Spanish Universities Consider Halting Collaborations with Israeli Institutions

Spanish universities have announced their readiness to suspend cooperation with any educational institution in Israel that does not clearly commit to peace, in response to the ongoing Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.

Student protests have gained momentum across Western Europe in recent weeks, with demonstrators calling for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza and a severance of ties with Israel, inspired by student demonstrations that have swept American universities.

In a statement reported by AFP, the Spanish Universities Council (CRUE), which includes 76 universities (50 public and 26 private), condemned the Israeli aggression. The council expressed its support for the recent protests, demanding an immediate halt to the aggression and pledging to "review relations and, if necessary, suspend cooperation with Israeli universities and research centers that do not demonstrate a firm commitment to peace and respect for international humanitarian law."

Sebastian Gonzalez, a 28-year-old law and political science student at the Complutense University of Madrid and spokesperson for the protesters, told AFP: "What we really want is for the government and university presidents to meet our demands and cut ties with Israel."

Gonzalez added, "When our demands are met, we will disband the camps. Until then, we will continue to hold sit-ins here and across Spain."

The first protest in Spain began on April 29 at the University of Valencia in the east of the country, where students set up around twenty tents demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza. This was followed by a similar tent protest at the University of Barcelona, before camps spread this week to Madrid, the Basque Country in the north, Alicante in the east, and the Andalusia region in the south.

The Israeli assault on Gaza has sparked a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked American universities for weeks, with an intensity not seen in the United States in decades. This wave has since spread to many cities in Europe and even Australia.