Thousands of Belgian academics urge universities to cut ties with Israeli institutions in expanding boycott drive

Earlier this year, three Belgian universities sparked outrage within the local Jewish community after awarding honorary doctorates to the antisemitic UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

More than 4,500 students and university professors have signed an open letter urging Belgian universities and colleges to cut academic ties with Israeli institutions, in one of the latest efforts in a growing international push to boycott and politically isolate the Jewish state on the international stage.

On Wednesday, thousands of academics, students, and public figures issued a joint appeal urging Belgian higher education institutions to end formal cooperation with Israeli universities and move beyond symbolic statements toward concrete action, amid mounting pressure within academic circles across Europe.

With this appeal, the signatories are not only demanding an immediate suspension of existing academic collaborations with Israeli institutions but also seeking to block new partnerships and terminate contracts with major companies such as Dell, Teva, and Microsoft.

“The demands are not new,” the letter reads. “The urgency has only increased.”

The appeal also asks universities to use their influence to encourage Belgium to meet its international legal responsibilities and to help advance a Europe-wide framework for governing future research and innovation.

Earlier this year, three Belgian universities sparked outrage within the local Jewish community after awarding honorary doctorates to UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who has an extensive history of using her role to denigrate Israel and seemingly rationalize Hamas attacks against the Jewish state.

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Ghent University, and the University of Antwerp — three of Belgium’s top-ranked institutions — awarded Albanese honorary doctorates in recognition of her “exceptional commitment to the protection of human rights and the strengthening of international law.”

Now, leading academics and students are calling for the implications of such honors to be reflected in university policies, arguing that they should translate into clearer institutional positions and commitments.

“With this, the universities signal their commitment to international law, human rights, and institutional responsibility,” the letter reads.

Across Europe, advocates of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement have intensified efforts to sever academic and institutional ties with Israeli universities, seeking to deepen Israel’s isolation on the international stage as pressure and momentum for such campaigns continue to escalate.

According to a recent report by Israel’s Association of University Heads (VERA) Task Force to Combat Academic Boycotts, there has been a documented surge in “academic BDS” activity across Europe and other Western countries, including the United States, since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In May 2024, Ghent University in Belgium went on to ban partnerships with Israeli universities altogether.

The VERA report argued that the growing wave of academic boycott initiatives reflects a broader rise in antisemitism and anti-Zionist activism across Europe following the Oct. 7 atrocities.