Indian universities are becoming part of the Israeli military industrial complex
The private university-military-industrial-complex between India and Israel.
Over the past several months, the world has seen an outpouring of solidarity and support for Palestinians, in protest of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
In the US, where the wave of campus protests for Palestine began, students urged their universities to disclose and divest from companies profiteering from Israeli occupation & genocide.
The recent student movement - described as the biggest in the US since the Vietnam protests in the 1960s - also calls on American universities to sever ties with Israeli universities.
Israel’s academic institutions play a key role in the ongoing occupation of Palestine, and have used their close relationships with western universities to cover their complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime.
Pressure has been building on US universities to divest from Israel for decades, and Israeli university administrators are now said to be panicking. They have responded by labeling their opponents as antisemitic, creating no-hire lists, and harassing scholars who dare to speak out.
They are also seeking to build further relationships elsewhere.
Over the past few years, Israeli universities have been quietly growing closer to their Indian counterparts - offering scholarships, hosting summer schools, and collaborating on projects in a range of fields, from agriculture to cyber security.
Israeli arms companies, too, have been signing pacts with Indian universities.
In short, Indian universities are becoming part of the Israeli military industrial complex. Fast.
To discover how exactly this relationship is developing and what it might mean for Indian universities, read my latest story on Middle East Eye.
For a list of connections between Indian and Israeli universities, read on.
Ties between Indian & Israeli universities over the years
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
2007: A delegation of 21 medical staff, including doctors and nurses from AIIMS participated in a training exercise titled “Trauma and Mass Casualty Management”. It was organised by MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) in Rambam Care Campus in Israel.
Aug. 2020: The Israeli embassy provides state-of-the-art AI based technologies and equipment to AIIMS to tackle Covid-19 pandemic.
Feb. 2024: A visiting delegation from Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) met with representatives of AIIMS to deepen ties between the two institutions.
Amity Institute of International Studies, Noida (AIIS)
Offers a Masters Programme Defence & Strategic Studies, which emphasises “"Indo-centricity” and is linked to Haifa University.
Nov. 2016: Participated in the Israel-India Academic Summit, organized in New Delhi during then-President of Israel Reuven Rivlin’s trip to India. AIIS signed wide-ranging memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with two Israeli universities, IDC Herzliya and the College of Law and Business. It was reported at the time that AIIS initiated discussions with the president of IDC Herzliya to establish a Centre for Research focused on management and cyber security.
2021-2: Reported 50 collaborative publications with researchers and scholars from a Israeli university.
Jan. 2023: Hosted a special lecture to mark the completion of 20 years of India-Israel diplomatic relations, with Ohad Nakash Kaynar, the Deputy Chief of Mission to the Embassy of Israel in India.
Ashoka University
Mid-2017: Several students from Ashoka University completed a summer course in “Business Entrepreneurship” at Tel Aviv University in Israel. “Like most summer school programmes, our students not only enjoyed the programme but also got a chance to explore the wondrous city of Tel Aviv. Whether it was visiting Jerusalem, floating in the Dead Sea or looking over the border of Syria, they unanimously agreed that the experience was unparalleled,” the university wrote in a report-back.
May 2024: Students launch petition calling on Ashoka to sever ties with Tel Aviv University because of its known connections with the Israeli military and weapons manufacturers. As the website states:: “Students can apply for summer courses and research programs at Tel Aviv University, and they will “receive partner benefits when participating in the programs.”
Bennett University (Times of India Group), Noida (BU)
MoU’s signed with Ben-Gurion University and Tel Aviv University.
2023: Offered a cybersecurity summer program at Tel Aviv University. Four students from Bennett University attended.
2023: Held the International Universities Education Fair (IUEF), which was inaugurated by Shani Rapaport Etsiony, Head of Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Israel. Dr. Prabhu Kumar Aggarwal, the Vice-Chancellor of BU, said internationalizing education was a key aspect of BU’s brand strategy. More than 5000 students from over 46 colleges and schools attended the fair.
Indian Institute of Management Bengaluru
Feb. 2024: A visiting delegation from HUJI met with representatives of Indian Institute of Management & the Indian Institute of Science to deepen ties between the two institutions.
India Institute of Management Bangalore
Nov. 2016: Established an Israel Centre as part of the Israeli president’s visit to India in Nov. 2016, in which “more than 20 agreements were signed between the heads of Israeli and Indian universities aimed at increasing academic cooperation, student and faculty exchanges, and research partnerships.”
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay)
Oct. 2022: A delegation from Bar-Ilan University’s International School visited two institutions in Mumbai: IIT-Bombay and the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT).
Nov. 2023: Israeli ambassador to Delhi complains to O.P. Jindal University following a lecture on Palestine by former University of Delhi professor Achin Vanaik. The university asks Vanaik to apologize for his lecture. Vanaik refuses. IIT-Bombay cancels his next lecture.
The cancellation prompts 470 academics to issue a joint statement objecting to the “Israeli ambassador’s interference with academic freedom on Indian campuses.”
Feb. 2024: A visiting delegation from HUJI met with representatives of IIT-Bombay to deepen ties between the two institutions.
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
April 2016: An Israeli university delegation meets Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi, to discuss the possibilities of launching joint research initiatives.
Oct. 2020: Signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science related to “research exchange, student and postdoctoral fellow exchange, short-term educational programmes on topics of mutual interest, organizing of joint seminars, conferences and workshops.”
March 2021: Partnered with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to “support collaborative and interdisciplinary education and research initiatives.”
In mid-March, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), one of Israel's major military and commercial aerospace and defence systems manufacturers, and a key actor in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, signed a pact with IIT-Delhi, in a deal described as "a strategic partnership" between the duo.
April 2024: Hebrew University of Jerusalem and IIT-Delhi put out a call for collaborative project proposals. Both institutions will contribute “matching funds to support collaborative and interdisciplinary education and research initiatives, through a joint call for proposals, for the development of collaborative activities that will lead to impactful research outcomes.”
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
2021-2022: Facilitated a series of joint research projects in quantum science and technology with Tel Aviv University.
Oct. 2022: A delegation from Bar-Ilan University’s International School visited four institutions in Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and Anna University.
May 2023: Established an India-Israel Center of Water Technology.
The center will aid the “AMRUT” Mission of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and “pursue joint activities for implementing technological solutions through separate agreements.” MoHUA will collaborate with MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, to establish the center. A statement from IIT Madras stated the centre “will also work towards the mutual exchange of technology, scientific information, literature, and hold discussions and consultations on various issues in the area with experts from both countries to address problems in drinking water and sewerage [sic] management and to develop new areas of intervention.”
Spring 2024: IIT Madras and TAU advertise a Research Cooperation Program, with “joint initiatives aimed at strengthening the two universities’ strategic priorities and fostering multidisciplinary research to generate academic and societal impact.”
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
May 2005: Signed an MoU, titled the “Fairfax County Educational Accords,” with Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, one of the oldest universities in Israel.
Oct. 2015: Signed agreements with three Israeli universities (Ben-Gurion University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and University of Haifa) for student exchanges, faculty visits, research collaborations in aerospace, agriculture and computer science, and other joint academic activities including the teaching and supervision of students, joint conferences, workshops, and student study-abroad programs.
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Aug. 2016: Signed an MoU with Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center “facilitating bi-lateral academic relationships, cooperative research as well as teaching projects in selected fields.”
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
June 2019: Signed an MoU with Tel Aviv University “for the purpose of seeking possibilities to enhance mutual academic exchanges and to maintain close relationships between the two institutions.” The agreement contained four key points: (1) both parties agree to consult on the possibilities of student and staff exchange, (2) both parties agree to pursue faculty and student exchange programs, (3) both parties agree to seek exchanges to cultural and artistic activities, and (4) both parties agree to collaborate on cooperative research and hold joint academic seminars where appropriate.
Indian Institute of Space Science and Space Technology
Jan. 2018: Signed an MoU with Asher Institute for Space Research to lay the groundwork “for student and faculty exchanges, post-doctoral fellowships, possible joint degree programmes, and receiprocal [sic] academic visits between the two institutions.” The agreement was signed by the head of the Israel Space Agency, Avi Blassberger, and the vice president of Indian Space Research Organisation, I.O. Sharma.
The agreement followed PM Netanyahu’s January 2018 visit to India and another agreement (a plan of cooperation & two MoUs) between Netanyahu & Modi around cooperation between the ISRO and the ISA “across a number space science, exploration, and satellite technology areas.”
Jamia Millia Islamia
Oct. 2019: The faculty of Architecture and Ekistics organized an international conference, titled the “Global Health Zenith Confluence 2019 on Medical Infrastructure Planning,” in which an Israeli delegation attended.
In response, 200 students participated in a 10-day sit-in, after students who participated in a peaceful protest against the Israeli delegation’s attendance, were met by a violent crackdown by authorities.
The sit-in was successful, with JMI ultimately agreeing to the students’ demands, including refusing to host future events sponsored by the Israeli government.
Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR)
Oct. 2022: A delegation from Bar-Ilan University’s International School visited Bangalore, including JNCASR, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and Raman Research Institute (RRI).
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
April 2024: U.S. ambassador to India Eric Garcetti’s visit was postponed in response to a pro-Palestine protest by the student union.
JNU offers two courses on Israeli foreign policy at the MA. and PhD level. “The students would be able to comprehend domestic and foreign policy dynamics of Israel, a country of considerable importance to India, b. The students would be able relate and draw parallels with India’s own experiences; and c. Through robust engagements with Israel scholars, the course seeks a place among their peer groups in the world,” the Ph.D.-level course description reads.
National Centre for Biological Sciences
In February 2024, a visiting delegation from HUJI met with representatives of the National Centre for Biological Sciences to deepen ties between the two institutions.
O. P. Jindal Global University
2012: Centre for Israel Studies (JCIS) established in at the Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA). From the center’s official website: “The centre is the first of its kind dedicated to the field of Israel studies within the Indian academia. [...] the centre is committed towards advancing knowledge of India-Israel bilateral engagement. India and Israel began their political relations in 1992 and in the three decades the two nation-states have established substantial relationship [sic] in trade, education, agriculture and defense. With this growing strategic partnership it is critical to enhance knowledge of Modern Israel, its vibrant society and multiethnic culture.”
JCIS has since established academic collaborations with the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, Tel Aviv University, IDC Herzliya, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. JCIS has also partnered with the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Asia Pacific Institute and Middle East Forum (MEF) in the U.S. to facilitate the centre’s visiting scholars program and conferences.
Presidency University
Oct. 2022: A delegation from Bar-Ilan University’s International School visited Kolkata, including Presidency University, Jadavpur University, and the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS).
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
In February 2024, a visiting delegation from HUJI met with representatives of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research to deepen ties between the two institutions.
University of Kerala
March 2024: Administration banned the use of the word “intifada,” citing its “direct links with the Palestine-Israel conflict and the word [...] being used by Hamas.” The ban came after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of India’s ruling right-wing Hindu nationalist party, filed a complaint over the word’s use in promotional materials for the Kerala University Youth Festival.
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