23 Summer 2025 through the expanded role of ethics committees, which were originally tasked with assessing the ethical integrity of research projects, but are now charged with reviewing collaborations based on the institutional or national affiliations of Israeli partners (e.g., decisions of Ghent University,3 Radboud University Nijmegen,4 and others). Despite these developments, cumulative data collected by various organizations have not yet shown a significant impact on research activity in Israel. For example, the head of the Israel Science Foundation reported no substantial decrease in the number or proportion of international scholars agreeing to review Israeli research proposals. Similarly, a comprehensive study by the Samuel Neaman Institute5 found no significant decline in research productivity. This was measured through metrics such as the number of European Research Council (ERC) grants awarded to Israeli researchers, the total number of academic publications, and the proportion of these conducted in collaboration with international scholars. The Institute also reported a relatively low number of boycott incidents targeting Israeli faculty, with 330 cases in 2024, based on self-reports. Nevertheless, the academic boycott is taking a toll. Its impact on student-exchange programs, particularly in Europe, is significant. A major concern is the emerging social norm of avoiding collaboration with Israelis. International scholars now rarely travel to Israel for academic conferences or meetings, and there is a marked decline in the number of international students, both in full degree programs and exchange initiatives, as well as post-doctoral researchers from Europe and North America. Similarly, invitations for Israeli scholars to present at academic symposia abroad have decreased. Given the nature of academic research, the full effect of these developments on research productivity may not become apparent for several years. However, if the current trend of severing ties continues, serious long-term consequences for Israeli academia are inevitable. The increasingly hostile climate toward Israelis on campuses across Europe, North America, and Australia also discourages Israeli students and scholars from pursuing opportunities abroad. Rather than mitigating the effects of the boycott, this reality exacerbates them, as international academic engagement is crucial for fostering collaborations and advancing ideas. In the long run, this trend is likely to further undermine the quality and competitiveness of Israeli academia. 2. Outward-Facing Responses to the Boycott The boycott of Israeli academia is both unjust and counterproductive. The primary responses from leaders in Israel’s higher education sector are generally grounded in the implicit assumption that the current policies and activities of Israeli universities and scholars are sound, thereby directing their critique outward. An academic boycott may be justified when it targets individuals or institutions directly responsible for wrongful actions. For instance, according to the Human Rights Charter of the Flemish Inter-University Council, decisions to avoid academic collaboration should involve an assessment of “whether the partner has been guilty of serious or systematic human rights violations in the past.”6 Examples of such violations include “partners who systematically discriminate against certain persons on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, political opinion, nationality, religion, etc.; partners who regularly dismiss staff due to criticism of government policy; and partners whose security staff counteract protesting students with excessive force.”7 Given that Israeli universities and individual faculty members are not involved in formulating Israel’s policies on the war in Gaza, or in determining national policy more broadly, and they are not “guilty of serious or systematic human rights violations,” the severing of academic ties with Israeli academia rests solely on their affiliation with the State of Israel. 3. “Discontinuing ongoing collaborations Israeli partners: important steps taken,” GHENT UNIVERSITY (Nov. 8, 2024), available at https://www.ugent.be/en/news-events/ discontinuing-ongoing-collaborations-israeli-partnersupdate-2.htm 4. Prof. Dr. Lutgarde Buydens, Dr. Cees Leijenhorst, Prof. Dr. Paul Bovend’Eert, and Dr. Jos Kole, “Opinion on Cooperation with Hebrew University of Jerusalem,” INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, RU (March 2025), available at https://www.ru.nl/sites/ default/files/2025-04/ru-acp-advies-hebrew-universitymaart-2025_en-gb-002_0.pdf 5. Boaz Golany, Rivka Carmi, Tsipy Buchnik, Ella Barzani, Oshrat Katz-Shacham, Golan Tamir, Yair Goldberg, “The Academic Boycott of Israel, Interim Report,” SAMUEL NEAMAN INSTITUTE (Dec. 2024), available at https:// www.neaman.org.il/en/the-academic-boycott-of-israel/ 6. “Recommendations for implementing a human rights assessments at the Flemish universities,” VLIR (Oct. 2019), available at https://vlir.be/wp-content/ uploads/2022/01/01-_2019_Human-rights-assessmentat-the-Flemish-universities.pdf 7. Ibid.
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