Our collaborations with Israeli organisations

The UvA will under no circumstances contribute to warfare in any way, and we also don't intend to participate in exchanges in the field of military-related education. As far as we can assess, our current collaborations meet these criteria, and new collaborations are assessed by the Third-Party Collaboration Committee. Below, you can read about the collaborations that are currently in place.

The UvA has three so-called Memoranda of Understanding: one agreement for the exchange of four students per year, one for six, and one for eight. One agreement is with the University of Tel Aviv, another with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the third with Ben Gurion University. None of these exchanges are currently active due to negative travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ongoing European research projects

In addition, UvA researchers participate in eight European research projects involving Israeli researchers or companies. These are not institutional ties, but collaborations in which individual UvA researchers are involved as part of Horizon Europe or ongoing H2020 projects. These collaborations are listed on the EU's CORDIS websiteExternal link. You can also find an overview below.

The eight collaborations are:

1. Inherit INHibitors, Explosives and pRecursor InvesTigation
2. European infrastructure for Rydberg Quantum Computing
3. Real Time End to End 6G Networks
4. States' Practice of Human Rights Justification: a study in civil society engagement and human rights through the lens of gender and intersectionality
5. Mobility justice for all: framing safer, healthier, and happier streets
6. Machine learning for Sciences and Humanities
7. Comparing voluntary compliance through different doctrines and nations
8. Establishing a comprehensive understanding and taxonomy of children's digital maturity

One of the eight research projects, the INHERIT project, focuses on detecting explosives to prevent attacks. This project does not contribute to Israel's military actions; it aims to prevent attacks, not to engage in military violence.

UvA-wide dialogue about the framework for cooperation with third parties

The Executive Board will also organize a UvA-wide dialogue about the framework for cooperation with third parties, particularly aimed at countries in war situations. This dialogue is comparable to the previous dialogue sessions surrounding cooperation with the fossil energy sector. The CvB is organising a meeting with a delegation from the UvA community to gather ideas about how we can conduct this dialogue.

Demonstrations and dilemmas

The war between Israel and Hamas has a significant impact on individual students and staff within our community. We understand the need to have discussions on this topic at the university. In doing so, we believe it is important for these conversations to be open, respectful, and mindful of each other's values. Demonstrations are allowed at the UvA, within the context of the house rules. No face coverings, no blockades, no overnight stays, no atmosphere of intimidation, and education and research must be able continue uninterrupted.