Adalah report accuses Israeli academia of systemic apartheid against Palestinians

A report by the legal center Adalah alleges that Israeli academic institutions have established a dual disciplinary system that amounts to apartheid against Palestinian students. The report, titled ‘Apartheid in Israeli Academia: Palestinian Students After 7 October 2023’, details how Palestinian students face systematic suppression for expressing Palestinian identity or solidarity with Gaza.

Adalah documented over 130 inquiries from students at approximately 40 institutions. The findings suggest that while Jewish-Israeli students benefit from a ‘constitutional track’ protected by the rule of law, Palestinian students are subjected to an ‘administrative track’ characterized by the suspension of standard procedural protections and a presumption of guilt.

Specific cases include a student at Zefat Academic College facing permanent expulsion after posting a video of a religious prayer, and a student at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology being suspended for posting a Quranic verse. The report also highlighted institutional failures, such as the use of automated translation software to interpret Arabic texts, which contributed to disciplinary actions against students for cultural and religious expressions.