Europeans Scrutinise Trade, Defence, Education Ties With Israel as Protests Over Gaza Intensify
The Hague: Europe is beginning to take a closer look at its association with Israel, particularly in the fields of trade, defence and education, as protests intensify.
Since the breakdown of a ceasefire in mid-March, Israel has resumed its military operations in Gaza. In May, the Israel military launched a new offensive. The number of Palestinians dead in Gaza stands at over 54,000.
On June 5, Erasmus University in Rotterdam cut ties with three Israeli universities over concerns that they were potentially involved in human rights violations, or too closely aligned with the Israeli military and insufficiently critical of potential war crimes and human rights violations in Gaza.
The EU announced on May 20 that it was initiating the process of reviewing trade ties with Israel, a move first proposed by the Netherlands, along with Spain, Ireland and some other European nations. It is yet to reach a decision.
France and Germany , traditionally sympathetic to Israel, have criticised its actions in Gaza in the past month.
These developments came after tens of thousands of protesters gathered on May 18 in The Hague – capital of the Netherlands and the seat of the International Court of Justice – and in other European capitals. The protesters demanded that Europe stop Israel from continuing with its offensive in Gaza.
In The Hague, the number of protesters was estimated at around one lakh by organisers of the protest, which included Amnesty International and Save the Children. Protesters wore the colour red and formed a symbolic 'Red Line' to demonstrate their frustration with the increasing number of deaths in Gaza.
Protests in Europe have continued. On June 15, another massive protest took place in The Hague, with more than one lakh people again taking to the streets. While organisers claimed the total number was 1,50,000, others put it closer to 1,10,000. Protests took place in other European cities as well, like last time.
'The change in the stance of European leaders is due to public pressure,' believes Ibrahim Al-Baz, perhaps the most famous Palestinian face in the Netherlands and the unofficial leader of the Palestinian community living in Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam.
Over 30,000 Palestinians live in the Netherlands; a few thousands among them live in Vlaardingen.
Rotterdam has one of the largest ports in the world. Protesters who oppose the shipment of arms to Israel via European routes were roughed up there in the first week of June and some of them were arrested by the Dutch police when they protested against Maersk, a cargo company, for shipping parts of the F-35, the most advanced fighter plane in the world currently being used in Gaza. Maersk has denied the claims.
Ibrahim's brother, Jalal Al-Baz, was at the protest and was detained along with other protesters for five hours, after which they were allowed to leave. 'I have been told that they have a file on me. I am curious what is in it since I have never heard of something like this in connection with me before.'
He says he will go soon to the police station to find out but today, it is Eid-ul-Adha; celebrated in honour of the prophet Abraham's devotion to God.
Ibrahim, 75, a couple of decades older than Jalal, came to Holland in 1980 after spending a decade in Frankfurt, Germany; he was married to a Dutch woman, from whom he is now divorced. The reason he chose to move to the Netherlands was his political activism for the Palestinian cause. 'The Germans did not like it.'
Things took a rocky turn in 1991, when the Dutch government tried to deport him. But a judge ruled against it and allowed him to stay. 'The Dutch government had to give me a passport.'
Since then, he has stayed free of more legal trouble; he married again and shares two children with his Palestinian wife, who is also a social activist.
His niece, Jalal's younger daughter, was at the protest against Maersk. 'They hit her with batons and her hands are bruised and swollen,' Jalal tells me in the car, on the way from Rotterdam station to his home in Vlaardingen.
Sparsely furnished with a couch and a small table in the living area with a framed map of the unified state of Palestine on its wall, Jalal's home is where we all meet. Its living area is adjacent to the dining room, where a large table is laid out with pots and pans. Jalal has cooked dinner for all of us: a meat dish with aubergine cooked in an earthen pot, fragrant rice and vegetables.
Jalal Al-Baz serves dinner to Raja Deeb, another Palestinian activist, and Ibrahim Al-Baz (right). Photo: Abhimanyu Kumar.
The brothers agree that the public mood in Europe has shifted. 'This is the beginning of change. It has never happened before,' Jalal says. A recent poll conducted by YouGov found that support for Israel was at an all-time low in western Europe.
According to Ibrahim, the Dutch did not 'understand' the Palestinian cause earlier; moreover, they felt 'guilt' for what had happened to the Jews in Europe in the last century. 'They considered Israel to be a country for poor Jews. They did not understand that Jews and Zionists are different.'
This was used by the Zionist movement to further their agenda since they presented themselves as defenders of the interests of poor Jews, Ibrahim thinks. 'But the Zionist movement is a colonial, imperialist movement. It worked against Jews and collaborated with the Nazis.' He mentions the haavara agreement under which Nazi Germany sent away over 50,000 Jews to Palestine to make his point.
We are interrupted by a phone call Ibrahim receives. 'It is from Gaza,' he says, after speaking to the caller, for five minutes or so in Arabic. The caller sought support, but Ibrahim does not specify what kind. 'It is not always possible to help,' he says matter-of-factly. (A few days after this conversation, Israel cut off Gaza's telecommunications link, to be restored after three days.)
§
Trade ties between Europe and Israel are guided by the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The agreement has a clause – Article 2 – which allows the EU to halt trade in case of serious human rights violations.
A reference to the necessity of observing human rights exists in the preamble itself, where it considers 'the importance which the Parties attach to the principle of economic freedom and to the principles of the United Nations Charter, particularly the observance of human rights and democracy, which form the very basis of the Association…'
Article 2 reads: 'Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.'
The need for a political dialogue concurrent with trade relations forms part of Article 3. Article 75 contains measures that are to be taken in the case of a dispute, while Article 76 authorises both the EU and Israel for 'taking any measures' in case of internal security and defence-related matters; this possibility remains available 'in time of war or serious international tension constituting threat of war or in order to carry out obligations it has accepted for the purpose of maintaining peace and international security.'
The Association Agreement was signed in 2000. Israel is Europe's 31st-largest trading partner. The total value of trade between the EU and Israel is worth 42.6 billion euros. Almost a third of Israel's total trade is with the EU, making it its biggest trading partner.
Trade between Israel and EU are part of the latter's trade relations with what is termed its Southern Neighbourhood , which includes 16 countries from the region, with the conditional inclusion of Palestine – Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Palestine, Syria (suspended), Tunisia and Turkey.
The total value of trade between the two groupings is worth 457 billion euros, almost ten times the value of the trade between EU and Israel alone. The relationship dates back to 1995, 'with the launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership at the Barcelona Conference, aiming to establish an area of peace, stability, economic prosperity, upholding democratic values and human rights'.
'[The] culture of impunity is falling apart,' says Shir Hever, coordinator of the worldwide Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement's military embargo against Israel.
§
Other than trade, educational ties have come under severe scrutiny. Students, staff and faculty in many European universities are up in arms against the latter's 'complicity' with Israel's 'genocidal' regime. However, most European universities remain reluctant to cut ties.
'Much depends on the pressure from different governments across Europe on their universities, but also on the complicity at the EU level, especially the EU commission,' says Marina Calculli, assistant professor of international relations at Leiden University, who is also active in protesting EU-Israel ties at the university level and otherwise.
The pressure is building up slowly. Earlier in May, the rectors of ten universities in Belgium demanded that the Association Agreement with Israel be suspended and that work be initiated on a 'transparent, structural and independent human rights framework' that would allow for the assessment of international collaborations between European universities and their Israeli counterparts.
According to the open letter written by the rectors, Israeli universities are allowed to take part in the Horizon Europe programme despite being associated with the 'Israeli state apparatus'. Citing Article 14 of the model agreement for Horizon Europe, they wrote that all participating universities are expected to maintain the 'highest ethical standards' and abide by the EU's commitment to human rights and its 'fundamental values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law'.
'In theory, this is clear. In practice, it falters,' they complained.
§
Current partnerships and research collaborations between European universities and Israeli ones fall under the Horizon Europe programme , which is among the 'key funding programs for research and innovation' in Europe. The total funding earmarked for it is approximately 93 billion euros.
Before Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020 was active, with the same mission of research innovation through partnerships between European and Israeli universities. Activists have been protesting these programs as they allege Israel uses the research for military and security purposes.
Hever points out that 'hiding under the guise of civil use', Israel was conducting research with potential for military use or for security-related purposes, in partnership with European universities. The EU has strict regulations on research with 'dual-use' potential, especially if it may cause 'human rights violations'.
'This is openly and blatantly illegal, especially after the July 19 ruling of the ICJ [International Court of Justice],' says Hever.
On July 19 last year, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion saying that all states were advised to not assist Israel in any way in its continued illegal occupation of Palestinian territories:
'All States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory'.
'Partially, the [European] governments failed to use clear language, due to which an environment was created which made such research possible', says Hever. He points out that many programs under Horizon Europe were of 'an extended duration'.
'There is a lot of greed [involved],' he tells The Wire . He notes that both parties are supposed to pay for the research conducted under Horizon Europe, but European countries pay a lot more. 'Israel internally funds special academic projects, such as in the field of optics or space, but it is essentially military research.'
Earlier this month, newspapers in France, Belgium and the Netherlands reported on these research projects. Their conclusion: Europe is funding Israel's defence indirectly, and even directly through Horizon Europe.
'Even the [Israeli] Ministry of Defence receives a subsidy for a research project (UnderSec) aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure – a project in which the Israeli defence company Rafael Advanced Defence is also a partner,' one newsletter said.
§
Moreover, students and faculty members at European universities contend that Israeli universities are complicit in the alleged genocide in Gaza due to their close association with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
On May 6, Tilburg University in the Netherlands decided to suspend 'institutional cooperation' with two Israeli institutions.
The executive board of the university acted on the advice of the advisory board that had been constituted to investigate the issue following student protests at the campus. The advisory board recommended snapping ties in its report.
The report said ,
'There is a high risk that the various partner institutions in Israel are involved in the current war and violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Gaza, in part because of the large and historically grown intertwining of Israeli universities with the government, army, intelligence services and military industry in Israel in both education and research'.
It also said that Tilburg's partner Israeli institutions were not critical enough of the human rights violations in Gaza.
Nevertheless, many universities in the Netherlands continue to hold out, including Leiden University, the University of Amsterdam and the Technical University, Delft, among other European universities.
'Universities are unfortunately not autonomous from governments,' Calculli tells The Wire . '[They] depend on them for funding and much else.'
Calculli says it was 'disconcerting' that even after '20 months of a lived-streamed genocide', Leiden and other European universities were refusing to act. '[They are] acting as if we do not have enough expert opinion about the genocide in Palestine, when UN special rapporteurs, legal scholars and independent human rights organisations have been unambiguous about the fact that Israel is committing genocide.'
She expresses her scepticism about the changing rhetoric from European leaders, viewing it as superficial and merely a tool for 'mass distraction.'
While it remains to be seen how things turn out as far as trade ties are concerned, educational ties need to be reappraised, Calculli believes.
'A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU decided to halt all collaboration with Russian research institutions and suspend payments to ongoing collaborative projects to put pressure on Russia. The EU should not limit itself to Russia and apply the same policy to other transgressors of fundamental norms, which includes Israel and other countries too.'
§
At the Al-Baz household, the change in public opinion is cause for cautious hope. 'Post- October 7 [2023], everyone knows Palestine has a right to self-determination. Students and people have risen all over the world; there are pro-Palestinian movements everywhere,' says Jalal.
Ibrahim maintains that he is 'not pessimistic. 'The state of Israel will end. There will be one country for all. The two-state solution is an illusion which will lead to continuation of conflict. The Palestinian state will have the same duties and same rights for all: Jews, Muslims, Christians, like in India. A [new] generation will come and see the liberation of Palestine: a democratic, secular Palestine.'
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
24 minutes ago
- NDTV
Over 650 Iranian Military Personnel, Civilians Killed In Israeli Strikes
Tehran: A US-based NGO said Friday that Israel's strikes against Iran have killed at least 657 people including civilians and members of the security forces, a toll based on sources and reports in Iran. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that at least 263 civilians had been killed nationwide since Israel began its strikes on June 13. Among these, it said it had verified the identities of more than 20 children who have been killed, mostly in Tehran. It added that 164 members of the military had also been killed. The overall death toll includes 230 people who HRANA was unable to determine whether they were civilians or members of the security forces. More than 2,000 members of the security forces and civilians had been wounded as of early Friday, it added. The group said strikes had taken place in 21 of Iran's 31 provinces. HRANA is part of the Human Rights Activists NGO, which was set up inside Iran in 2005 but later shifted to the United States in the face of repression from the Iranian authorities. It publishes dozens of reports a day, outlining human rights violations inside Iran. Israel said its campaign was aimed at halting Tehran from obtaining an atomic bomb, an ambition Iran denies having. Iranian authorities said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then. Iranian strikes launched in response have also caused damage in Israel, where at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, according to the authorities.
India Today
43 minutes ago
- India Today
5.5-magnitude quake rattles northern Iran amid Israel war
Iranian authorities have confirmed that a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck near the city of Sorkheh in Semnan Province late Friday evening. The tremor occurred at 9:19 PM local time on June to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake struck at a moderately shallow depth of 35 km beneath the epicentre near quake was felt in several parts of northern Iran, with no confirmed reports of injuries or major The earthquakes come as Iran remains on alert due to its escalating conflict with Israel, following a series of tit-for-tat military strikes and cyber operations. The conflict has also led to the mobilisation of Iranian military units in several regions, including areas near the quake zone.
India Today
43 minutes ago
- India Today
Iran expects India to condemn Israeli military actions against it
Iran expects India and other like-minded nations to condemn Israeli "military aggression" against it as such actions are "breach" of international law, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Javad Hosseini, the deputy chief of mission at the Iranian embassy, also hoped that Pakistan would not do anything that would harm Iran's response on Pakistan came when asked at a media briefing about Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir's meeting with US President Donald Trump in the White House on There is speculation that Washington is looking at using Pakistani military bases in case it decides to launch attacks on also said that India is a leader of the Global South and Iran expects New Delhi to condemn the Israeli actions of "breaching" international law by attacking a sovereign country."We believe every country, including India, should condemn it (Israeli military actions), not because of their relations with Iran but because these actions are in breach of global norms," he and Iran have fired hundreds of missiles and drones at each other's cities as well as military facilities since the hostilities began over a week if Iran was considering shutting the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian diplomat did not give a direct reply and said several options are on the 30 per cent of the world's daily oil consumption passes through the Strait of to the International Energy Agency, even a brief disruption of passage through the strait will have a significant impact on oil markets."We have many things on the table, but it doesn't mean that we are going to do it now. It depends on the situation and how the other players want to go," Hosseini said."If they want to solve the problem, definitely some of these things will be put aside," he about possible impact of the hostilities with Israel on Iran's Chabahar port, the Iranian diplomat only said that any further escalation of tensions could have far-reaching implications for the flow of energy and other commodities."It is not just a matter of Chabahar, it's a matter of the whole region. If it escalates, it will definitely affect many things, definitely the flow of oil, shipments and commodities which are going through these channels will be affected," Hosseini said."Because of this, those countries who will be affected, it is better for them to think and to start stopping this aggression, to avoid any kind of negative effects on the economy of the region, which will definitely spread out to the whole world," he InMust Watch
