University of Antwerp continues project with Israeli university despite ethical concerns
The University of Antwerp (UAntwerpen) is pressing ahead with a medical research project involving Tel Aviv University, despite receiving a negative opinion from its own Human Rights Ethics Committee. The decision was confirmed by the university’s executive board on Tuesday evening.
The controversial project will bring together scientists from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Israel to develop a treatment for a rare and incurable form of childhood epilepsy. UAntwerpen stressed that each partner is funded nationally, meaning no European money will flow to Tel Aviv University.
The ethics panel had urged withdrawal, citing Tel Aviv University’s links with the Israeli military and the war in Gaza. In response, UAntwerp stated that the warning was issued only after the project had been awarded in 2024 and launched in early 2025. The board added that the project’s aim of developing a treatment for an incurable form of childhood epilepsy under Antwerp’s leadership was decisive in its decision to continue.
Rector Herwig Leirs pointed out that, via the Flemish Interuniversity Council, the university had previously condemned "violence on both sides and the dehumanisation in Gaza" and called for the suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement, which allows Israeli institutions to participate in EU research programmes.
While continuing with the epilepsy study, UAntwerp will withdraw from another EU-funded Horizon Europe project on carbon storage in soils, which also involves Tel Aviv University. “The process to terminate that cooperation has begun,” said Leirs. The university added that no new collaborations with Israeli institutions are currently under discussion.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO ROBBE VANDEGEHUCHTE
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