Kuwaiti academics call for boycott of Western universities involved in supporting Israel aggression on Gaza

Dozens of Kuwaiti academics have called for a boycott of Western universities involved in supporting Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, explaining that the Palestinian civilians’ suffering in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law, Quds Press reported.

The Association of Faculty Members at the Public Authority for Applied Education; the trade union body comprising academics working in applied colleges, explained in a statement that it was following with great concern the independent reports documenting crimes and violations against civilians in the Gaza Strip, amid suspicious international silence.

“Based on our academic and ethical responsibility, and in adherence to the values ​​of human justice that uphold human dignity and fundamental rights, we express our growing dissatisfaction with the involvement of some Western universities, particularly British ones, in research or investment partnerships with companies that provide military technologies used directly or indirectly to support the ongoing aggression” the statement said.

It called for the need to distinguish between legitimate academic partnerships and those employed in paths that conflict with humanitarian principles and emphasised that academic institutions should be platforms for science, peace, and justice, not tools serving agendas that violate human rights.

The association has categorically rejected any form of institutional complicity in human rights violations, considering the continuation of academic relations with institutions that support the Israeli aggression in Gaza “a breach of academic integrity and a deviation from the University Human Rights Charter”.

It also called on Kuwaiti and all Arab students to “adopt a true ethical awareness when choosing their educational institutions, and to avoid universities whose policies or partnerships conflict with humanitarian principles”.