Ashoka University student government seeks boycott of exchange programme with Tel Aviv University
The student body says Tel Aviv University’s close ties with the Israeli military and its support for the occupation of Palestinian territories raise serious ethical questions.
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The students' petition also listed out five issues with the partnership and stated that Tel Aviv University’s close ties with the Israeli military and its support for the occupation of Palestinian territories raised serious ethical questions. (File Photo)Ashoka University’s student government has urged the vice-chancellor to end all academic and research collaborations with Tel Aviv University, citing the Palestinian death toll of 34,596 in the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and recent student protests around the world.
The group, which is an elected body of the private university in Haryana’s Sonipat, wrote to the vice-chancellor on May 4, “Presently, Ashoka University has research partnerships with Tel Aviv University. With this partner, Ashoka has ongoing faculty visits for teaching, student mobility (outbound and inbound), research collaboration, short-term study opportunities, as well as joint programmes…”
The students’ petition also listed out five issues with the partnership and stated that Tel Aviv University’s close ties with the Israeli military and its support for the occupation of Palestinian territories raised serious ethical questions.
“The university’s collaboration with institutions involved in human rights violations undermines our commitment to justice and human rights. This includes Tel Aviv’s ties with Israeli weapons manufacturers like Elbit Systems. Professors from Tel Aviv University have been involved in drafting the Israeli Occupation Force’s (IOF) code of ethics, providing legal defense to IOF members for war crimes and drafting doctrines that dictate military operations,” the petition said.
The student government’s petition also mentioned the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for the boycott of companies accused of being complicit in the war on Gaza.
It further said that all Palestinian universities had been demolished by the Israeli forces, Tel Aviv University “continue to exist to stifle conversation around the Palestinian people and to prevent Palestinian scholarly work” and that the institution allegedly receives funding and benefits from tie-ups with weapons manufacturers and Israeli intelligence agencies such as Shin Bet and Mossad.
The petition said that Tel Aviv University has a responsibility to uphold the principles of academic freedom, social justice and human rights. “By maintaining ties with a university linked to systematic human rights abuses, Ashoka University is complicit in these violations,” it said, adding that with the international community raising concerns over the war, Ashoka University should demonstrate its commitment to ethical conduct and human rights.
“Therefore, we call upon Ashoka University to immediately suspend all existing academic and research collaborations with Tel Aviv University,” the petition said.
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