A group of Palestinian and Lebanese academics have been denied a Dutch research grant because of the Dutch attitude towards Israel. It concerned a subsidy of 600,000 euros from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was channeled through an institute affiliated with UNESCO, according to reports. de Volkskrant on Friday.
Eight researchers, filmmakers and artists involved in the projects published an open letter on the Flemish website MO.be with the title ‘If you keep quiet about this genocide, we don’t want your money’. They join Arab institutions that “divest from donors who undermine Palestinian rights.” The funding for which the academics thanked was intended for two sustainable water management projects in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.
The undersigned write that the university and the Dutch government should speak out against Israel’s “dramatic intensification of military occupation, colonization and genocide.” According to them, the “unwavering” support of European countries for Israel makes the governments, including the Dutch, partly responsible for the violence in Gaza. Accepting the subsidy would therefore contribute to “the whitewashing of such racist and colonial policies.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says otherwise de Volkskrant do not recognize themselves in the picture of Dutch policy.
Support
The Dutch cabinet has repeatedly spoken out against Israel about the violence in Gaza, but continues to emphasize that Israel has the right to self-defense. The Netherlands also previously abstained from voting at the United Nations on a ceasefire in Gaza. A group of government officials accused the Ministry of General Affairs in an anonymous letter last month of covering up possible Israeli war crimes, in light of a Dutch delivery of F35 parts for Israeli military aircraft. The court in The Hague ruled on Monday that the Netherlands must stop the delivery.
The subsidy for the projects would be provided through IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, an important research institute for water affiliated with UNESCO. It conducts research into improving water supplies in North Africa and collaborates with several Palestinian universities. According to the authors of the open letter, TU Delft is keeping quiet despite Israeli violence against Palestinian academics, students and staff. Another factor is that, according to the authors, Israel uses the destruction of the water supply in Gaza as a weapon. A group of researchers from the Delft institute endorses this statement in an open letter, stands with Palestinian and Lebanese academics and calls on the institution to speak out.
Also read
Officials’ opposition to support for Israel spreads to other countries with new ceasefire declaration