After pro-Palestinian protests: RUG relations with Israel under scrutiny. This is what’s going on | five questions

What is going on?

Pro-Palestine demonstrators are taking action in various university cities. In some places this is fanatical. In Amsterdam the police intervened violently. That also happened in Utrecht. Things have not yet gotten out of hand in Groningen, but the Academy Building and the University Library on Broerplein were previously defaced with anti-Israel and pro-Gaza slogans. At the initiative of the University of Groningen (RUG), cameras and spotlights were placed on Broerplein on Wednesday. The activists’ goal is, among other things, for universities to sever ties with educational institutions in Israel.

Is that the case?

Of course. The RUG has not yet published the list of partnerships. According to a spokesperson, we are working hard on this. The University of Amsterdam (UvA) announced that there are eight research projects in which individual UvA employees collaborate with Israeli researchers or companies. Leiden University, Raboud University Nijmegen and Erasmus University Rotterdam are also known to collaborate with Israeli partners.

What is wrong with that?

According to Gerard Jonkman of the knowledge center The Rights Forum, this depends on the partner or the nature of the collaboration. Collaboration with organizations or companies that contribute to the occupation of the Palestinian territories or the maintenance of settlements in the West Bank is prohibited. This also applies to the development of weapons. Jonkman thinks that the RUG plays no role in this. However, in his view, all Dutch universities lack the awareness that certain research has adverse effects in another country.

How do the universities respond?

The UvA writes that there is no institutional link between universities in the research projects, but that they involve individual collaborations between scientists from different countries. The universities in Leiden and Rotterdam will examine the partnerships. Radboud University says it is reluctant to limit collaborations. The RUG is still deliberating.

Can universities do without all these collaborations?

Science knows no boundaries. International collaborations are commonplace, but can also be terminated, for example for political reasons. For example, Dutch universities broke off cooperation with Russian institutions after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The RUG also did this. Collaboration with Chinese universities is also under a magnifying glass these days. It is therefore not surprising that relationships are evaluated when circumstances change and, if necessary, broken off.”