Belgium’s Ghent University severs ties with all Israeli universities

Belgium’s Ghent University has severed ties with all Israeli universities and research institutions, as they no longer align with its human rights policy, the university said on Friday.

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Ghent have been protesting against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and have been occupying parts of the university campus since early May.

An investigation by the Ghent University, known as UGent, highlighted concerns regarding connections between Israeli academic institutions and the Israeli government, military, or security services, according to a university statement.

The investigation also referenced a recent World Court ruling stating that the humanitarian situation in Gaza had worsened in recent months.

UGent, which already severed ties with three Israeli institutions two weeks ago, had 18 ongoing partnerships with Israeli academic institutions, it said.

The university will continue its research projects with six non-academic Israeli institutions, saying they could not find any links between them and human rights violations.

Protesters told Belgian broadcaster VRT they welcomed the decision but want to see it extended to include the six Israeli non-academic partners UGent currently partners with. They added they will continue their protest.

Earlier this week, two other Belgian universities announced changes in their partnership with Israeli institutions.

The University of Antwerp announced it would continue its ongoing research projects with Israeli institutions but put new projects with Israeli partners on hold.

The Université Libre de Bruxelles announced that it will no longer initiate projects with Israeli partners. The same policy will apply to Palestinian partners until the hostages are released, it said.