In the last year, every university in Gaza has been destroyed. UNRWA, which operates under the umbrella of UN, has determined that 85% of the schools in Gaza have been fully or partly destroyed and more than half a million children in Gaza have no access to a school. A special adviser of the United Nations has established that there are grounds to conclude that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide. This autumn, the crisis in the Middle East has escalated further. As a student organisation, it is our duty to promote peace, everyone’s right to study and acting on the basis of scientific facts. That is why the National Union of University Students in Finland demands that Finnish universities join an academic boycott against Israel.

Universities play an essential role as guardians and providers of learning and critical debate. It is the task of academic institutions to provide scientific facts, and all of us as members of society also bear the responsibility for acting on the basis of scientific facts. In the last year, academically and internationally esteemed actors have provided evidence regarding the ways in which Israel is violating international law. Despite the objections, Israel has continued its actions contrary to agreements, denying Palestinians both the opportunity to study and the preconditions for living.

Israeli universities are not disconnected from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The universities play an important role, for example, in developing Israel’s weapons systems and intelligence operations, in addition to which they have actively supported Israel’s military operations as well as their students’ participation in them. By cooperating with the academic institutions in Israel, Finnish universities are supporting these activities.

On this account, we expect all Finnish universities to withdraw their cooperation with the academic institutions in Israel by freezing the current student exchange programmes and research projects as well as refusing cooperation for as long as Israel continues to violate international law. In addition, universities should review their investments and withdraw them from companies that support the oppression of Palestinians. The cooperation with Israeli academic institutions and investments in Israeli companies may only continue once the integral human rights of Palestinians in Israel, the occupied territories and diaspora have been implemented in accordance with international law.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Finnish society as a whole unequivocally condemned the attack. In accord with the Rectors’ Council of Finnish Universities, Finnish universities froze university and research cooperation with Russia and have promoted measures to support students suffering as a result of the conflict.

The universities’ reaction to the events in Ukraine is proof that there is no reason for universities not to act in a principled manner when the situation requires it. On the contrary, failing to act is action in and of itself. Universities are autonomic operators, which have, and should have, the option to act independent of government control. As a student organisation, we call for universities to promote everyone’s right to education, a rule-based world order, human rights and the implementation of international law.

During the last year, several student unions have taken a stand for universities to react to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. HYY, TYY, JYY and ArtSU have approved initiatives and statements demanding exchange programmes with Israeli universities to be cut. Of the universities, so far the University of the Arts has responded to its students’ demands by freezing the cooperation with Israeli academic institutions until further notice and reviewing its investments.

As a student organisation, we demand that Finnish universities from first to last take a unified stand to support the academic boycott against Israel. The Rectors’ Council of Finnish Universities (UNIFI) should promote the academic boycott and its implementation in UNIFI member organisations. As students, we stand on the side of human rights, international law and education. The academic community plays an important role in maintaining these principles and building peace – we appeal to universities to use that power.

Further information:

Akseli Tiitta
President
044 906 5004
akseli.tiitta@syl.fi