Dismantling an encampment of hate: Remaining optimistic in the face of antisemitism - opinion

Less than a month after the October 7 massacre, thousands of Italian professors signed an anti-Israel petition accusing Israel of genocide and demanding Italian universities to sever all ties with Israel. Thus, Italy became the first European country where calls for a boycott against Israel gained significant traction. 

At the time, there was only one Italian scholar, a professor of geography from the University of Turin, who dared to publicly oppose the boycott. Prof. Daniela Santus openly declared: “I am not signing [the petition] because I do not want to help Hamas reorganize and repeat the atrocities they committed.” 

Santos gathered behind her thousands of people, Jews and non-Jews alike, who denied the petition’s claims and led to its annulment.

Subsequent discussions about an academic boycott of Israel have caught much media attention. Three months ago, boycott supporters demanded the cancellation of a scientific cooperation agreement already approved by the Italian government, falsely claiming that its research was used to manufacture weapons. 

In parallel, boycott opponents have also started to make their voices heard. 

We formed a group of Italian professors who support Israel and fought the boycott. Our main argument is that universities should promote knowledge and cooperation between countries, even in times of crisis. We managed to rally Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who echoed our messages in speeches and newspaper articles. Eventually, even the Italian University and Research Minister Anna Maria Bernini – who had refrained from intervening for fear of harming academic freedom – responded to our requests and condemned the boycott movement.

Activists seeking severance of ties with the 'Zionist entity'

Unfortunately, even the government’s official stance did not deter anti-Israel activists. Similarly to what happened on campuses in the US, they teamed up with communist activists and took over several campus buildings. They set up tents and blocked professors from entering, demanding that universities boycott Israel and sever all ties with the “Zionist entity.”

In Italy, there is a long-standing tradition, dating back to the student protests of the 1960s, that students’ “occupation” should be respected. Until today, rectors prefer to appease the students rather than forcibly remove them, to avoid worsening the situation and losing popularity. We began to fear that the rectors could surrender and agree to the dangerous demands of the students. Indeed, two weeks ago, the academic senate of the University of Milan declared that they were reconsidering the cooperation agreements with countries at war (i.e., with Israel). The situation was very dangerous and fragile.

IN RECENT days, it finally seems that the scales are tipping in our favor. 

In Turin, Arab students organized a Friday prayer and invited an imam to speak. In the online recording of the prayer, the imam is heard praising the jihad of the oppressed Palestinians and encouraging believers to take inspiration from them and spread jihad in Italy.

It was again Prof. Santus who stepped in, explaining in an Italian newspaper what the Arabic word jihad means. The rectors then understood that the demonstrations had crossed a red line and posed a real threat to public safety. They filed a police complaint against the organizers and the imam. 

At the same time, in Milan, students, identified with the Jewish community or the political Right demanded the rector remove the protesters and ensure the university returned to proper conduct and to teaching and learning. The rector complied, requesting the dismantling of the tents, and along the way, charged the protesters with vandalism of public property.

It is likely that other universities in Italy will follow and demand an end to the anti-Israel protests. 

After becoming the first European country to call for a boycott of Israel, and it may also be the first one where this call is rejected by the academic leadership. Although in some countries in Europe (Norway, Spain, Belgium) there are a few universities that have announced cutting ties with Israel, I hope they are the exceptions. 

We must remain optimistic and know that the silent majority of European citizens support Israel and recognize its right to defend itself and our shared liberal values.

The writer is an associate professor at Bar-Ilan University and a member of a university committee to combat the boycott.