University of Florence Departments Initiate Academic Boycott of Israel

Rome, MINA – Five departments at Italy’s University of Florence have announced an academic boycott, severing ties with Israeli academic institutions.

In a statement, the university confirmed its decision as part of an “academic boycott” against the Israeli regime, Press TV reported on Monday.

This move aligns with a growing global campaign for Palestinian rights and is part of the broader international academic boycott of Israel.

The Department of Computer Science and Mathematics has terminated its collaboration with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, an institution long associated with Israel’s military-industrial complex. Ben-Gurion University is also known for hosting Nobel laureate Dan Shechtman, who supports Zionist academic networks.

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The Departments of Agricultural Science, Engineering, and Technology have also suspended partnerships with their Israeli counterparts under the same initiative.

Furthermore, the Department of Architecture has cut ties with Ariel University, which is located in an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, underscoring the university’s rejection of institutions involved in the occupation.

This boycott comes amid increasing international condemnation of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and its decades-long occupation of Palestinian land.

Globally, academic communities and students have intensified their demands for institutions to divest from and boycott all entities complicit in apartheid and war crimes. Academic institutions have faced significant pressure from professors and students to cut ties with Israeli entities that directly or indirectly normalize apartheid, conduct research for military purposes, or support the occupation.

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The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, has gained new momentum globally amidst the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, where as many as 59,000 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, have been killed. [Shibgho]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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