Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Sciences-Po Strasbourg ends its collaboration with an Israeli university
The partnership between Sciences Po Strasbourg and Reichman University in Israel, located north of Tel Aviv, was suspended following a tense vote by the board of directors of the French institution. This decision, motivated by the Israeli university's positions on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, has provoked mixed reactions. Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Foreign Affairs, denounced a "distressing decision", expressing his profound disapproval of a severance of academic ties that he considers contrary to the values of tolerance and debate specific to the university.
The decision, widely supported by students on the Solidarit'Etudiants list, also won the support of some teachers. Vladimir Gilg, a student member of the council, considered that the Israeli university embodied "warmongering" support for the Israeli army and adhered to values incompatible with those of Sciences Po Strasbourg. For him, the support displayed by Reichman University for Israeli reservists left little room for a peaceful or humanist vision.
Sciences Po Strasbourg director Jean-Philippe Heurtin was critical of the decision, which he considered symbolic and without any real impact, as the partnership had been de facto suspended since October 7 for security reasons. He expressed his disagreement with the idea of an academic boycott of an Israeli institution, calling the university "Zionist," a term he associates with a form of patriotism in the Israeli context.
For Minister Barrot, this suspension reflects a lack of understanding of the role of universities in Israel, which are home to supporters of peace and the two-state solution. Interviewed on RMC/BFMTV, he recalled that "the university is a place for debate and criticism, not a military actor in the conflict."
The suspension of this partnership, although voted on last June, was only recently made public, raising a debate in the academic community and within French society. The Alsatian branch of CRIF also reacted, denouncing what it considers a "boycott" and evoking "excesses" in the perception of Israeli institutions in France.
