'Discrimination'
Israeli university threatens to sue Dutch institute over boycott
Pro-Palestine protesters occupied the headquarters of the association of Dutch universities, UNL, in June. Photo: Protesters
Dutch academia is divided concerning whether or not to continue collaborating with Israeli institutions, given the war in Gaza. The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS), part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, prefers to boycott the country. Though the institute did not have any ties with the country, it announced a boycott to send a message.
"That is discrimination", reacts the rector of Hebrew University, in an op-ed published by the Dutch newspaper NRC (in Dutch only, Ed.). The Association of Israeli Universities agrees that this is discrimination, so much so that it hired a lawyer in Brussels to oppose the decision.
Other universities
NIAS employees stopped travelling to Israel last year. However, individual Israeli researchers are still welcome. A spokesperson for NIAS says that the institute is hosting a scholar from the Hebrew University in Amsterdam this year. NIAS also continues to cooperate in an international alliance with IIAS, its Israeli counterpart. IIAS was founded by Hebrew University, one of Israel's older universities.
According to activists, almost all Dutch universities have ties to Hebrew University. Tilburg University, which still has to decide whether or not to cancel such partnerships, also maintains exchange programmes with this university.
Boycott not allowed
The lawyer for the Association of Israeli Universities refers to a 2009 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. At the time, a French mayor was reprimanded for defending a boycott of Israeli products.
According to NIAS director Jan Willem Duyvendak, this ruling has nothing to do with the current situation. "We are not just rising against Israeli violations of academic freedom. We do the same when other countries trample on it." He calls the legal threat a form of "intimidation."
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, which has several institutes under its care, supports NIAS and deems that it makes sense for researchers to critically examine their collaborations.