AhlulBayt News Agency: More than 250 Swiss academics have issued an open letter urging the government to end a research agreement with Israel, citing concerns over the genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
In their letter to the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), the signatories condemned the partnership as “complicity in crimes committed in Gaza” and called for closer scrutiny of institutional ties.
The academics requested an assessment of ongoing university projects to determine whether any are linked to the Israeli military or the “genocidal policy” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime.
They also called for the termination of the agreement between the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Israel Science Foundation.
According to the petitioners, this partnership grants Israel an “even more privileged and therefore more problematic status.”
The initiative was organized by the Collective for Academic Freedom, Democracy and Solidarity (Clads), established in 2024 by a group of scholars.
Leading genocide experts worldwide have already affirmed that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), a 500‑member academic body, previously stated that Israel’s policies in Gaza, especially since October 2023, violate all five criteria outlined in the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, authored several reports last year asserting that genocide is occurring in Gaza.
She now faces sanctions from the U.S. government and is barred from traveling to the occupied Palestinian territories.
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