by The Malaga University (UMA) has finally decided to break relations with universities of Israela precautionary and “temporary” measure as indicated to Malaga Today he vice-rector of the UMA, Nacho Rodríguez. Collaborations with Israeli university and research centers are thus paralyzed while the military offensive in the region continues. Gaza Strip. Another aspect that has led the Malaga university to take this step is the fact that the university community of Israel does not “condemn the attacks”, “does not take a negative position on the matter” and demands a “firm commitment to peace and compliance with international humanitarian law”.
The measure was announced during the Government Council held on Thursday. He rector, Teodomiro López, summarized the situation around the conflict and its social and academic consequences in the region. Thus, the decision to break relations has also been driven by the resolutions approved by the Association of Public Universities of Andalusia (AUPA), adds Nacho Rodríguez.
This decision has been communicated by the rector, Teodomiro López, who reported on it during the government councilin which a set of actions have also been carried out cooperation with Palestinian universities. The session began with the intervention of the rector, who read the AUPA statement of May 28 and made reference to the previous one, of May 9, which demanded an immediate and definitive cessation of military operations by the Israeli army. , as well as any terrorist action in the region, and the release of people kidnapped by Hamas.
In it, it is also requested that the State of Israel respect the international right and allow the entry into Gaza of all humanitarian aid necessary to attend to the emergency of its civilian population. Finally, international bodies are urged to take the necessary measures to undertake, as soon as possible, the reconstruction and recovery of the Palestinian territory.
This “temporary suspension” – Nacho Rodríguez wanted to highlight this aspect – represents the paralyzation of the agreements current with the Israeli universities. Agreements are currently in place with the universities of Tel Aviv, Technion International, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion of the Negev. “They have been asked to speak out and position themselves towards a firm commitment to peace.”
Demonstrations in front of the Rectorate
While this was happening in the Government Council, students of the UMA -those who have been camped on the Teatinos university campus for more than 15 days now- have once again demonstrated at the doors of the Rectorate on Paseo del Parque. They have “intensified their mobilization” and have assured that they believe “that the minimums that are met are not going to be those that we demand here and possibly will remain in minimal agreements, whether they are temporary cuts with some Israeli universities or, rather, they will not be get nothing.” They have also recalled that their protests have been developing for 22 days with the requirement that the University of Malaga “recognize the genocide of the Palestinian peoplethe permanent cessation of academic and business relations with Israel and its complicit entities, the strengthening of academic networks with the Palestinian people and the creation of a space dedicated to the solidarity movement with Palestine.
This segment of student body has criticized that since the beginning of its movement, the entity “has deployed a strategy of harassment and attrition, preventing the distribution of leaflets, suggesting more isolated places to camp and exerting constant tensions through security personnel.” “The university community repudiates the fact that the UMA has maintained, for years, relations with entities complicit in this genocidal state and that the possibility of breaking relations with Israel was not put on the table until the beginning of our camp,” they conclude. UMA camping in Palestine.
He vice chancellor of the universityasked about Malaga Today about what role these camps could have played, he has stated categorically that the decision has been fundamentally taken driven by AUPA resolutions.
Scientific community of Palestine at the UMA
During the Council they have participated as guests, representing the UMaxPalestine Network, professors Carolina Jiménez Sánchez, from the Area of Public International Law and International Relations and Rosa Isabel Martínez Lillo, from the Area of Arab and Islamic Studies. Both have spoken about the conflict from their respective areas of knowledge and reiterated “their willingness to continue collaborating with the UMA, as they have been doing in recent weeks, in the analysis and future actions that may occur around this conflict.” “. In parallel, a call has been unanimously approved within the II Own Plan for Research, Transfer and Scientific Dissemination, intended for stays of researchers of recognized prestige of the Palestinian scientific community at the UMA.
The deadline for submitting requests will be open from June 1 to 30, 2024 to carry out these stays of up to six months. For this, the UMA will disseminate this call immediately among the palestinian universities from An-Najah National University, Birzeit University, Al-Quds University, Bethlehem University, The Islamic University of Gaza, and the Palestine Polytechnic University. Also among the Arab American University – Jenin, Hebron University, Al Azhar University Gaza, University of Palestine (Gaza), Palestine Technical College (Gaza), University College of Applied Sciences Gaza, Al Quds Open University, Palestine Ahliya University College (Bethlehem) and Al-Aqsa University (Gaza).
Another of the cooperation measures with Palestinian institutions, transferred to the Governing Council, will allow the university, in coordination with the offices of UNHCR in Malaga and Madrid and 22 NGO, manage and facilitate the transfer and accommodation of Palestinian students to the University of Malaga, within the framework of the “UMA Refugia” plan. Likewise, awareness-raising activities will be organized, in collaboration with the UMA x Palestine Network.
So far this year, the University of Malaga has organized different activitieswith the aim of raising awareness and informing about the current situation in the Gaza Stripamong which stand out the intensification of Support Plan for Refugees and the holding of several conferences in this context – such as The Arab-Israeli conflict: the siege of Gaza or the presentation Israel and Palestine, the last colonial conflict?. On March 5, activist Manal Tamami reflected with communication students about the current situation of Palestinian women. Likewise, on March 2 the short film was screened Those who do not feel at the Malaga Film Festival and two exhibitions on the student experience and the image of Palestine were inaugurated.
