Swiss academics demand termination of research treaty with Israel

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - More than 250 academics in Switzerland have signed an open letter urging the government to terminate a bilateral research agreement with Israel, citing concerns over the war in Gaza.

Swissinfo reported Saturday that the appeal was sent to the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). In the letter, the signatories describe the partnership as "complicity with crimes committed in Gaza" and call for closer scrutiny of institutional ties.

The initiative was coordinated by the Collective for Academic Freedom, Democracy and Solidarity (Clads), a group founded in 2024 by several Lausanne-based scholars, including climate scientist Professor Julia Steinberger, according to reports by regional newspapers 24 Heures and Tribune de Geneve.

The petitioners are asking authorities to conduct an "assessment of ongoing projects" at Swiss universities to determine whether any have links to the Israeli army or what they describe as the "genocidal policy" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

They also seek the termination of the agreement between the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Israel Science Foundation.

Steinberger told French-speaking newspapers that the partnership has restricted access, "which gives Israel an even more privileged and therefore even more problematic status."