The Academic Senate of the University of Palermo, with a decision that until now has no equal in Italy, unanimously approved yesterday morning a document which sanctioned the suspension of the agreements with Israel. Specifically, the text states that the University “proposes to establish procedures based on maximum transparency due diligence in evaluating institutional agreements and proposals for scientific collaboration with universities, research centers and companies that may relate to the development of technologies dual use for military purposes”. The University has decided to suspend Erasmus agreements “as part of the KA171 and KA220-HED programs in force with Israeli universities”, also establishing that no new agreements will be stipulated with Jewish universities”until the current crisis is overcome” and that any future agreement proposal will be “carefully evaluated by the technical table on dual use with the participation of a student component”. Furthermore, “support measures for the Palestinian education system aimed at guaranteeing the right to study” and “initiatives aimed at promoting information and training” are being studied.
The approval of the document by the Academic Senate represents a great victory for the student intifada movement, which he has been occupying the university for weeks protesting against the massacres taking place in Gaza and asking the university leaders to interrupt research agreements with Israeli universities and companies and with Italian companies that support war policies. “We feel we must also speak out against the normalization of the relationship between universities and companies, even more so if they are companies industries directly implicated in war and colonial contexts“, the movement had written in its appeal to the Academic Senate of the University of Palermo which was examined yesterday, highlighting “the concern regarding the relationships that the University of Palermo has with Leonardo SpA, an Italian holding company whose largest shareholder is the Italian State through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which more than two years ago merged its US subsidiary Leonardo DRS with Rada Electronic Industries, an Israeli supplier of advanced military tactical radars and other dual use technologies, which has now become DRS RADA TECHNOLOGIES”. Following the extraordinary session of the Academic Senate, the members of the delegation emerged triumphant from Palazzo Steri, where the assembly was held: «It is a historic day – they said into the megaphone -. This is a small but big victory. A step forward. The goal, however, always remains the end of the genocide, of the Zionist occupation, the liberation of all Palestinian political prisoners and the return of the refugees to Palestine.” The contents of the approved document will be presented at a public meeting to be held on June 19th.
Meanwhile, the wave of protests from student movements has been spreading throughout the country for months and shows no signs of stopping. In Turin the students continue to insist on obtaining a space for discussion with the academic bodies “where they can discuss the declassification and termination of all agreements” between Italian universities, Israel and the war companies. Last week, a group of pro-Palestine students chained themselves in front of the rector’s office in via Po, in the city centre. At the same time it was announced that, thanks to the push exerted by the student movements, a joint meeting of the Academic Senate and Board of Directors will be organized in Pisa on 13 June, in live streaming, to examine and discuss the agreements between the University of Pisa and Israeli universities. Following the example of pro-Palestine American students, dozens of tents were set up by protesting kids at the university campuses of many cities, including Verona, Udine, Trieste, Forlì and Bari. The protests also continue in Rome: three days ago they resulted in moments of tension and clashes between the police and members of the well-attended march ” against the government and Pro-Palestine” which took place through the streets of the capital.
[di Stefano Baudino]
