The Academic Boycott of Israel: The Fights Against the Boycotting of Israeli Academia

This report, titled “The Fight Against the Boycotting of Israeli Academia,” was published by the Samuel Neaman Institute in June 2025. It examines the scope and diverse effects of the academic boycott on Israeli institutions and researchers, particularly intensified since the events of October 7, 2023, and proposes potential effective means of addressing it. The report was written and edited with the assistance of advanced artificial intelligence systems to improve wording, edit, summarize, and enhance information accessibility, with the authors retaining full responsibility for the content.

The following is an executive summary of the report. For the full report, click here.

The Samuel Neaman Institute’s report aims to understand the scope and effects of the academic boycott against Israel, especially after October 7, 2023, and to identify effective ways to counter it. As a center of scientific and technological innovation, Israel relies on a strong academic and research infrastructure for its financial, social, and national defense resilience, a role traditionally fulfilled by Israeli academia.

Main Findings:

• Global Status of Israeli Academia: Israeli academia maintains a good global reputation. Based on scientific excellence and publications, it is ranked in leading international rankings like the Shanghai Ranking and QS Ranking. Many Israeli universities and individual researchers actively collaborate with international institutions and counterparts, indicating trust from the global scientific community. For instance, Israel has three universities among the top one hundred in the Shanghai Ranking since 2021 (Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University, Technion), a significant achievement considering its size.
• The BDS Movement and Academic Boycott: The academic boycott movement (BDS) targets Israeli academia centrally in its efforts to replace Israel with a state called Palestine, extending from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean. The movement, active for about three decades, significantly escalated its efforts after October 7, 2023. BDS activists use anti-Israeli, and often anti-Semitic, rhetoric to pressure academic institutions and researchers worldwide to avoid collaboration or investment in Israel. The report identifies a substantial increase in anti-Israeli incidents on U.S. campuses following October 7, 2023.
• Impacts of BDS on Israeli Academia: While the study found no essential effect on Israeli institutions’ ability to sustain high-quality research and global collaboration, there is concern that the process could lead to significant adverse effects, starting at the individual level and potentially affecting all academic institutions. Many researchers have reported refusals to publish articles, cancelled conference invitations, delays in promotion processes, and concerns about damage to their academic reputation and relationships with foreign colleagues. There is also increasing difficulty for Israeli higher-education institutions to attract international students and for researchers and students to participate in international conferences or training programs.
• Explicit and Implicit BDS: Nearly half of all reported academic BDS instances are implicit, making identification and practical solutions more challenging. Implicit BDS often involves entities refraining from explicitly stating political reasons for refusing collaboration, attempting to disguise their true motives. Explicit BDS incidents were more diverse across arenas like research relationships, conferences, and lectures.
• Trends in Scientific Publications: As of 2024, indicators such as the annual number of publications, conference participation rates, and international collaborations show no apparent significant decrease in Israel’s scientific output. However, an inevitable deceleration is evident when comparing Israel’s publication increase pace to that of other comparable countries. A 7% decrease in articles accepted for international conferences was observed in 2024, which could be an early indicator of academic BDS impact, alongside other factors like war-related difficulties for researchers.
• Increasing Awareness and Response: Public awareness of academic BDS, especially after October 7, combined with pro-Israel advocacy, has led more entities, including academics and associations, to organize and seek practical solutions.

Main Recommendations for Decision Makers: The report provides recommendations at national, university, and individual levels to address the multidimensional challenge of academic BDS:

• National Level Recommendations:
  • Improving Public Advocacy: Develop a comprehensive, multi-level, multi-language advocacy strategy focusing on Israeli academia’s unique global contributions and the importance of international collaboration.
  • Increasing Collaborations: Strengthen international collaborations, particularly creating new relationships with leading research institutes and universities in countries less influenced by BDS activity, such as India, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and the Czech Republic.
  • Allocating Resources for Critical Research Infrastructures: Prioritize critical infrastructures and allocate resources to ensure continuity of Israeli research in case of blockages abroad.
  • Establishing a Virtual “Situation Room”: Create a central monitoring and tracking platform for academic BDS activities to facilitate information exchange, advise researchers, and formulate solutions.
  • Recruiting Global Academic Leadership: Encourage renowned academic leaders to visit Israel, lecture, or collaborate.
  • Cultivating Academic Ambassadors: Develop training programs for Israeli researchers and students to respectfully represent Israeli academia globally and foster relationships with foreign colleagues.
  • Increasing Involvement of Associations and NGOs: Encourage Jewish and non-Jewish organizations with a positive agenda towards Israel to increase their activity for Israeli academia on global campuses.
  • Legal Aid: Provide legal assistance to Israeli academic institutions and individuals affected by BDS.
  • Ongoing Monitoring: Continuously track academic BDS developments, assess the effectiveness of countermeasures, and adjust strategies.
• University-Level Recommendations:
  • Strengthen and Expand Collaborations: Proactively identify and prioritize opportunities for research collaborations and student exchange programs, targeting broader academic circles beyond traditional audiences.
  • Invite Renowned Academic Leaders: Use traditional academic tools like honorary degrees and hosting funds to invite prominent figures to Israel and expose them to Israeli innovation and research capabilities.
  • Improve “User Experience” for Foreign Guests: To attract more applicants, enhance the accessibility and user-friendliness of university websites and administrative services for international students and scholars.
  • Disciplinary Action Against Israeli Faculty Supporting BDS: Adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism as part of the ethical code and include disciplinary regulations for faculty members who publicly call for boycotts of Israeli academic institutions.
• Individual Faculty Member Level Recommendations:
  • Preparation for Academic Visits Abroad: Gather information on BDS activity in destination countries and be aware of local support entities like embassies, NGOs, and law firms.
  • Credible Real-Time Reporting: Report incidents perceived as BDS, especially if they deviate from previous normative conduct, to improve the effectiveness of response systems.
  • Proactive Steps to Preserve and Expand International Ties: Actively maintain and expand personal networks with international colleagues and consider sending doctoral students abroad for short study periods to foster relationships and counter BDS.

Conclusion: The academic BDS of Israel is a significant, multidimensional challenge that requires a comprehensive and long-term response, in addition to military, political, economic, and legal conflicts. While the direct impact on Israeli academic institutions has been limited thus far, the increased reports of implicit and explicit BDS, particularly from Europe, indicate a potential for future damage. Continued monitoring, analysis of findings, and constant improvement of tools and strategies are crucial to ensuring Israel’s scientific future and preventing its isolation from the global academic community. This report, titled “The Fight Against the Boycotting of Israeli Academia,” was published by the Samuel Neaman Institute in June 2025. It examines the scope and diverse effects of the academic boycott on Israeli institutions and researchers, particularly intensified since the events of October 7, 2023, and proposes potential effective means of addressing it. The report was written and edited with the assistance of advanced artificial intelligence systems to improve wording, edit, summarize, and enhance information accessibility, with the authors retaining full responsibility for the content.

Source: Boaz Golany, Rivka Carmi, Tsipy Buchnik, Ella Barzani, Oshrat Katz-Shacham, Golan Tamir, “The Academic Boycott of Israel: The Fights Against the Boycotting of Israeli Academia,” Samuel Neeman Institute, (June 2025).