Tilburg University discusses advice with Israeli universities

Tilburg University discusses advice with Israeli universities

The Executive Board of Tilburg University will discuss the advice of the Advisory Committee on Partnerships with the cooperation partners in Israel. This is stated in a response from the board that was published on Tuesday 28 January.

Beeld: Univers

The advisory committee was commissioned by the university board to conduct research into the ethical dilemmas associated with cooperation with Israeli universities. The reason for this investigation was the many protests by students and staff in Tilburg and other cities.

Independent advice

Pro-Palestinian protesters called on the university administration to sever ties with Israel. The board then asked the committee for independent advice. That advice came at the beginning of December and was unequivocally: ‘Suspend cooperation with Israeli universities.’ The university board then decided to study the advice.

The Executive Board writes: ‘The advisory committee states that a strong signal is needed […] We are therefore following the advice in the direction indicated and ask our cooperation partners to discuss this with us.’ In doing so, the board indicates that it wants to denounce the “gross and systematic violations of human rights” and at the same time wants to hear the position of the Israeli partners.

Current cooperation

The Executive Board does not yet say whether current collaborative relationships will be broken: ‘If one of the current collaborative relationships itself leads to […] human rights violations, it will be […] difficult to continue that relationship’, the board continues in the news item, but she further states that the advisory committee ‘has found no indications that this is the case with the existing collaborative relationships with Israeli universities.’

The board wants to take the initiative for the talks in the coming weeks, in consultation with other collaborating universities and with the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

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