Gaza war aftermath sees universities sever Israeli academic ties: Report world

More and more universities and academic communities are severing their ties with Israeli ones, accusing them of being complicit in the Gaza war and with the Israeli government's handling of the Palestinians, according to The Guardian.

According to Gaza's ministry of health, over 63,000 have been murdered in the region, the majority civilians, and UN-backed experts have said much of Gaza is in a "man-made famine.

Boycotts build momentum

Universities in Brazil to Europe are suspending collaborations with Israeli academia. In 2024, the Federal University of Ceará in Brazil cancelled plans for an innovation summit with an Israeli university. Since then, Norway, Belgium, and Spain institutions have cut ties. This summer, Trinity College Dublin did the same.

The University of Amsterdam ended a student exchange programme with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, while the European Association of Social Anthropologists declared it would not engage with Israeli institutions and asked its members to do the same.

Stephanie Adam, of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, contended that Israeli universities are closely bound up with the actions of the state. They are, The Guardian reported her as stating, complicit in "Israel's decades-long regime of military occupation, settler colonial apartheid and now genocide," and that there is "a moral and legal obligation for universities to end ties with complicit Israeli universities."

Resistance in the UK and France

The report added that in Britain, France, and Germany boycotts are still uncommon. Universities UK (UUK) reaffirmed its opposition, and informed The Guardian: "As a representative body, Universities UK has a long-standing public position of being committed to the free exchange of ideas, regardless of nationality or location. As such we do not support blanket academic boycotts, as this would constitute an interference with academic freedom."

The Royal Society has also adopted the same position, the report reported. Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel winner and previous president of the Royal Society, was quoted by the report as having mixed opinions. "On the one hand, the response of the Israeli government to Gaza has been immensely disproportionate, causing civilian damage, including young children, in thousands," he said to The Guardian.

However, the great majority of Israeli scholars I personally know, and many of whom I consider as friends, loathe Netanyahu and his administration. A boycott of this would punish people who are not responsible for the policies of the Israeli government, and who in reality are highly sympathetic to the cause of Palestinians," he has been quoted.

Sharp disagreements

The report stated Israeli historian Ilan Pappé dismissed the idea that the majority of scholars are against the government. "If they were, I would have found them among the few hundreds [of] courageous Israelis who protest against the war because it is a genocide, not because it doesn't bring back the hostages," he said to The Gurdian. Protests characterizing the war as genocidal are considered "illegal in Israel," he is quoted as having said.

Pappé had blamed universities for being at the service of the state: "They offer courses and diplomas to the secret service, police and are government agencies oppressing the Palestinians on a daily basis," according to the report.

To him, the boycott is a much-needed reckoning: "[It] is a very severe and hard, though necessary, talk to the Israeli academic communities, making clear to them their duty and for being a natural part of an oppressive system."

Pressure from the UK

As The Gaurdian reports, students and academics in Britain are demanding more drastic action. British-Palestinian surgeon and Glasgow University rector Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah stated that institutions are thwarting official boycotts.

"The moral outrage about what the Israelis are doing is leading more and more academics to take personal decisions, not to have joint projects with Israelis," he was quoted as saying by the report.

Funding question

Some of Israel's scholars maintain the boycotts have not seriously impaired research. But the stakes are high: Israel's economy is science- and technology-based, and partnerships with Ivy League and European universities are crucial.

Israel has been paid €875.9m (£740.4m) by the EU's Horizon Europe scheme since 2021. However, in July 2025, the European Commission suggested suspending Israel from aspects of the scheme, including startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in sensitive areas like cybersecurity, drones, and artificial intelligence.

Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier confirmed this to The Guardian, although 10 countries are against suspending Israel. Nevertheless, Israel stands to be excluded from Horizon Europe's follow-up scheme in 2028.

Adam pointed out pressure is already evident. Israel allocated €22m (£19m) in May 2024 to push back against the boycott campaign, and its portion of EU money has fallen. The European Research Council granted only 10 Israeli scientists grants in 2025, from 30 the previous year, according to the report.

Brain drain

Decreasing opportunities have fed fears of a "brain drain", particularly in medicine, the report added. If collaborations and funding decrease even further, Israeli scientists may depart and not come back.

As per the report, However, many contend that academia must not be targeted. Some emphasize that collaboration promotes dialogue, while others remain skeptical that boycotts will alter government policy.

Nevertheless, Abu-Sittah thinks they have the potential to be make a difference: "The threat of academic boycott is enough to force the Israeli government to end this genocide," The Gaurdian reported him.