Photo Shutterstock In a recent letter to the editor, we – the staff and students calling on WUR to cut ties with Israeli institutions – were portrayed as having a simplistic view of the situation and as unwilling to engage in dialogue. This could not be further from the truth.
For over one and a half years, we have demanded that WUR’s Executive Board investigate and cut its institutional ties with Israeli universities and other institutions that violate international law. Twelve of the fourteen Dutch universities have already taken steps by forming committees to examine whether their partnerships align with human rights standards. Many have also partially cut ties with Israeli partners. WUR has refused to take any action at all.
Protest is not the rejection of dialogue—it is a demand for meaningful dialogue. We are not interested in symbolic meetings that ignore evidence and concerns. Our actions aim to open space for real debate, not shut it down. Moreover, it is the Executive Board that has categorically rejected our repeated requests for meaningful open dialogue, not the other way around.
The letter suggests WUR’s academic collaborations with Israeli institutions are politically neutral. In reality, they make WUR complicit in human rights abuses, by legitimizing and materially supporting institutions like the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which proudly offers logistical support to Israeli troops in Gaza and is built in part on occupied Palestinian land. Or Tel Aviv University, which conducts archaeological excavations in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank which is in violation of the Geneva Convention and in collaboration with settler organizations seeking to dispossess Palestinians. All Israeli universities offer academic credits for military reserve service and run programs specifically for soldiers. These are not neutral institutions, and even scholars in Israel have called for a boycott.
Citing Hamas as a deflection tactic oversimplifies the situation and erases over 75 years of dispossession and 17 years of blockade in Gaza. Israeli state violence is systematic, structural, and vastly more powerful. Complexity cannot be used to blur moral clarity or paralyze action. Real nuance includes naming power, responsibility, and harm.
Furthermore, the claim that protest is merely ‘symbolic’ ignores the history of social change. Disruption is not the opposite of dialogue, it is often its precondition. Grief, rage, and protest are not threats to reason; they are the product of witnessing deep injustice and choosing not to look away.
To the reader: where do you stand, and what are you doing about it? On one thing we agree: symbolic acts alone won’t change anything. Nothing will happen unless you and I take action. Wageningen for Palestine welcomes anyone with open arms who is ready to stand up and help end our university’s complicity in occupation and genocide. You can send us a direct message on Instagram @wageningenforpalestine to get in touch.
