First Western academic institution announces 'boycott' of Israel
Utrecht University is the first institution in the Western world to announce an explicit boycott of Israel, but it is not the first to cut ties with the nation.
Utrecht University in the Netherlands has declared a formal boycott of Israel, making it the first major Western institution to use the term to describe its policy of cutting academic ties.
The statement was made by Rector Wilco Hazeleger during Utrecht’s Opening of the Academic Year ceremony. The university published an English transcript of the speech, which was delivered in Dutch.
Hazeleger said the university had already suspended or ended cooperation with Israeli institutions and that “a boycott is in place until further notice.” He justified the step as a moral obligation in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
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While the Utrecht rector stressed that individual faculty members remain free to collaborate with Israeli colleagues, he confirmed the university would no longer take part in institutional research projects or joint programs that involve Israeli partners. Hazeleger tied the decision to what he described as “genocidal violence” in Gaza, saying the university had a “moral compass” obligation to act.
The move was celebrated by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which said Utrecht had shattered a longstanding “taboo” by being the first to use the word boycott to describe its Israel policies.
In an Instagram post, the BDS Movement credited “strategic” work by students and staff.
While it may be the first to explicitly use the term, Utrecht University is not the first to cut ties with Israel.
Utrecht’s move comes after Trinity College Dublin voted in June to sever all institutional ties with Israeli universities and companies. Trinity’s board ended investments, research collaborations, and student exchanges with Israel but did not explicitly frame its decision as a “boycott.” Utrecht’s choice of wording, therefore, represents a symbolic first in Western academia.
Pro-Palestinian activists have pressured universities across Europe and the U.S. to cut ties with Israel since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror attack sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
These activists, pushing their agenda through student encampments and faculty petitions, have already forced administrators in Ireland, the Netherlands, and elsewhere to reconsider their ties to Israel. By framing its suspension of cooperation as a “boycott,” Utrecht University is setting a new benchmark that could embolden activists at other campuses.
Whether more universities will follow Utrecht’s lead remains to be seen. For now, Utrecht’s declaration marks a milestone in the campaign to isolate Israel within academia.
