4 March 2025
Students and faculty at the University of Granada persuaded the administration to break ties with Israeli institutions. A pro-Israel organisation challenged the legality of this decision in the local court. The court has rejected the challenge. While an appeal to a higher court remains possible, even likely, the strength of support for Palestine in Spain generally has grown so strong that any reversal now seems unlikely. The following is a rough English translation of the Andalusian court’s decision.
Spanish court endorses university decision to suspend collaborations with Israeli institutions due to the genocide in Gaza.
Granada, March 3, 2025.
The Administrative Court No. 3 of the city of Granada, Spain, has dismissed the appeal filed against the University of Granada (UGR) by “Action and Communication on the Middle East (ACOM)” for suspending all academic and scientific collaborations with Israeli institutions. The contested agreement was approved by the UGR Governing Council on May 17, 2024, after numerous mobilizations promoted by students and the “Universities for Palestine Network” demanding an institutional stance against the ongoing genocide committed in Gaza. The court has sentenced that the university’s initiative was based on international declarations, including the statements pronounced by the UN rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, who in April 2024 stressed that “the world is witnessing the first genocide shown in real time by its victims.” The sentence also explicitly refers to the agreements of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) and the Association of Andalusian Public Universities (AUPA). In May 2024, they called for “the immediate and definitive cessation of military operations by the Israeli army.”
The court has ruled that the University of Granada acted within the autonomy granted by legislations on the matter and its own statutes, which clearly prioritize “the culture of peace, non-violence, and cooperation between peoples.” The sentence also emphasized that the suspension of collaborations with Israeli institutions does not constitute any act of discrimination. It is indeed a proportionate measure to ensure alignment with international humanitarian law.
The sentence aligns with the positions of the UGR and the Andalusian Association for Human Rights (APDHA) in relation to the war and the relevance of the measures adopted. It highlights the “very limited effect of the decisions adopted, their provisional nature, their motivation in the purposes set out in relation to the situation of asymmetrical conflict that has been appreciated by international organizations, and the need to take some kind of measure to, at least, try to reach such purposes, although this will obviously not put an end to the war.”
The APDHA participated as co-defendant in the process and firmly supported the legality of the agreement, endorsing the position of the UGR.
This sentence concludes the litigation in the first instance, although an appeal to the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) is enabled. The University of Granada will maintain the suspension of collaborations with Israeli institutions, in alignment with its institutional commitment and the demands of the university community.
