Factsheet: How Our Partner Institutions Are Complicit in Genocide
For the English Factsheet, click here.
For the Dutch Factsheet, click here.
A recently compiled factsheet by staff and students exposes the deeply troubling connections between Radboud University’s Israeli partner institutions and systems of oppression, human rights violations, and the military-industrial complex. This document is a call to action: cut the ties, and do it now.
The factsheet highlights two main reasons for this urgent step. First, it details the extensive links between Israeli universities and Israel’s military, intelligence agencies, arms industry, and Ministry of Defense, making these institutions integral to the state’s oppressive policies. Second, it reveals the systematic suppression of academic freedom within these universities, particularly for Palestinian scholars and other critical voices. Together, these findings underscore the complicity of Israeli universities in the machinery of violence and oppression.
Deep Ties to Israel’s Military and Arms Industry
The factsheet outlines how Israeli institutions like Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, Technion, and Weizmann Institute are integral to Israel’s military-industrial complex. They maintain close connections to Israel’s military, security agencies (such as the Mossad and Shin Bet), and arms industry. These institutions act as advisors and think tanks for the Israeli military, contribute to the development of military technology, and serve as recruitment and training grounds for future personnel in these sectors. This collaboration extends to their partnerships with the Ministry of Defense and other entities central to the development and deployment of military technologies.
Through these ties, Israeli universities are directly and indirectly involved in actions that have contributed to the oppression of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Despite the escalating violence and well-documented human rights abuses, no Israeli university has publicly condemned the actions of the military or the state. Their silence underscores their role as pillars of support for policies that perpetuate systemic oppression.
Suppression of Academic Freedom
Complicity doesn’t stop at military entanglement. Israeli universities have systematically suppressed dissent. Since 2018, these institutions have even enforced strict depoliticization guidelines aimed at “depoliticizing” academic spaces. These rules prohibit staff and students from making political statements and impose disciplinary measures on those who challenge the status quo.
This repression is particularly severe for Palestinian scholars, who face censorship and intimidation when studying or teaching subjects related to Palestinian history and experiences. Jewish-Israeli academics critical of Israel’s policies, such as Ilan Pappé and Neve Gordon, have also been forced to leave Israeli academia due to hostile reception to their academic work. This systematic suppression of dissenting voices undermines the principles of academic freedom and intellectual inquiry.
Why Radboud University Must Act
Radboud University has a moral responsibility to align its partnerships with its stated commitment to human rights and academic integrity. Maintaining institutional ties with Israeli universities that are complicit in human rights violations and the suppression of academic freedom is inconsistent with these values.
The evidence presented in the factsheet is clear and well-documented, drawing on sources such as Maya Wind’s Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom (2024), as well as reports from Israeli newspaper Haaretz and academic literature. These findings demonstrate that Israeli universities are not simply academic institutions but active participants in systems of oppression and violence.
Despite the clear evidence, Radboud University has chosen to create a “Partnerships Advisory Committee” to evaluate its ties with Israeli institutions, even though the moral implications of these partnerships are already evident. Radboud University does not need additional advice to recognize that partnerships with institutions complicit in violence and repression are incompatible with its values. So, if the university leadership wants advice, let it listen to its own students and staff. Severing these ties is not just an ethical imperative — it is an essential step toward upholding the principles of justice, academic freedom, and human dignity.
The findings presented in the factsheet are a clear call to action. Radboud University must take decisive steps to sever its ties with Israeli universities that are deeply implicated in human rights abuses and the suppression of academic freedom. By doing so, Radboud can demonstrate its commitment to its values and its willingness to take a stand for justice and integrity in academia.
This is not a decision that requires further study or debate. To delay is to be complicit. The evidence is clear. It is now up to Radboud University to act on its principles and lead by example.