Skip to content

The Society for the Study of Ethnic Relations and International Migration ETMU ry supports the actions demanding the end of collaboration with Israeli institutions.

The international movement demanding the end of collaboration with Israel has been gaining power, and its demands concern academic collaboration, too. In Finland, at least at the University of Helsinki, University of Turku, Aalto University, Tampere University, at the University of Jyväskylä, University of Oulu, the University of Applied Sciences of Häme and at UniArts Helsinki, demonstrations have been organised as well as other activities expressing solidarity to the Palestinian people.

There are several ways in which Israeli universities and research institutions are involved in the erasure and oppression of the Palestinian people. The demonstrations and actions organised at various universities in Finland have demanded, among other things, that exchange agreements for students and researchers, which have previously been made with Israeli universities, are terminated, and that joint research projects are ended. In addition, they have demanded that universities withdraw from investing into businesses which, with their activities, are involved in the oppression of Palestinian people. The demands target universities and institutional collaboration, not individual independent Israeli thinkers, researchers and students who stand for justice for Palestinians.

ETMU expresses their support to the students and university staff members who have participated in these actions and to their demands concerning the boycotting of Israeli universities. Also, ETMU condemns attempts by university leaderships to suffocate such actions. ETMU’s support of academic boycott against Israeli universities and research institutions stems from ETMU’s status as a strong academic and societal actor involved in issues pertaining to citizenship, nationalism, racism, and solidarity to name a few. With this call, ETMU also reiterates the urgency of standing against all forms of hate and oppression as they are intertwined. ETMU stands against anti-Semitism no matter who weaponises it for what purposes. Last but not least, ETMU appeals to other research societies and scientific actors, so that they express their support to the students’ and staff’s spontaneous and peaceful actions for equality and peace.

Finnish Universities collaborate with numerous Israeli universities: these Israeli universities have close connections with the country’s army, weapons industry and intelligence services. Just to mention a few, Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) develop arm technologies to be used in Gaza and train military personnel in collaboration with the country’s arms industry and the army. In addition, the most prominent Israeli universities offer extra financial support to students fighting in Gaza. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem hosts on its campus a military base of the Israeli army for the sake of military training programs.

Last May, the University of Helsinki announced that they are freezing all exchange agreements with Israeli universities, but they still continue collaboration in the form of research projects. The severing of academic ties is – together with broad economic sanctions and cultural boycott – a key tool to press Israel to end attacks on civilians, as well as its apartheid regime and occupation of Palestinian lands.

Similar statements by other research societies/networks:

The Society for Cultural Studies in Finland

The Finnish Literary Research Society

Society of Queer Studies in Finland

The Network for Critical Animal Studies in Finland

The Finnish Society of Social Work Research