The VUB announced on Tuesday that it wants to provide more transparency about ongoing collaborations with Israeli university institutions or companies. That decision came after the escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The university wants to subject all current research projects in which an Israeli partner is involved to a thorough screening and wants to decide project by project about its collaborations with institutions in Israel. There are seven projects in total.
The (VUB) says it wants to offer full transparency about its ongoing collaborative projects within the European Horizon program, through which the European Union funds research, and in which Israeli institutions can also participate. In addition to the Israeli institution and the VUB, dozens and sometimes more than a hundred partners also participate in these international projects.
“None of these projects have a connection with military applications,” emphasizes Peter Van Rompaey of the VUB. “Yet they are now being thoroughly evaluated in light of the unacceptable escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.”
Of the current projects, the VUB is completing three in the short term. Three other projects have a longer duration. This concerns two medical research projects on breast cancer screening and patient care and one project on legislation against child abuse.
Finally, there is a project on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The latter project received a negative advice from the ethics committee and the VUB will consult with the financing European Commission to withdraw from the project.
The university emphasizes that it has no bilateral cooperation with Israel.
