Eindhoven University of Technology has become the latest Dutch academic institution to break off relations with Israeli institutions, after deciding to end its alliance with Israeli university Technion.

University president Koen Janssen said Eindhoven “has quite a few collaborations with Israeli partners”, adding that the “strong ties between Technion with the Israeli defence sector are indisputable”.

“Given the continuing and aggravating human rights violations in Gaza, the growing general consensus about the illegal character of the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe taking place, we feel that unrestrained cooperation with Israeli partners, especially those with strong ties with the Israeli defence sector, leads to moral complicity,” Janssen said.

The university has also decided to set up a “sensitive collaborations” committee to review projects and programmes involving Israeli institutional partners, both in academia and industry.

Janssen said he hopes the move will grow into a broader initiative involving other universities and possibly develop into a national body.

Other universities

Earlier this month, Erasmus University in Rotterdam said it is ending its alliances with three Israeli universities: Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Haifa.

Last month Tilburg University halted its alliance with Bar-Ilan and Reichman universities near Tel Aviv saying there was an “inseparable link” between them and the Israeli army.

Also in May, Radboud University in Nijmegen broke its ties with the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University saying “human rights violations by Israel in the Palestinian territories are serious and systematic, and that in some cases, the universities in question contribute to direct and specific human rights violations.”

Amsterdam University earlier stopped its exchange student programme with the Hebrew University, but does still work with other Israeli institutions.

According to research by investigative website Follow the Money, eight Dutch universities are still involved in 28 research projects funded by European subsidies which “could end up with the Israeli army”. Eindhoven, FTM said, is involved in eight.