By Stuart Littlewood

“Public funds contributed by European taxpayers are channelled to a country that not only disregards human rights but also uses the most advanced knowledge and technology for the very violation of human rights…. This is not compatible with the values Europe upholds.“

One hundred and fifty five European researchers and academics have delivered a stinging rebuke to Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, and Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Science, Research and Innovation.

In a beautifully crafted letter, they express the outrage felt throughout the world, and especially in European countries, including the UK, at the EU’s policy of rewarding the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel. Each new act of unspeakable brutality, each new onslaught of disproportionate force against civilians brings fresh privileges, fresh cooperation, fresh embraces from an enthusiastic EU elite.

Perhaps the most shameful thing about Europe’s relations with Israel is the EU-Israel Association Agreement which came into force in 2000. This is about special trading and other privileges, and its purpose is to promote (1) peace and security, (2) shared prosperity through, for example, the creation of a free trade zone, and (3) cross-cultural rapprochement. It governs not only EU-Israel relations but Israel’s relations with the EU’s other Mediterranean partners, including the Palestinian National Authority.

To enjoy the Association’s privileges Israel undertook to show “respect for human rights and democratic principles” as set out as a general condition in Article 2, which says:

Relations between the parties, as well as all the provisions of the Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement.

“Essential” being the operative word. Respecting human rights and democratic principles is not optional. Article 2 allows steps to be taken to enforce the contractual obligations regarding human rights and to dissuade partners from pursuing policies and practices that disrespect those rights. The Agreement also requires respect for self-determination of peoples and fundamental freedoms for all.

Israel relies heavily on exports to Europe, so the EU could by now have forced an end to the brutal occupation of the Holy Land instead of always rewarding it.

Well, that’s a joke for a start. Given Israel’s contempt for such principles the EU, had it been an honourable group, would have enforced Article 2 and not let matters slide. It would have suspended Israel’s membership until the Israeli regime fully complied. Israel relies heavily on exports to Europe, so the EU could by now have forced an end to the brutal occupation of the Holy Land instead of always rewarding it.

The signatories to the letter to Mogherini and Moedas aptly quote the warning by Israel’s own human rights group B’Tselem:

If the international community does not come to its senses and force Israel to abide by the rules that are binding to every state in the world, it will pull the rug out from under the global effort to protect human rights in the post-World War II era.

Here is that excellent letter by the researchers and academics:

To: Ms Federica Mogherini – High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

To: Mr Carlos Moedas – European Commission, DG for Research and Innovation

Brussels, June 4, 2019

Re: Letter from European researchers and academics concerning Israel’s participation in Horizon Europe Dear M. Federica Mogherini, Dear Mr Moedas, We researchers and academics from Europe are writing to you in order to express our deep concern about the participation of Israel and its military companies in EU Research Programs. While we write, new Israeli raids flare up and the smoldering remnant of Gaza protesters of the Great March of Return, already forgotten and forsaken. More than 270 unarmed civilians were killed during the March of return, including women, children and persons with disabilities and thousands more were injured [28,939, of whom 7,247 by live fire]. They were only demanding their rights enshrined in international law: end of the illegal blockade and for the right of return to their ancestral homes from which they were expelled. A report of the United Nation’s Independent Commission of Inquiry published earlier this year concluded that the Israeli army might have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by indiscriminately killing health workers, journalists and unarmed protesters who did not pose any imminent threats to the soldiers. Relentless violence rages again after 11 years of inhumane siege and three military assaults that shattered the fabric of normal life. Gaza is declared to be uninhabitable by 2020 according to a report by the UN, but this “environmentally defined” deadline reflects only the intentionality of an imposed series of emergencies, followed each time by a further decrease in health, energy, food independence and commerce after each episode of armed aggression since 2007. The hermetic siege combined with the systematic large scale military destruction is slowly strangling nearly the two million inhabitants of Gaza. None of the basic civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and power plants, was ever sufficiently rebuilt after each of the three military assaults due to severe restrictions by the blockade. Electricity is available only a few hours a day, 98 peer cent of water is not drinkable, and many hospitals periodically stop functioning due to lack of medication, spare parts of machinery, electricity and fuel. Permission for patients to leave in order to receive life-saving treatment elsewhere has been continually declining in time. Tools for education, number of teachers, and rebuilding of schools are severely impaired. The inhabitants of Gaza have been consistently denied basic human rights and human dignity. The disproportionate use of force on the civilians amounting to war crimes has also been systematic throughout all, long and short term, military operations, including the almost daily assaults to fishermen and agricultural workers. These facts have been meticulously documented in authoritative reports by the UN and human rights organizations and widely condemned by the international community. Yet Israel’s policies of aggression and repression have continued. This ongoing impunity is allowing Gaza, the world’s largest open air prison, to be used as a military test field. In each offensive Israel deployed, tested and perfected new high-tech military weapons and surveillance systems. These new cutting edge high-tech products are exhibited and sold as “battle-tested”, an exclusive label Israeli homeland security industry boasts. Israel became the world’s top arms exporter per capita.This grave violation of human rights is thus highly profitable for Israel’s war industry, disclosing another side of the claim of “only self-defense” and the interests beyond the lack of measure in the aggressions on Palestinians of Gaza. Nonetheless, in spite of continual and serious breaches of international law and violation of human rights, and regardless of the commitment for upholding human rights of European countries, Israel enjoys an exceptionally privileged status in dealing with Europe, also through the Association Agreement, and has been receiving grants from the European Commission in the area of research and innovation (FP7 and its successor Horizon 2020). Funds are granted even to Israeli arms producers such as Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI), the producers of lethal drones that were used in the Gaza military assaults against civilians, together with numerous academic institutions that have close ties with Israeli military industry. We appeal to the European Union to impose a comprehensive military embargo on Israel, as long as Israel continues to blatantly violate human rights. We are deeply disturbed that public funds contributed by European taxpayers are channeled to a country that not only disregards human rights but also uses most advanced knowledge and technology for the very violation of human rights. We believe that knowledge and innovation should serve progress in humanity and society, not to develop dual-use or military research of a country that has a record history of grave human rights violations. This is not compatible with the values Europe upholds. In 2017 more than 150 European trade unions, political parties, human rights organizations and faith groups from over 16 European countries issued a call urging the EU to uphold its legal responsibilities and exclude Israeli military companies from EU Framework Programs. We support Amnesty International’s call for a military embargo on Israel, issued last year following the attacks on the unarmed protesters of the Great March of Return using maiming bullets and brutal means by the Israeli army, unnecessary in that context. Youth of Gaza appealed to you to stop funding Israeli manufacturers of weapons and surveillance system that guard their open-air prison, maimed them and destroyed their future. In support of their outcry we call upon European Union and European Commission to suspend the Association Agreement with Israel and exclude Israel as an eligible partner for Horizon Europe (successor of Horizon 2020), as long as it refuses to comply with the rules of international law. We also share the concern of B’Tselem, Israeli human rights organization, which stated “If the international community does not come to its senses and force Israel to abide by the rules that are binding to every state in the world, it will pull the rug out from under the global effort to protect human rights in the post-World War II era.

Signatories*:

Dr Nozomi Takahashi, Center for Inflammation Research, VIB-Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Marc Van Ranst,Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven,Belgium Dr Leander Meuris, Medical Biotechnology, VIB-Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Tarek Meguid, Prof. Em. John Dugard, Universities of Leiden and the Witwatersrand (UN Special Rapporteur onthe human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 2001-2008) Prof. Em. Herman De Ley, Ghent University, Belgium Dr Andrea Balduzzi, Università di Genova, Italy Prof.Giuliano Donzellini, University of Genua, Italy Prof.Sergio Morra,University of Genua, Italy Prof. Paolo Bartolini, University of Genua, Italy Dr Angela Waldegg, Austria Prof. Salvatore Palidda,University of Genua, Italy Andrea Sbarbaro,office worker (psychologist),University of Genua, Italy Prof.Marcello Maneri, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy Dr Syksy Räsäne, University of Helsinki, Finland PhD. Prof. Haseeb Shehadeh, University of Helsinki, Finland Paola Manduca, Former Associate Professor Genetics,University of Genoa, Italy Prof. Em.Giorgio Forti, Unuversità degli Studi di Milkano, Italy Adjunct Professor Pertti Multanen, University of Tampere, Finland Dr Angela Flynn, University College Cork, Ireland Docente ordinario Giuseppe Mosconi, Università di Padova, Italy Prof.Anna Boato, Uniiversità di Genova, Italy Dr Ronit Lentin, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, Mathias Urban, Desmond Chair of Early Childhood Education, Dublin City University, Ireland Prof. Sancia Gaetani, Già Istituto Nazionale Nutrizione, Italy James Roche, Lecturer,Technoligical University Dublin, Ireland Prof. Angelo Baracca,University of Florence, Italy Prof.Giorgio M. Giallocosta, University of Genoa, Italy Prof PhD Alessandro Bianchi, Department Informatics – Univ. Bari, Italy Em. Prof Elisabetta Donini, University of Turin, Italy Prof. Luca Queirolo Palmas,University of Genoa, Italy Rosella Franconi, Senior scientist, Italy Pediatric surgeon Bruno Cigliano, University “Federico II” Naples-Italy Prof. Vittorio Agnoletto,University of Milan, Italy Em. Prof.Andrea Frova, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Physics Dept, Italy Em. Prof. Mariapiera Marenzana, Ministry of Education, Italy Massimo Di Rosa, Italy Prof. Iain Chambers, University of Naples, “Orientale”, Italy Dr Paola Rivetti, Dublin City University, Ireland Prof. Lidia Curti, University of Naples, Italy PhD. Kati Juva, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland Hessel Christiane, Epouse de l’Ambassadeur de France Stéphane Hessel, France PhD. Bruno Lapauw, Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Matthieu Lenoir, Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Stef Craps, Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Dr De Baerdemaeker Luc, Ghent University, Belgium Ana Cabal, University of Antwerp, Belgium Dr Kristina Mercelis, Belgium Arch assistant. Geert Pauwels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium R. Van Laere, Royal academy for Archaeology of Belgium Prof. Karel Arnaut, KU Leuven – IMMRC, Belgium Prof. Dr Willie van Peer, University of Munich, Austria Prof. Dr Em. Frans Daems,University of Antwerp, Belgium Omar Jabary Salamanca, Ghent University, Belgium Prof. Jan Delrue, KU Leuven University, Belgium Em. Prof. Christian Kesteloot, KU Leuven University, Belgium Prof. Em. Aviel Verbruggen, University of Antwerp, Belgium Medical student Serhat Yildirim,Ghent University , Belgium Prof. Emer. Piet Mertens, KU Leuven, Belgium Associate Professor Nadia Fadil, KU Leuven, Belgium Em. Prof. Dr Patric Jacobs, Ghent University, Geology Deparment, Belgium Honourary Professor Michel Vanhoorne, Ghent University, Belgium Docent Jan Wyns, Belgium Em. Prof. Marc David, Universiteit Antwerpen, Belgium Prof. Pieter Rombouts, Ghent University, Belgium Mireille Gleizes, Belgium Dr Barbara Van Dyck, University of Sussex, UK Em. Prof. Claude Veraart, University of Louvain (UCL), Belgium Professeur Honoraire Pierre Gillis, Université de Mons, Belgium Researcher Patrick Italiano, University of Liege, Belgium Professeur Ordinaire Honoraire André Gob, Université de Liège, Belgium Researcher Jacques Moriau, ULB, Belgium Philosopher Marc Vandepitte, Technische Scholen Mechelen, Belgium Abdessalam Faraj, Belgium PhD Gillet S. University of Namur, Belgium Em. Prof. Mateo Alaluf, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Prof. Em. Biesemans Monique, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Em. Prof. Fred Louckx, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Prof. Marc Jacquemain, University of Liege, Belgium Prof. Germain Marc, Université de Lille, France Professeur-chercheur Lucienne Strivay, Université de Liège, Belgium Prof. Gilles-Maurice de Schryver, Ghent University, Belgium Researcher Andrew Crosby, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Prof. Bert Cornillie, KU Leuven, Belgium Docent Dario Giugliano, Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli, Italy Prof. de Beer Daniel, Université Saint-Louis, Belgium Researcher M Louise Carels, Université de Liège, Belgium Prof. Victor Ginsburgh, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Em. Prof. Heinz D. Hurwitz, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium M.A. Maria Aurora De Angelis, SOAS University of London, UK Dr Jef Peeters, KU Leuven, Belgium Em. Prof. Magda Devos, University of Ghent, Belgium Em. Prof. Norbert Van den Bergh, Gent University, Belgium Em. Prof. Stefan Kesenne, University of Antwerp, Belgium Prof. Dr Em. Madeline Lutjeharms, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Marie Scheirlinck, Belgium Koen Verrept, VUB, Belgium Prof. Roberto Beneduce, University of Turin, Italy Prof. Patricia Willson, Université de Liège, Belgium Em. Prof. Christiane Schomblond, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Em. Prof. Florimond De Smedt, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Professeur Honoraire Mormont Marc, Université de Liège, Belgium Dr Zahidi, University of Antwerpen, Belgium PhD Leena Saraste, Finland Em. Prof. P. Marage, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Em. Prof. Michel Gevers, Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium Senior Research Associate Giselle Corradi, Ghent University, Belgium Tiziana Terranova, Italy Honorary Prof. Albert Martens, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Em. Prof. Vandermotten Christian, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Prof. Jean-Claude Gregoire, Université libre de Bruxeles, Belgium Researcher Xavier May, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Dr Duez Colette, University of Liege, Belgium PhD Tanneke Herklots, the Netherlands, Em. Prof. Marc De Meyere, Gent University, Belgium.

116. Researcher Antonio Mazzeo, Italy

117. Prof. Michele Carducci, UniSalento – Lecce, Italy

118. Prof. Carine Defoort, KU Leuven, Belgium

119. Dr Chiara Cardelli, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information Vienna, Austria

120. Prof. Em. Pieter Saey, Gent University, Belgium

121. Independent scholar Celeste Ianniciello, Italy

122. Em. Prof. Jonathan Rosenhead, London School of Economics, UK

123. Prof. Dr Em. Erik Van der Straeten, Belgium

124. Prof. James Dickins, University of Leeds, UK

125. Dr Tajul Islam, University of Leeds, UK

126. Dr Barry Heselwood, University of Leeds, UK

127. Patrik Lasure, Pax Christi Vlaanderen, Belgium

128. Wim Nerinckx, Belgium

129. René Weemaels, Belgium

130. André Posman, Belgium

131. Technician Kelly Lemeire, University of Ghent, Belgium

132. Em. Prof. Schomblond Christiane, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

133. Dr Gie Van Den Berghe, University Gent, Belgium

134. Rasha Soliman, University of Leeds, UK

135. Simona Antonova, UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands

136. PhD Michail Mamantopoulos, Belgium

137. Dr Tom Moerenhout, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland

138. Prof. Dirk Vandermeulen, KU Leuven, Belgium

139. Em. Prof. Heinz Hurwitz, Université Libre Bruxelles, Belgium

140. Sénateur Honoraire Galand Pierre, Belgium

141. Prof. Megan Povey, University of Leeds, UK

142. Branch President UCL UCU Sean Wallis, University College London, UK

143. Dr M Akhtar, University of Leeds, UK

144. Tom Hickey, University of Brighton, UK

145. Dr Karen Evans, University of Liverpool, UK

146. Dr Anne Alexander, University of Cambridge, UK

147. Dr Anandi Ramamurthy, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

148. Prof. Franco Montanari, University of Genoa, Italy

149. Dr Stephanie Kourula, Belgium

150. Em. Prof. Chris Roberts, University of Manchester, UK

151. Researcher- PhD student Ainhoa Ruiz Benedicto, Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau, Spain 152. Tica Font, Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau, Spain

53. Researcher Edgard Vega, Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau, Spain

154. Ph Dr Retired Assistant Professor Xavier Bohigas, Uinversitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Catalonia-Spain

155. Prof. Jan Dumolyn, University of Ghent, Belgium

*Institutions are added for identification purposes only. All signatories have signed the letter in a personal capacity.