi Ophir, Tel Aviv University, Brown University, US. Yoav Peled, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Hebrew University, Israel. Shakhar Rahav, University of Haifa, Israel. Hannah Safran, The Haifa Feminist Research Center, Israel. Itamar Shachar, Ghent University, Belgium. Dmitry Shumsky, Professor of modern Jewish history, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Kobi Snitz, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Roy Wagner, ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Dror Warschawski, Sorbonne Université, France. Haim Yacobi, University College London, UK.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education inaugurated the campaign “No Academic Business as usual with Ariel University,” also known as No Ariel Ties (NoArielTies.org) in November 2018. It joined with the Council of Palestinian Universities’ Presidents; Palestinian Federation of University Unions of University Professors and Employees; and, Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council. The campaign aims to prevent the recognition of Israeli academic institutions in “illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.” It calls for “Obligations for institutions: Respecting international law, as a peaceful and universal means of conflict resolution.” The campaign also requires “denying recognition to, and severing institutional relations with Ariel University as an illegal settlement institution.” The campaign demands “Complicity in international law violations,” as the Israeli settlement activity “constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.” According to them, “Ariel University is deeply and directly complicit in Israel’s system of oppression that denies Palestinians their basic rights guaranteed by international law.” They also state that “Ariel University is an illegal institution and is deeply and directly complicit in Israel’s system of oppression that has denied Palestinians their basic rights guaranteed by international law, including the right to education and academic freedom.”
In September 2020, IAM reported that No Ariel Ties waged a campaign against Dr. Mindy Levine from the department of Chemical Sciences at Ariel University, who was announced as a Special Issue Editor of the scientific journal Molecules. The campaigners wrote the Molecules editors and urged the journal to change Levine’s affiliation to “Ariel University, illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Molecules pressed the editor to change her affiliation, but she refused, and, as a result, the journal withdrew the Special Issue and removed it from its website. But, for a short time, until it reinstated it back on the website, with Ariel University, Israel, as Levine’s home institute. The Special Issue is due to be published later this year.
Worth noting that Goldreich and other Israeli academics who call for the boycott of Ariel University have breached the Israeli 2011 anti-Boycott Law.
The recurring phenomenon of Israeli academics breaking the law by advocating for BDS is troubling. IAM has argued that the root of the problem is that Israel has a highly expansive view of academic freedom, which would not have been tolerated in a public university in any other Western country. Academic authorities have been hesitant to challenge their own faculty because they fear the orchestrated outrage by the pro-Palestinian community on Western campuses.
Mobilizing Israeli scholars supported by the Israeli taxpayers is considered a shrewd move on the part of the pro-Palestinian activists who try to shield themselves from charges of anti-Semitism.
Despite the blatant abuses of human rights in the Palestinian Territories and other countries, only Israel is censured by the academic community. This selective view should delegitimize the BDS movement and its supporters.
25 Mar 2021 | News
Over 500 academics call on EU to keep Israel’s Ariel University out of research projects
Ariel University, located in a settlement on the West Bank, should have no involvement in EU-funded projects researchers say, as the university denies one of its professors received EU fundingBy Éanna Kelly
Over 500 academics from more than 20 European countries and Israel on Wednesday published an open letter condemning any involvement of Israel’s Ariel University in EU-funded research projects.
The university is located in the West Bank, an area Palestinians seek for their future state. The EU and most of the international community views permanent settlements on this land as illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
The letter notes “with grave concern the ongoing failure of the European Union to ensure that its taxpayer-funded research programmes are not used to legitimise or otherwise sustain the establishment and the activities of Israeli academic institutions in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT).”
According to participation rules for Horizon 2020, the EU’s most recent science programme, Israeli entities may only receive grants from EU programmes if the projects concerned do not take place in settlements occupied by Israel since 1967. The Commission says “all its projects are closely monitored” and undergo a “rigorous ethical evaluation”.
The letter says that Ariel University hosted a dissemination event for the BOUNCE project in June 2020. In addition, a professor from Ariel University is listed as a co-researcher on the project, “raising serious questions as to whether research activities were carried out in the OPT,” the letter says.
Ariel University is also listed as involved in the Horizon 2020 earth observation project GEO-CRADLE, the letter notes.
The academics allege that, “multiple cases demonstrate failures of the Commission to properly instruct against, monitor for, and rectify project management transgressions against these EU positions.”
“The EU must and can do better,” the letter states. “At a time when the EU is finalising Horizon 2020’s successor, the €100 billion Horizon Europe programme, we urge the EU Commission, Parliament and Council to devise, fund and implement the effective monitoring of participating research projects and hold transgressors accountable.”
In response to the letter, Nicole Greenspan, head of international research and public relations at Ariel University said, “The inconsequential issue raised is that of the participation of a single Ariel University professor in an online event. The researcher is not funded by the EU.”
Sampling soil in the Occupied Territories
In January 2020, Green MEP Gina Dowding asked the Commission to account for Ariel University’s participation in GEO-CRADLE.
EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel responded by saying Horizon 2020 projects are being closely monitored by the Commission services and that this includes a rigorous ethical evaluation.
“In the GEO-CRADLE proposal there was no indication that the Tel Aviv University, one of the partners, intended to take soil samples in occupied territories or cooperate with stakeholders in these areas. Once the violation was detected, the Commission immediately took action, recalling the rules to the coordinator, who instructed Tel Aviv University to stop cooperation with Ariel University and Golan Heights Winery.”
Soil samples collected from the settlements were excluded from the research, Gabriel said, adding, “Costs claimed for these activities and the subsequent rectification were considered not eligible and therefore not covered by EU funding.”
The European Commission has been contacted for additional comment.
‘Political letter’
According to Greenspan, “Ariel University is an institution recognised by the Israeli Council for Higher Education. Its students and researchers hail from all segments of the population with no regard to nationality or religion. The university is actively involved in research to better the entire region including both Israeli and Palestinian communities around it.”
“Ariel University holds the mixing of research with politics to be abhorrent as do all serious researchers. The use of academic titles and affiliations should not be used to legitimise people’s personal political opinions. This letter, despite being undersigned by people from academia, is not an academic letter. It is a purely political one,” Greenspan said.
Since it was established in 2012, Ariel University’s presence in the West Bank has repeatedly stirred controversy, with some Israeli academics and the Palestinians coming out against the institution over the years.
Last year, the Trump administration lifted a decades-old ban that had prohibited US taxpayer funding of Israeli scientific research conducted in settlements in the West Bank territory, drawing Palestinian condemnation. Ariel was chosen as the venue for a ceremony marking a new scientific and technology cooperation accord with the US.
Signatories speak
Science|Business spoke to four Israeli scientists who signed the letter.
Amiram Goldblum, professor emeritus of molecular modeling and drug design at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, complained that Ariel University is not recognised by international law.
Outi Bat-El Foux, professor of linguistics at Tel Aviv University said, “As a person who was born and raised in Israel, and cares about its future, the existence of the city of Ariel and its academic institution undermine the foundation of Israel and its people.”
Ofer Aharony, a theoretical physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, said he is “strongly opposed to Israel’s policy of establishing settlements in the West Bank. I view such settlements as illegal under international law and I am not willing to do anything to assist them.”
Aharony added that his opinion was “a minority view in Israel; most Israelis support the settlement at least to some extent, though there is probably also a small majority that would support dismantling some settlements if and when a peace agreement with the Palestinians is signed.”
Raphael Greenberg, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, said, “Many of our colleagues in Israel and Europe appear to accept the normalisation of the Ariel institution as an Israeli research university. By insisting that the EU stand by its own principles, we wish to protect our institutions and remind our colleagues that legitimacy is hard to attain and easy to lose.”========================================================
Ariel University and Horizon 2020: The EU is legitimizing Israel’s illegal settlementsDate: March 23, 2021
We, the undersigned academics and researchers in countries participating in European research programmes, note with grave concern the ongoing failure of the European Union to ensure that its taxpayer-funded research programmes are not used to legitimize or otherwise sustain the establishment and the activities of Israeli academic institutions in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT).
As the EU Commission recently reiterated, “Article 19 of the Horizon 2020 Framework Regulation provides that all the research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon 2020 must comply with ethical principles and relevant national, Union and international legislation…” The necessary provisions have been made in EU legislation and its implementing rules to “ensure the respect of positions and commitments in conformity with international law on the non-recognition by the EU of Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967.”
The criteria applied by the EU Commission to determine the eligibility of projects and participants for EU funded support, the terms of its contracts with participants, and its monitoring of the activities and the beneficiaries of the projects must comport with these requirements and their purposes.
For these same purposes, the Commission must also ensure that the management of activities conducted under EU-funded research projects both respects and comports with the EU’s non-recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the OPT; the EU’s consequent non-recognition of Israeli settlement entities as lawfully established; and the EU’s consequent non-recognition of settlement-based activities as lawfully conducted.
However, multiple cases demonstrate failures of the Commission to properly instruct against, monitor for, and rectify project management transgressions against these EU positions.
Ariel University, which is located in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, hosted a dissemination event for the BOUNCE project in June 2020 and is included as a “Stakeholder in Israel” for the project. In addition, a professor from Ariel University is listed as a co-researcher on the project, as “a member of the Israel BOUNCE TEAM,” and as one of the “Researchers Involved in Data Collection” on a project deliverable, raising serious questions as to whether research activities were carried out in the OPT.
Ariel University was also listed as a stakeholder in the Horizon 2020 project GEO-CRADLE. It was initially removed from the stakeholder list following a request to the Commission by the project coordinator, though its stakeholder profile has since been restored, and signs of its involvement remain on the project website to this day.
In addition, in all cases Ariel University is falsely indicated on project material as located in Israel.
The far-right-supporting, now defunct Trump administration made its support for illegal Israeli settlement institutions official, including by ending long-standing restrictions on research funding. The EU must and can do better.
Authoritative Palestinian higher-education bodies, supported by prominent academics, are calling on international institutions not to recognize Ariel University and to abstain from giving effect to its pretentions of institutional legitimacy.
At a time when the EU is finalising Horizon 2020’s successor, the €100 billion Horizon Europe programme, we urge the EU Commission, Parliament and Council to devise, fund and implement the effective monitoring of participating research projects and hold transgressors accountable.
Horizon Europe’s stated goal is to “provide new knowledge and innovative solutions to overcome our societal, ecological and economic challenges.” Research projects should not be used to legitimize or otherwise sustain illegal Israeli settlements. The EU cannot resile from its own obligations in this respect without further empowering Israel’s unlawful military occupation and its oppression of millions of Palestinians, and without further undermining the Palestinian people’s inalienable and universally-recognized rights under international law.
Signed: Paul Aarts, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Airnel Abarra, University of Physical Education, Hungary. Ahmed Abbes, Directeur de recherche au CNRS, France. Samer Abdelnour, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Majed Abusalama, Tampere Uni/Palestine Research Group, Germany. Giuseppe Acconcia, University of Padova, Italy. Gilbert Achcar, SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom. Jonas Adriaensens, Ghent University, Belgium. Ofer Aharony, Weizmann Institute, Israel. Sylvia Akar, University of Helsinki, Finland. Aviad Albert, University of Cologne, Germany. Alessandra Algostino, Università di Torino, Italy. Nour Ali, Brunel University London, United Kingdom. Kieran Allen, University College Dublin, Ireland. Lori Allen, SOAS University of London, United Kingdom. Carlos Almeida, Centre for History of the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Teresa Alpuim, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Àdel Alsalti, Technical University of Catalonia, Spain. Roberta Aluffi, Università di Torino, Italy. Lorenzo Alunni, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France. João Alves, Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre, Portugal. Marco Ammar, Università di Genova, Italy. Yonathan (Jon) Anson, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Arjun Appadurai, Professor and Writer, Germany. Karin Arts, Professor of international law and development, International Institute of Social Studies (of Erasmus University Rotterdam), Netherlands. Dr. Valentina Azarova, Research Fellow, Manchester International Law Center, University of Manchester , Germany. Manlio Bacco, CNR, Italy. Abdallah Badra, Université Clermont Auvergne, France. Claude Baesens, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Mona Baker, University of Manchester, UK, United Kingdom. Viviane Baladi, CNRS, France. Cristiana Baldazzi, University of Trieste, Italy. Vania Baldi, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal. Andrea Balduzzi, Università di Genova (retired), Italy. Angelo Baracca, University of Florence, Italy. Isaías Barreñada, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Rémi Barrère, University Bourgogne – Franche Comté, France. Enrico Bartolomei, Independent researcher, Italy. Outi Bat-El Foux, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Arnaud Beauville, Université Côte d’Azur, France. Johannes Maria Becker, PD Dr., Arbeitskreis Marburger WissenschaftlerInnen für Friedens- und Abrüstungsforschung, Germany. Adriaan Bedner, Leiden University, Netherlands. Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus, Stanford University, United States. Desmond Bell, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland. Alex Bellem, Durham University, United Kingdom. Tarak Ben Zineb, Université de Lorraine, France. Roberto Beneduce, University of Turin, Italy. Alexis Benos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Hourya Bentouhami, Université de Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France. Chiara Bertone, University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy. Niko Besnier, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Francesca Biancani, University of Bologna, Italy. Jess Bier, Erasmus University, Netherlands. Alain Bihr, Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. Julie Billaud, Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. Susan Blackwell, Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands., Netherlands. Camillo Boano, University College London, United Kingdom. Hannah Boast, University College Dublin, Ireland. Riccardo Bocco, The Graduate Institute, Switzerland. Arnaud Bondon, CNRS , France. Rick Bonnie, University of Helsinki, Finland. Simona Borioni, ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, Environment, Italy. Fabrizio Boscaglia, Universidade Lusófona, Portugal. Michiel Bot, Tilburg University, Netherlands. Irena Botwinik, Open University, Israel. Jean-Pierre Bouché, CNRS-France. (retired), France. Jerome Bourdon, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Glenn Bowman, University of Kent at Canterbury (Emeritus Professor), United Kingdom. Robert Boyce, London School of Economics, United Kingdom. Patrick J Boyd, Surgical Tutor Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom. Manuel Branco, University of Évora, Portugal. Martin Breidert, Dr. theology, Germany. Jan Breman, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Eva Brems, Ghent University, Belgium. Haim Bresheeth, SOAS, London, United Kingdom. Roger Bromley, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. Kristiina Brunila, University of Helsinki, Finland. Michelle Burgis-Kasthala, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Enrico Caiani, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Bernard Caillaud, Paris School of Economics, France. Silvia Calatroni, Università Statale Milano, Italy. Marina Calculli, Leiden University, Netherlands. José Caldas, CoLABOR, Portugal. Pinuccia Caracchi, University of Turin, Italy. Miguel Cardina, Centre for Social Studies – University of Coimbra, Portugal. António Cardoso, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (Portugal.), Portugal. André Carmo, ECT-UÉ, Portugal. Mário Carvalho, ISEP , Portugal. Chiara Anna Cascino, University of Naples “L’Orientale” , Italy. Elena Casetta, Department of Philosophy and Education – University of Turin, Italy. Liselot Casteleyn, Ghent University, Belgium. Daude Cécile, MaÎtre de conférences de Grec, Université de Franche-Comté, France. John Chalcraft, LSE, United Kingdom. Iain Chalmers, Palestinian History Tapestry, United Kingdom. Iain Chambers, Università degli studi di Napoli Orientale , Italy. Gérard Chaouat, Inserm u 976, France. Lucie Chateau, Tilburg University, Netherlands. Frédéric Chaubet, University Sorbonne Paris Nord, France. Raz Chen-Morris, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Marco Chiani, University of Bologna, Italy. Yves Chilliard, INRAE, France., France. France.sco Chiodelli, University of Turin, Italy. James Chiriyankandath, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, United Kingdom. Tanzil Chowdhury, QMUL, United Kingdom. Allan Christensen, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. Anna Ciannameo, Università di Bologna, Italy. David Clinch, Royal College of Physicians, Ireland. Maurice Coakley, Griffith College Dublin, Ireland. David Cobham, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, UK James Cohen, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris 3), France. Ester Cois, University of Cagliari, Italy. Alfredo Colosimo, Independent scientist, Italy. Eddie Conlon, Technological University Dublin, Ireland. Philippe Corcuff, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lyon, France. Giselle Corradi, Ghent University, Belgium. France.sco Correale, CNRS – UMR 7324 CITERES, France. Cristiana Corsi, University of Bologna, Italy. Ciaran Cosgrove, Professor Emeritus in Latin-American Studies, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Amedeo Cottino, University of Turin, Italy. Dr Laurence Cox, Maynooth University, Ireland. Stef Craps, Ghent University, Belgium. José Cravino, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal. Luca Cristofolini, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy. Mariateresa Crosta, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy. Catherine Ann Cullen, Independent researcher, Ireland. MIke Cushman, LSE (retired), United Kingdom. Maria D’Erme, Sapienza University, Italy. Frans Daems, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Bucker Dangor, Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Giulia Daniele, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Portugal. Dr. Laurence Davis, Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork, Ireland. Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Université de Paris, France. Chiara De Cesari, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Anne de Jong, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Maja de Langen, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Herman De Ley, Emeritus Ghent University, Belgium. Treasa De Loughry, University College Dublin, Ireland. María de Paz, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain. Marina de Regt, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands. Mandy de Wilde, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Pietro Deandrea, Università di Torino, Italy. Seamus Deane, Emeritus Professor, Ireland. Sharae Deckard, University College Dublin, Ireland. Tom Decorte, Ghent University, Belgium. Martijn Dekker, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dominique Delande, CNRS, France. France.sco Della Puppa, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. Federico Della Valle, Università di Siena, Italy. Olga Demetriou, Durham University, United Kingdom. Tine Destrooper, Ghent University, Belgium. Alessia Di Eugenio, Università di Bologna, Italy. Silvia Di Marco, Center for Philosophy of Science – University of Lisbon, Portugal. Rosita Di Peri, University of Turin, Italy. Emilio Distretti, University of Basel, Switzerland. Gerard Domènech, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. Elisabetta Donini, Women in Black, Italy. Michiel Doorman, Utrecht University, Netherlands. Fiona Dove, TNI, Netherlands. Koshka Duff, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. Francoise Dufour, Independent researcher, France. John Dugard, University of Leiden, Netherlands. Dominique Durand, The Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, CNRS-CEA-Paris-Saclay, France. Sergio Durante, Università di Padova, Italy. Evelyne Duval, MCFretraitée Université de Paris, France. James Eastwood, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Ivar Ekeland, Université Paris-Dauphine, France. Adam Elliott-Cooper, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom. Ziad Elmarsafy, King’s College London, United Kingdom. Ingunn Elstad, UiT Norges arktiske universitet, Norway Philippe Enclos, Université de Lille, France. Sai Englert, Leiden University, Netherlands. Mario Enrietti, Università di Torino, Italy. Nomi Erteschik-Shir, Ben-Gurion University, Israel. Maria J. Esteban, CNRS, France., France. Chris Evans, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. Ricardo Falcão, Cei-Iscte, Portugal. Richard Falk, Princeton University, United States. Fiorenzo Fantaccini, Università di Firenze , Italy. Gerard Farrell, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Kevin Farrell, Technological University Dublin, Ireland. Guillem Farrés, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Belgium. Cristina Fasolato, University of Padua, Italy. Matilde Fdez.-Caballero Díaz- Meco, 06265112G, Spain. Alain Fenet, Université de Nantes, Professeur émérite, France. Mikael Fernström, University of Limerick, Ireland. Cristiana Fiamingo, State University Milan, Italy. Pedro Figueiredo Neto, ICS-University of Lisbon, Portugal. Barry Finnegan, Griffith College, Media Faculty, Ireland. Annerienke Fioole, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jacques Fontaine, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France. Lia Forti, University of Insubria, Italy. Murray Fraser, University College London, United Kingdom. Frederico Gama-Carvalho, Senior Researcher (retired) Center of Nuclear Science and Technology (C2TN), Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal. Marco Andrea Garuti, Università di Padova, Italy. Catarina Gaspar, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Franck Gaudichaud, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France. Conor Gearty, London School of Economics, United Kingdom. Gennaro Gervasio, Università Roma Tre, Italy. Peter Geschiere, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. France.sca Giangrande, Università degli Studi del Molise, Italy. John Gilbert, Università di Firenze, Italy. Vinçon Gilles, UPS Toulouse and ENSIMAG Grenoble, France. Fârès Gillon, The Institute of Ismaili Studies, United Kingdom. Andre Gingrich, Founding Member, European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA), Austria Snait Gissis, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Elisa Giunchi, Università degli studi di Milano, Italy. Amos Goldberg, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Israel. Amiram Goldblum, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Oded Goldreich, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Catherine Goldstein, CNRS, France. Raymond Goldstein, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Luz Gomez, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Maria E Gonçalves, ISCTE-IUL , Portugal. Neve Gordon, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Rebecca Ruth Gould, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Nir Gov, Weizmann Institute, Israel. Gustavo Gozzi, Università di Bologna, Italy. Hector Grad, Social Anthropology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Erella Grassiani, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Giacomo Graziani, INFN, Italy. Raphael Greenberg, Tel Aviv University, Israel. António Grilo, Instituto Superior Técnico – Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Jan-Erik Gustafsson, Associate prof KTH Sweden, Sweden Luca Guzzetti, University of Genoa, Italy. Ilana Hairston, Tel Hai Academic College, Israel. Pierre Halen, Université de Lorraine, France. David Halpin, Retired surgeon FRCS, United Kingdom. Imogen Hamilton-Jones, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jeff Handmaker, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands. Mark Hann, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Christopher Harker, University College London, United Kingdom. Laia Haurie Ibarra, Associate Professor, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain. Kamel Hawwash, Univeristy of Birmingham, UK, United Kingdom. Christian Henderson, Leiden University , Netherlands. Kirsti Henriksen, The Arctic University of Norway, Norway Shir Hever, Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East, Germany. Helen Hintjens, ISS, UK/Netherlands. Willemijn Hirzalla – Leenhouts, University of Applied Sciences Leiden, Netherlands. Marian Hobson, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Manuel Hohmann, University of Tartu, Estonia David Hughes, University College Dublin, Ireland. Pere-Lluís Huguet Cabot, La Sapienza, Italy. Ahmad Ighbariah, Tel Aviv university, Israel. David Ingleby, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ferran Izquierdo-Brichs, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. Richard Jacquemond, Aix-Marseille Université, France. Tariq Jazeel, University College London, United Kingdom. Robert Jennings, University of Milano, National Academy of Italy., Italy. Boghos Joulakian, University of Lorraine , France. François Jourdan, theologian and islamologist, France. Luca Jourdan, Università di Bologna, Italy. Nisha Kapoor, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Zeynep Kasli, International Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands. Itamar Kastner, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Gerry Kearns, Maynooth University, Ireland. Laleh Khalili, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Victoria Khraiche, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Zeynep Kivilcim, Humboldt University, Germany. Alessio Kolioulis, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, United Kingdom. Hagar Kotef, SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom. Aymon Kreil, Ghent University, Belgium. Antti Kupiainen, University of Helsinki, Finland. Seán L’Estrange, University College Dublin, Ireland. Paolo La Spisa, University of Florence, Italy. Tuomas Lähdeoja, Helsinki University, Finland. Nicola Lampitelli, Université de Tours, France. Inger Pauline Landsem, UIT the Arctic University of Norway, Norway David Landy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Danielle Laporte, UFC Besançon, France. André Larceneux, Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. Stéphanie Latte, Ceri-SciencesPo, France. Christian Lavault, LIPN, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, France. Zoe Lawlor, University of Limerick, Ireland. Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison, Universitaire, France. Patrick Le Galès, CNRS, France. Michelle Lecolle, Université de Lorraine, France. Ronit Lentin, Trinity College Dublin (ret), Ireland. France.sco Saverio Leopardi, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy. Jean-Marc Leveratto, Université de Lorraine, France. André Levy, ISPA.IU, Portugal. Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond, Université Côte d’Azur (Emeritus Professor), France. Vincent Lhuillier, Université de Lorraine, France. Maria Lichrou, University of Limerick, Ireland. Barbara Lipietz, University College London, United Kingdom. François Loeser, Sorbonne University, France. Manuel Loff, Universidade do Porto, Portugal. Roland Lombard, IJCLAB, France. Yosefa Loshitzky, SOAS University of London, United Kingdom. Laura Luciani, Ghent University, Belgium. Erica Luciano, Università degli Studi di Cagliari , Italy. Madeline Lutjeharms, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Thomas MacManus, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Luis Mah, ISEG-Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Karim Maiche, Tampere University, Finland. Samir Makdisi, American Universiy of Beirut (Emeritus Professor), Lebanon Diala Makki, Researcher with RELIEF Centre at UCL, United Kingdom. Jorge Malheiros, IGOT – University of Lisbon, Portugal. Matteo Mandarini, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Paola Manduca, University of Genoa (retired), Italy. António Maneira, Universidade Europeia – IADE, Portugal. José Maneira, Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas, Portugal. Samar Maqusi, University College London, United Kingdom. Valentina Marcella, L’Orientale University of Naples, Italy. Fabio Marcelli, ISGI CNR, Italy. Luisa Martin Rojo, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Ruchama Marton, PHR-ISRAEL., Israel. Dr. Eva Renate Marx-Mollière, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War , Germany. Davide Masoero, Lisbon University, Portugal. Mazen Masri, City, University of London, United Kingdom. Cyril Masselot, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, France. Anat Matar, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Denise Margaret Matias, Institute for Social-Ecological Research, Germany. Francine Mazière, université, France. Cahal McLaughlin, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom. Tijan Mede, IMT, Slovenia Nicola Melis, University of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Chantal Meloni, University of Milan , Italy. Giulia Mensitieri, IDHES, France. Monica Mereu, University of Cagliari , Italy. Leander Meuris, Ghent University, Belgium. Michel Mietton, Professeur émérite Université Lyon 3 J. Moulin, France. Radmila Mileusnic, The Open University, retired Reader in Neurobiology, United Kingdom. Alain Mille, Université Lyon1, France. Peter Miller, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Anne-Marie Mollet, Université Clermont-Auvergne, France. Arturo Monaco, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. David Mond, University of Warwick, United Kingdom. Maria Grazia Montella, Integrim LAB, Belgium. José-Luis Moragues, Université Paul Valéry France., France. Tiziana Morosetti, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom. Giuseppe Mosconi, University of Padua, Italy. Clement Mouhot, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Catherine Moury, FCSH-UNL, Portugal. Dr. Pertti Multanen, University of Tampere, Finland. Pamela Murgia, Università di Urbino, Italy. Thomas Murray, Independent Researcher, Ireland. Maurizio Mussoni, University of Bologna, Italy. Anna Nasser, Scuola Superiore Meridionale – Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy. Yoga Nathan, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education; School of Medicine; University Limerick, Ireland. Carlotta Nonnis Marzano, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy. Daithí Ó Madáin, NUI Galway, Ireland. Maureen O’Connor, University College Cork, Ireland. Tom O’Connor, Technological University Dublin (retired), Ireland. Jacqui O’Riordan, University College Cork, Ireland. Brendan ÓCaoláin, Griffith College, Dublin, Ireland. Elana Ochse, University of Torino (retired), Italy. Joseph Oesterlé, Sorbonne University, France. Jukka Oksa, UEF, Karelian Institute, emeritus Senior Researcher, Finland. Josiane Olff-Nathan, Université de Strasbourg (retired), France. Françoise Olivier-Utard, University of Strasbourg, France. Michèle Olivieri, Université Côte d’Azur, France. Hussein Omar, University College Dublin, Ireland. Adi Ophir, Tel Aviv University, Brown University , United States. Leonardo Orazi, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy. Claudia Ortu, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. Kari Paasonen, Tampere University, Finland. Michelle Pace, Roskilde University, Denmark Antonio Pacifico, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, France. Norman Paech, Prof. Dr. emer. Universität Hamburg, Germany. Samuela Pagani, Università del Salento, Italy. Phillip Paiement, Tilburg Law School, Netherlands. Mauro Pala, Università di Cagliari, Italy. France.sco Pallante, Università di Torino, Italy. Valentina Pazé, Università di Torino, Italy. Esther Peeren, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Yoav Peled, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Hebrew University, Israel. Sinead Pembroke, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Nuno Pereira, Instituto Politécnico de Beja, Portugal. Manuel Pereira dos Santos, Dept. Physics – ECT – University of Évora, Portugal. Guy Perrier, Université de Lorraine, France. Nicola Perugini, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Ruud Peters, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jean-Baptiste Petit, Université Lyon 1, France. David Peyton, TU Dublin, Ireland. Vincenzo Pezzino, University of Catania Medical School, Italy. Roland Pfefferkorn, université de Strasbourg, France. Solomon Picciotto, Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Alessandro Piccolo, University of Napoli Federico II, Italy. Antonello Piombo, Università di Bologna, Italy. Daniela Pioppi, University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, Italy. Ema Pires, University of Evora, Portugal. Raphaël Plante, Université d’Aix-Marseille2 France. , France. Sharri Plonski, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. Panagiotis Politis, University of Thessaly, Greece Christopher Pollmann, Professor of public law, Université de Lorraine, France. Raphael Porteilla, Université of Burgondy, France. Dragan Potočnik, Univerza Maribor, Slovenia Professor Megan Povey, University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Lesley Powell, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa Pierre Prades, Lab Sophiapol Université Paris Nanterre, France. Thierry Prangé, Université Paris Descartes, France. Jonathan Preminger, Cardiff Business School, United Kingdom. Mark Price, UCD School of Architecture Dublin Ireland., Ireland. Wendy Pullan, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Raija-Leena Punamäki-Gitai, Tampere University, Finland. Shakhar Rahav, University of Haifa, Israel. Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Paolo Ramazzotti, Università di Macerata, Italy. Syksy Räsänen, University of Helsinki, Finland. Marwan Rashed, Sorbonne University, France. Roshdi Rashed, CNRS Paris Sorbonne, France. CarloAlberto Redi, Dip. Biologia e Biotecnologie – Università di Pavia, Italy. Diana Reis, FCUL, Portugal. Rogério Reis, Universidade do Porto, Portugal. Christian Renoux, University of Orléans, France. Valeria Ribeiro Corossacz, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy. Eimear Rice, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland. Nick Riemer, University of Sydney and History of Linguistic Theories Laboratory, University of Paris, France. Piergiorgio Righetti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. James Ritter, Sorbpnne Université, France. Paola Rivetti, Dublin City University, Ireland. Jim Roche, Academics for Palestine AfP, Ireland. James Rock, Teachers Union of Ireland., Ireland. Steven Rose, Open University, United Kingdom. Lorenzo Roselli, Università di Roma, Italy. Jonathan Rosenhead, London School of Economics, United Kingdom. Werner Ruf, Université de Kassel, Germany. Giovanni Russo Spena, Università Federico II di Napoli, Italy. Ana Lúcia Sá, Centre for International Studies – Iscte , Portugal. Farian Sabahi, Insubria University (Como and Varese), Italy. Paola Sacchi, University of Turin, Italy. Hannah Safran, The Haifa Feminist Research Center, Israel. Patrick Sagory, Université de Bordeaux, France. Gabriela Saldanha, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Paloma Salvador, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. Catherine Samary, University Paris Dauphine (retired), France. Johsua Samuel , Aix Marseille Université , France. Tomas Sanz-Perela, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Adham Saouli, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom. Tewfik Sari, INRAE, France. Alessandro Sarti, CNRS, France. Sandra Saúde, Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Portugal. Lorenzo Savioli, Retiree former WHO staff, Switzerland. Samer Sawalha, Royal Institute of Technology-KTH, Sweden Andrea Sbarbaro, University of Genova, Italy. Marta Scaglioni, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Italy. Philippe Schepens, Université de Franche-Comté, France. Laura Sciacca, University of Catania, Medical School, Italy. Iain Scobbie, University of Manchester School of Law, United Kingdom. Richard Seaford, University of Exeter, United Kingdom. Nora Semmoud, Tours University, France. Stefano Severi, University of Bologna, Italy. Itamar Shachar, Ghent University, Belgium. Geniene Sharrock, Nelson Mandela University , South Africa Nahda Shehada, Erasmus University, Netherlands. Yonatan Shemmer, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. Maha Shuayb, Centre for lebanese studies, United Kingdom. Dmitry Shumsky, Professor of modern Jewish history, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Simone Sibilio, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia , Italy. Aude Signoles, Sciences Po Aix, France. Nadia Silhi-Chahin, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Manuel Carlos Silva, Centro Interdisciplinar de Ciências Sociais – Universidade do Minho, Portugal. Aysegul Sirakaya, Ghent Universitu, Belgium. Ailbhe Smyth, University College Dublin (retired), Ireland. Robbie Smyth, Griffith College, Ireland. Kobi Snitz, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. Barbara Sorgoni, University of Turin, Italy. Sylvain Sorin, Sorbonne Université, France. Federica Sossi, Università di Bergamo, Italy. Alessandra Spano, University of Catania, Italy. Rachel Spronk, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Pierre Stambul, Institut de formation des maîtres, France. Angelo Stefanini, University of Bologna (retired), Italy. Janneke Stegeman, Utrecht University College, Netherlands. Mikki Stelder, University of British Columbia/University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Mette Edith Stendevad, University of Leicester, Denmark Primoz Sterbenc, University Assistant Professor, Slovenia Stephen Stewart, DCU, Ireland. Amber Steyaert, University of Ghent, Belgium. Alan Stoleroff, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Portugal. Antonio Stopani, Università di Torino, Italy. Derek Summerfield, King’s College, University of London, United Kingdom. Saana Svärd, University of Helsinki, Finland. Erik Swyngedouw, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Benoît Tadié, université Rennes 2, France. Nozomi Takahashi, VIB-Ghent University, Belgium. Simona Taliani, University of Turin, Italy. Adam Talib, Durham University, United Kingdom. Tamara Tamimi, Independent Consultant, Palestine Peter Tansey, UCD, Ireland. Richard Tapper, SOAS University of London, United Kingdom. Sibel Taylor, Oxford Brookes University, UK, United Kingdom. Laurence Thieux, Complutense University, Spain. Karen Till, Maynooth University, Ireland. Agathe Torti Alcayaga, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France. Alberto Toscano, Reader in Critical Theory, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom. Patrizio Tressoldi, Padova University, Italy. Emanuela Trevisan, Ca Foscari University, Italy. Laurie Tuller, Université de Tours, France. Mathias Urban, Dublin City University, Ireland. Raffaele Urselli, International Labour Organization, Italy. Gabriele Usberti, Università di Siena, Italy. France.sco Vacchiano, University Ca’ Foscari, Venice, Italy. Jean Vallade, professeur honoraire univ. Bourgogne, France. Willie Van Peer, Ludwig Maximilian University, Belgium. Michel Vanhoorne, Ghent University (Belgium.), Belgium. Patrick Vassallo, IUT Saint-Denis Paris Nord, France. Agustin Velloso, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia , Spain. Eric Verdeil, Sciences Po Paris, France. Jojada Verrips, Prof. Em. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Pedro Vianna, Universitat de Valencia, France. Luca Vignoli, University of Bologna, Italy. Claude Viterbo, Ecole normale supérieure (Paris), France. Else Vogel, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Lior Volinz, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Shahd Wadi, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Roy Wagner, ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Michael Walls, DPU, UCL, United Kingdom. Dror Warschawski, Sorbonne Université, France. Janet Constance Watson, University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Annick Weiner, University Paris-Saclay, France. Elian Weizman, London South Bank University, United Kingdom. Siobhan Wills, Ulster University, Ireland. Eric Windgassen, MRCPsych, United Kingdom. Ruben Wissing, Ghent University, Department of European, Public and International Law, Belgium. Haim Yacobi, University College London, United Kingdom. Federico Zanettin, Università di Perugia, Italy. Marco Zannetti, Università di Salerno, Italy. Racha Zebib, University of Tours, France. Alberto Ziparo, Università di Firenze, Italy. Monica Zoppè, CNR, Italy.
===============================================================https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/european-union-legitimising-israels-illegal-settlements
The European Union is legitimising Israel’s illegal settlements
An open letter from academics across more than 20 European countries and Israel
March 23, 2021Contributorster
We, the undersigned academics and researchers in countries participating in European research programmes, note with grave concern the ongoing failure of the European Union to ensure that its taxpayer-funded research programmes are not used to legitimise or otherwise sustain the establishment and the activities of Israeli academic institutions in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT).
As the EU Commission recently reiterated: “Article 19 of the Horizon 2020 Framework Regulation provides that all the research and innovation activities carried out under Horizon 2020 must comply with ethical principles and relevant national, Union and international legislation…” The necessary provisions have been made in EU legislation and its implementing rules to “ensure the respect of positions and commitments in conformity with international law on the non-recognition by the EU of Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967”.
The criteria applied by the EU Commission to determine the eligibility of projects and participants for EU-funded support, the terms of its contracts with participants and its monitoring of the activities and the beneficiaries of the projects must comport with these requirements and their purposes.
For these same purposes, the Commission must also ensure that the management of activities conducted under EU-funded research projects both respects and comports with the EU’s non-recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the OPT, the EU’s consequent non-recognition of Israeli settlement entities as lawfully established and the EU’s consequent non-recognition of settlement-based activities as lawfully conducted.
However, multiple cases demonstrate failures of the Commission to properly instruct against, monitor for and rectify project management transgressions against these EU positions.
Ariel University, which is located in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, hosted a dissemination event for the Bounce project in June 2020 and is included as a “stakeholder in Israel” for the project. In addition, a professor from Ariel University is listed as a co-researcher on the project, as “a member of the Israel Bounce Team”, and as one of the “researchers involved in data collection” on a project deliverable, raising serious questions as to whether research activities were carried out in the OPT.
Ariel University was also listed as a stakeholder in the Horizon 2020 project Geo-Cradle. It was initially removed from the stakeholder list following a request to the Commission by the project coordinator, though its stakeholder profile has since been restored, and signs of its involvement remain on the project website to this day.
In addition, in all cases Ariel University is falsely indicated on project material as located in Israel.
The far-right-supporting, now defunct Trump administration made its support for illegal Israeli settlement institutions official, including by ending long-standing restrictions on research funding. The EU must and can do better.
Authoritative Palestinian higher-education bodies, supported by prominent academics, are calling on international institutions not to recognise Ariel University and to abstain from giving effect to its pretensions of institutional legitimacy.
At a time when the EU is finalising Horizon 2020’s successor, the €100 billion [£86 billion] Horizon Europe programme, we urge the EU Commission, Parliament and Council to devise, fund and implement the effective monitoring of participating research projects and hold transgressors accountable.
Horizon Europe’s stated goal is to “provide new knowledge and innovative solutions to overcome our societal, ecological and economic challenges”. Research projects should not be used to legitimise or otherwise sustain illegal Israeli settlements. The EU cannot resile from its own obligations in this respect without further empowering Israel’s unlawful military occupation and its oppression of millions of Palestinians, and without further undermining the Palestinian people’s inalienable and universally recognised rights under international law.
Signed:
Karin Arts, professor of international law and development, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
John Dugard, Leiden University, Netherlands
Maria J. Esteban, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Richard Falk, Princeton University, US
Amiram Goldblum, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Robert Jennings, University of Milan, National Academy of Italy, Italy
François Loeser, Sorbonne University, France
Ruchama Marton, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Israel
Carlo Alberto Redi, department of biology and biotechnology, University of Pavia, Italy
Steven Rose, The Open University, UK
Dmitry Shumsky, professor of modern Jewish history, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Ailbhe Smyth (retired), University College Dublin, Ireland
Saana Svärd, University of Helsinki, Finland
And more than 500 others. For the full list of signatories, click here.
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Thursday, November 29, 2018 12:45 PM
No Academic Business as Usual with Ariel University and all other Israeli Academic Institutions Illegally Built on Occupied Palestinian Land
A Call from Palestine
29 November 2018
On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we call on states, academic institutions and multilateral research bodies to withdraw any existing recognition of and end all institutional relations with Ariel University and other Israeli academic institutions illegally built on occupied Palestinian land.
The obligation of non-recognition and non-assistance of unlawful situations ” is a fundamental precept of international law, particularly as they relate to Israeli settlements, condemned by the United Nations Security Council as a “flagrant violation of international law.” Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israeli settlements and the transfer of Israeli settlers to occupied territory constitute a war crime.
Ariel University is located in the illegal Israeli settlement of the same name that was built on land stolen from surrounding Palestinian villages and on land Palestinian families have cultivated for generations. Israel’s wall, which was designed in such a way as to annex settlements, including Ariel, to Israel, was declared illegal in 2004 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It severs Palestinian villages from each other and restricts freedom of movement. Palestinians have to live with the stench of wastewater dumped by Ariel on their agricultural land, destroying their crops, polluting their water sources and harming their health.
The settlements, which rob the Palestinian people of our land and natural resources and deny us our inalienable right to self-determination, are an integral part of Israel’s system of military occupation and colonial oppression dominating all aspects of Palestinian life, in particular education.
Israel’s military checkpoints and wall restrict travel to and from schools and colleges for Palestinian students, researchers and professors. The Israeli occupation authorities prevent Palestinian students in besieged Gaza, where nearly two million people live on four hours of electricity per day on average, from studying at Palestinian universities in the West Bank or from leaving Gaza for universities abroad.
Since the start of the current academic year, Israel has denied entry or refused to renew visas for scores of faculty members of Palestinian universities holding foreign passports.
Ariel University contributes significantly to Israel’s denial of the fundamental right of academic freedom for Palestinians.
The European Union and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation exclude Israeli academic institutions in the occupied Palestinian territory, such as Ariel University, from grants and joint research programs.
Israeli academic associations, including the Israeli Anthropological Association and the Israeli Sociological Society, as well as 1200 Israeli academics, have shunned Ariel University and refuse to cooperate with it.
In a near-unanimous vote (830-21), the European Association of Social Anthropologists membership pledged non-cooperation with Israeli academic institutions in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Earlier this year, Kasetsart University in Bangkok ended its partnership with Ariel University for a Women’s Study Conference.
In 2012, the Technical University of Denmark ended a joint research project with Ariel University.
These measures were taken in recognition of the fact that collaborating with Ariel University necessarily means normalizing Israel’s illegal policies that deny Palestinian rights. We therefore call specifically on:
Governments and the European Union to condition agreements with the Israeli Council for Higher Education on non-recognition and non-accreditation of Ariel University.
Ministries of education worldwide not to accredit Ariel University’s diplomas.
International academic institutions and research centers to end all institutional links to Ariel University, including joint research, recognition of diplomas, invitations, visits and conferences.
International academics to refrain from participating in any activity/project fully or partially sponsored/organized by Ariel University or in which its representatives are participating.
Academic journals not to recognize Ariel University and to insist that submissions from academics affiliated to Ariel University must include the fact that it is located in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Background information:
Founded in 1982 as a branch of Bar-Ilan University, Ariel University Center of Samaria became an independent college in 2004. In 2012, it was granted accreditation by the so-called “Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria,” i.e. the occupied West Bank.
Ariel University is built on occupied Palestinian territory and is therefore built in violation of international law. In February 2018, the Israeli parliament passed a law placing Ariel University — along with two other colony-colleges, Herzog College, and Orot Israel College — under the auspices of Israel’s Council for Higher Education.
Ze’ev Elkin, Jerusalem Affairs Minister in Netanyahu’s far-right government, celebrated the Knesset vote on the matter tweeting that after “applying Israeli sovereignty on Ariel University, let’s begin to apply Israeli sovereignty on Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.”
According to B’Tselem, Israel’s leading human rights organization, Ariel, the illegal colony where the current university is based, was established in 1978 on Palestinian land that was seized “under the false pretext of imperative military needs and on land that was declared state land.” Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian or Syrian territory constitute war crimes.
Ariel University is expected to double in size over the next 5 years, thanks to a 20-million-dollar donation from US billionaire and Israeli settlement supporter Sheldon Adelson and a solid commitment by the far-right Israeli education minister Naftali Bennett.
Signatories:
– the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, – the Council of Palestinian Universities’ Presidents, – the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE), and – the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC).
|| التصنيف: التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي ||
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NO ACADEMIC BUSINESS AS USUAL WITH ARIEL UNIVERSITY
A campaign for non recognition of Israeli academic institutions in illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land
Obligations for institutions
Respecting international law, as a peaceful and universal means of conflict resolution, requires denying recognition to, and severing institutional relations with Ariel University as an illegal settlement institution.
Complicity in international law violations
Ariel University is the most prominent of several Israeli institutions of higher education built in illegal Israeli colony settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip were occupied by Israel in 1967 and are internationally considered as Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers such settlement of occupied territory a war crime.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 reconfirmed in 2016 that Israel’s settlement activity has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.” Moreover, Ariel University is deeply and directly complicit in Israel’s system of oppression that denies Palestinians their basic rights guaranteed by international law.
Authoritative Palestinian academic bodies are calling on states, academic institutions, multilateral research bodies and international academics not to recognize Ariel University and to refrain from any institutional relations with it.
Ariel University is an illegal institution and is deeply and directly complicit in Israel’s system of oppression that has denied Palestinians their basic rights guaranteed by
international law, including the right to education and academic freedom.
Who’s behind the call?
▪ Palestinian Ministry of Education
▪ Council of Palestinian Universities’ Presidents
▪ Palestinian Federation of University Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE)
▪ Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC)
Support for non–recognition of Ariel University inside and outside Israel
The original decision to upgrade Ariel college to a university was opposed by the Council of Presidents of Israeli Universities and by over 1,000 Israeli academics on the grounds that “involving Israeli academia in the ideology of conquest … threatens the ability of the Israeli academia to function.”
In August 2018, the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) voted overwhelmingly (164–0, with 17 abstentions) to support the Israeli Anthropological in its refusal to cooperate with the illegal institutions of higher education (located in Israel’s illegal settlements in the OPT) and to “pledge its own non–cooperation with these institutions.”
What you can do:
Urge international institutions and governments to avoid being complicit in illegality, by:
(1) Refraining from accrediting or recognising any diplomas or qualifications conferred by Ariel University;
(2) Conditioning agreements with the Israeli Council for Higher Education on non–recognition and non–accreditation of Ariel University.
International academics are called upon to:
(3) Decline to write or referee for journals published by Ariel or based in it;
(4) Refuse to participate in projects or attend conferences fully or partially sponsored by Ariel University or which include its representatives (dean, head of department or spokesperson) as participants;
(5) Urge universities, conferences and workshops not to host individual academics from Ariel University unleunless their affiliation is properly indicated as: “Ariel University, illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, Occupied Palestinian Territory” in conference material;
(6) Urge academic journals not to publish material identified with Ariel University unless it is properly indicated as: “Ariel University, illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel, Occupied Palestinian Territory;”
(7) Advocate for academic societies to approve motions supporting the call from Palestinian academic bodies not to recognise/sever existing links with Ariel University;
(8) Reject any collaboration with Ariel University as an institution or with any of its bodies.
Join us!
Join the campaign to support the Palestinian right to education and academic freedom.
Take action to hold Ariel University accountable for violations of international law.
Ariel University Non–recognition Campaign
NoArielTies.org
info@noarielties.org
israel-academia-monitor.com 
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