Several hundred staff members of the University of Groningen and the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG) are once again calling on the board of directors to break ties with Israeli universities and other institutions.
The employees have written an open letter to this effect. They argue that it is time for the University of Groningen to end its cooperation with universities and other institutions that are complicit in human rights violations.
‘If the board of directors chooses not to do so, it should explain its reasons openly and transparently,’ the letter states.
Cooperation
The University of Groningen is one of three universities that has not changed its position on cooperation with Israel since the spring of 2024. The university says it is involved in three international projects in which Israel also participates. According to the University of Groningen, these projects have no military purpose.
The board of directors has also been saying for a year that it wants to be cautious about severing ties. As university president Jouke de Vries has said on several occasions, a university is not a political party and there are academics within a university with all kinds of different opinions.
Danger
The University of Groningen assessed its collaborations with Israel through the knowledge security committee. Among other things, this committee examines whether there is a risk that certain research could be used for military purposes.
The University of Groningen is also in the process of setting up a new committee that will deal with the moral questions surrounding collaborations. This committee is not yet active.
The signatories believe that this is all happening too slowly. For a year now, the board of directors has been asked to provide a clear framework within which collaborations with Israeli institutions should be assessed. And so far, the University of Groningen has not even begun to publish its policy, according to the authors of the letter.
Human rights
Furthermore, numerous other universities have already taken the lead, according to the letter. For example, some universities now consider moral and ethical considerations relating to human rights when entering into collaborations. Last month, several universities also froze or terminated their ties with one or more Israeli institutions.
According to the UG staff, it is now time for the University of Groningen to take responsibility and take a stand. Because, as the writers quote Desmond Tutu (who received an honorary doctorate from the University of Groningen in 2012): ‘If you remain neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’