Prestigious Irish university to cut links with Israel over Gaza war
The university's board informed students by email that it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever 'institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel.'
The recommendations would be 'enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law,' said the email sent by the board's chairman Paul Farrell, and seen by AFP.
The taskforce was set up after part of the university's campus in central Dublin was blockaded by students for five days last year in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza.
Among the taskforce's recommendations approved by the board were pledges to divest 'from all companies headquartered in Israel' and to 'enter into no future supply contracts with Israeli firms' and 'no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities.'
The university also said that it would 'enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities.'
Trinity has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements with Israeli universities: Bar Ilan University, an agreement that ends in July 2026, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which ends in July 2025, the university told AFP in an email.
The board also said that the university 'should not submit for approval or agree to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation.'
It 'should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations,' it added.
Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas militants that sparked the war in Gaza.
Polls since the start of the war have shown overwhelming pro-Palestinian sympathy in Ireland.
In May 2024, Dublin joined several other European countries in recognizing Palestine as a 'sovereign and independent state.'
It then joined South Africa in bringing a case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — charges angrily denied by Israeli leaders.
In December, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of the country's embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland's 'extreme anti-Israel policies.'
The University of Geneva also announced Wednesday that it has ended its partnership with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem following student protests, saying it no longer reflected the institution's 'strategic priorities.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
29 minutes ago
- Arab News
Police disperse pro-Palestinian protests at Microsoft HQ in Washington
WASHINGTON: Police dismantled a protest encampment set up by current and former Microsoft employees at the tech giant's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, over the company's cloud services being used by the Israeli military for surveillance operations against Palestinians. Members of the worker-led campaign group, No Azure for Apartheid, occupied Microsoft's East Campus in Redmond on Tuesday, demanding the company end its ties with Israel. The group accused Microsoft of complicity in war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank through its support of Israeli military and intelligence operations. 'In establishing the Liberated Zone, we are liberating our workplace and reclaiming our labor by refusing to do any work that could contribute to genocide and other crimes against humanity in Palestine,' said Microsoft worker Julius Shan in a letter to the company on Tuesday. 'We choose to take this step to escalate against Microsoft's active role in powering 22 months of genocide in Palestine,' he added. The protests follow a recent investigation by The Guardian with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, which revealed that Microsoft's Azure cloud services were being used by Israeli authorities to facilitate mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The system reportedly enabled the storage of millions of daily mobile phone call recordings made by Palestinians and assisted in identifying bombing targets in Gaza. On Friday, Microsoft said it launched an 'urgent' external inquiry into the allegations as executives denied their knowledge of the nature of Israel's use of Azure technology. In a statement, Microsoft said 'using Azure for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank' would be prohibited by its terms of service. Responding to the announcement, the 'No Azure for Apartheid' group described the inquiry as 'yet another tactic to delay' meeting its demands. The group demanded that Microsoft ends sales, deals and services to all Israeli entities, call for a ceasefire and an end to the starvation in Gaza, pay reparations to the Palestinians, and end discrimination against pro-Palestinian workers. Hossam Nasr, one of the group's organizers, told Arab News that Tuesday's encampment aimed to be reminiscent of the US student-led protests at prominent universities last year. However, police officers interrupted the protests after two hours, saying the demonstrators trespassed private property and therefore were subject to arrest. The demonstrators left to a nearby public sidewalk as police officers and Microsoft security dismantled the encampment activities. In the company's plaza, demonstrators paid artistic tributes to the Palestinian victims in Gaza and held placards that read 'Join The Worker Intifada – No Labor for Genocide' targeted at Microsoft. They set up tents and a negotiation table with a large banner that read 'Microsoft Execs, Come to the Table.' The space was also filled with shrouds symbolizing the dead in Gaza, and a large plate reading, 'Stop Starving Gaza.' The protests come amid growing pressure on the US tech giant from Microsoft employees and investors over its ties to the Israeli military and the role its technologies have played in the 22-month war on Gaza. Earlier in April during Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration, an employee interrupted a panel between CEO Satya Nadella, former CEO Steve Ballmer and founder Bill Gates. Another disrupted an address from AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. Both employees were fired. Nasr, and another organizer, Abdo Mohamed, told Arab News they were terminated for organizing what the tech giant called an 'unauthorized' vigil at Microsoft's Redmond headquarters for Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza. In response to the mounting criticism, Microsoft launched a investigation earlier this year. In May, the company said it had 'found no evidence to date' the Israeli military had failed to comply with its terms of service or used Azure 'to target or harm people' in Gaza. It said it provides Israel's Ministry of Defense with software, professional services, Azure cloud services, and Azure AI services such as language translation, as well as cybersecurity support, but denied these technologies are used to target civilians. However, the company acknowledged its limited visibility into how its technology is deployed on private or on-premises systems. Arab News has contacted Microsoft for comment.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Lavrov says security talks without Russia are ‘road to nowhere'
Russia said on Wednesday that attempts to resolve security issues relating to Ukraine without Moscow's participation were a 'road to nowhere.' Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the remarks two days after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukraine's president and European leaders to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine that could help end the war. 'We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work,' Lavrov said. 'I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia, it's a road to nowhere,' he added.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Takeaways from Trump's Meeting with Zelenskyy and Europeans: Praise, Security Talks, More Meetings
During their second meeting in the Oval Office this year, President Donald Trump said the US would be willing to support European efforts to police any peace deal in Ukraine, while its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude and wore dressier clothes. And Vice President JD Vance kept his mouth shut. As Trump hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders to energize months of stalled US-led efforts to halt Russia's 3 1/2-year-old war, the tone and style of the sit-down was far different than when Ukraine's president was hounded out of the White House in February. Following the talks, Trump called and spoke at length to Russian President Vladimir Putin who got the red carpet treatment at a summit with Trump last Friday in Alaska, to discuss the extraordinary gathering of allies. Trump said he would now work to arrange a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin. Here are key takeaways: Trump says the US could back security guarantees for Ukraine A central question for peace talks is how to prevent further Russian aggression in the future. Trump has ruled out allowing Ukraine to join NATO, which would extend the military alliance's protection to the besieged country. He did, however, express support for security guarantees for Ukraine though details remain vague. European countries 'want to give protection and they feel very strongly about it and we'll help them out with that,' Trump said. That pleased Zelenskyy, who said the US was offering "such (a) strong signal.' With Europeans looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement in Ukraine, Trump suggested that Putin would be open to accepting security guarantees. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Sunday that Moscow was open to accepting NATO-style protections for Ukraine. European leaders applauded that notion, and the larger meaning it would carry. 'When we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent," French President Emmanuel Macron said. Macron said talks to determine what the US is willing to provide will start as soon as Tuesday. European leaders praise Trump but say tough work is still ahead The Europeans came to show a united front on Ukraine, and many used public comments to heap praise on Trump. That was striking given tensions over Trump's threats to impose steep tariffs and other issues. Ahead of their meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called Trump 'dear Donald' and said of fighting in Ukraine: 'If we play this well, we could end it.' In an interview later with Fox News Channel, Rutte called Trump 'amazing' and said potential swaps of Ukrainian territory weren't discussed. 'First, we need full clarity on security guidelines,' Rutte said. Though Ukraine might not have NATO membership, he noted, there would be discussions for security guarantees similar to those extended to members of the alliance. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after the meeting that there was 'real progress' and a 'real sense of unity.' Before the leaders spoke privately at the White House, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said all the parties were working together on 'a just and lasting peace.' Offering a more measured tone was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said 'the path is open now' to halting the fighting but next steps are 'more complicated.' 'Let's try to put pressure on Russia,' Merz said, adding that he would like to see a ceasefire come together. Trump was noncommittal, saying, 'If we can do the ceasefire, great,' but suggested it was far from a dealbreaker. He dropped his push for a ceasefire after Friday's summit, aligning with Putin's position that negotiations should focus on a long-term peace settlement instead. The good feelings extended to Zelenskyy and Trump. After Ukraine's leader praised the 'very good conversation' with Trump, the US president responded, 'Great remarks. I appreciated it.' Speaking to reporters Monday night, Merz said the Russian demand that Ukraine give up unconquered parts of its eastern Donbas region to end the fighting would be equivalent to the US giving up Florida. More formal attire — and a far different reception — for Zelenskyy The meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday was dramatically different than six months ago, when Trump and Vance harangued Zelenskyy for not being thankful enough for US military support. Trump even seemed to relish a reporter from a conservative outlet asking then why Zelenskyy wasn't wearing a suit at the White House. Ukraine's leader came prepared this time, wearing a black shirt and blazer. The same reporter told Zelenskyy, 'You look fabulous,' and Trump responded, 'I said the same thing.' Then Trump said to Zelenskyy: 'That's the one that attacked you last time.' The Ukrainian president said he remembered, then playfully needled his questioner. 'You are in the same suit,' Zelenskyy said as laughter rippled through the room. 'I changed. You did not.' Ukraine's president usually appears in a trademark hoodie or T-shirt — a show of solidarity with Ukrainian forces on the front lines. Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to the US and European allies for supporting his country, and repeatedly thanked first lady Melania Trump for sending a letter to Putin about stopping the killing of children during the war. In the Oval Office, Vance gave no public comments. Next steps in the negotiations turn back to Putin Trump, who bragged on numerous occasions during the campaign that he could settle Russia's war in Ukraine in a day, said repeatedly Monday that it was far more complicated than he ever thought it would be. But he also suggested — likely implausibly — that the fighting that has raged for years could wind down quickly. 'A week or two weeks, we'll know whether we're going to solve this, or if this horrible fighting is going to continue,' said Trump, even suggesting the issues yet to be hammered out weren't 'overly complex.' Still, much remains unresolved, including red lines that are incompatible, like whether Ukraine will cede any land to Russia, the future of Ukraine's army and whether the country will ultimately have lasting and meaningful security guarantees. Trump said he had begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. But Russian foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said only that Putin and Trump had a 40-minute phone call and 'spoke in favor' of continuing direct talks between the sides, Russian state news agency Tass reported. Outside the White House, Zelenskyy said no date had been set for such a meeting but that the US suggested it be as soon as possible. 'But for that, agreement of all sides is needed,' he said. He added that the question of territory 'is a matter that we will leave between me and Putin.' Though many European leaders oppose forgoing a possible ceasefire on the road to seeking lasting peace, they have supported a meeting by Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin in the meantime. Macron suggested that another summit could feature the three presidents and also top European leaders. 'The idea of trilateral meeting is very important, because this is the only way to fix it,' the French president said.
