EU research funds flow to Israel despite outrage over Gaza war

Israeli organisations, some linked to the military, have received more than $250m since the war on Gaza began. But in July, when about 40,000 people had been killed in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, more than 2,000 European academics and 45 organisations petitioned the EU to end all funding to Israeli institutions, saying the Horizon framework had played “a critical role in the advancement of Israeli military technology” by transferring knowledge to the defence industry. “Given the scale, duration and nature of human rights violations by the Israeli government, Israeli institutions’ participation in European research and education programs must be suspended.” That call went unanswered. Asked if the results could have been used to inform Israel’s military action in Gaza or the occupied West Bank, he told Al Jazeera, “We do not have any proof that these tools have been used for a purpose other than that stated in the project.” While it may be impossible to establish how the expertise gained through EU-funded projects is used by Israeli partners, critics argue that the possibility of it enabling systematic human rights violations should be sufficient to call off collaboration. Since January, Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism and its home institution, Reichman University, have participated in the EU-GLOCTER project to promote “scientific excellence and technological innovation in counter-terrorism”.