The storm of boycotts against Israeli academia has been gaining momentum in recent months, and should deeply concern every Israeli. The interim results of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s struggle against the trending boycott shows that it is possible to mark up achievements when we act with determination and apply a range of arguments – academic, moral, and legal. We mainly see success in preventing boycotts by foreign academic institutions, which has been our main objective so far.

It is very challenging to persuade academic individuals and groups. The groups are very limited in size, but very active and apply massive pressure on university administrations, faculty and students, who are not necessarily anti-Israel, to boycott Israeli academia.

When we saw the first signs of a boycott, we established an action team for this struggle at the Hebrew University. We maintain it with our own resources only and with numerous volunteers in Israel and overseas. Academia can only continue to fulfill this key role if it is international. Without foreign academic relations, we cannot advance ground-breaking research and train the next generation of doctors, engineers, economists and professionals in the social sciences and humanities.

We are aware that in recent months, several dozen universities have declared full or partial academic boycotts against Israeli academia. They include universities in Spain, Belgium, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Chile and Canada. Some of these institutions have gone further and prohibited their faculty from continuing research relations with Israeli academia.

The activity by our and other universities has achieved results in the past few weeks, without requiring legal action to date. The senate of a top Canadian university rejected by a large majority a resolution to boycott The Hebrew University, following our intensive work there, led by local faculty. The Association of Rectors of Universities in the Netherlands published an objection to boycotting Israeli universities. The declaration is signed by rectors of some universities that previously resolved to boycott us. We have received statements of support from universities and thousands of researchers worldwide. In a recent important development, the European Commission accepted our argument, resolving that suspending European Union-funded research projects with Israeli researchers is prohibited discrimination under European regulations.

But in contrast to these successes, we have been less successful in the struggle against radical individuals and groups who apply massive pressure within foreign universities, calling to boycott Israel. These measures often call for imposing a “quiet boycott” against Israeli academia, expressed by refusing to cooperate in research or help evaluate research achievements by candidates and faculty. We must continue to examine how to do better from this aspect too.

Ironically, at a time when calls for an academic boycott are largely based on arguments by our foreign colleagues that Israeli universities are partners in what they characterize as Israeli war crimes, we are under assault at home by populist politicians who accuse academia of disloyalty. The clearest example of these assaults is the “silencing law,” a new bill by coalition chairman MK Ofir Katz.

The Hebrew University stands in the forefront of the country’s civic, public and national endeavors and is deeply committed to Israeli society. At the same time, it is an institution that is part of a bustling international community. Infringing on the university’s commitment to human rights and promoting equality, tolerance and pluralism will severely impact our international standing and abet those calling to boycott us. The determined struggle against the academic interest is a paramount national interest and the government, which does not adequately assist in this struggle, should at least avoid interfering in it.