Student activists in Copenhagen are demanding Danish universities sever all ties with Israeli academic institutions, renewing pressure on schools that have already taken some steps toward divestment. The protests mark the latest phase of a campus movement that began more than a year ago and has forced multiple Danish universities to reconsider their Israeli partnerships.
As reported by Arbejderen, students at the University of Copenhagen are calling for a complete academic boycott. The demand goes beyond the university’s existing commitment to divest from companies operating in Israeli settlements. This time, activists want institutional partnerships with Israeli universities terminated entirely.
I have watched this debate evolve since May 2024, when student encampments first appeared on Copenhagen University’s campus. The university responded by announcing it would divest from companies on the UN’s blacklist of settlement operators. That was significant. But it was not enough.
What Universities Have Already Done
The Technical University of Denmark cut ties with Ariel University after an investigation by Danwatch revealed that Ariel sits in an illegal settlement on the occupied West Bank. DTU had collaborated with Ariel since the 1990s and was planning to finance laboratory experiments there. DTU President Anders Bjarklev said funding analyses at Ariel could be seen as supporting a settlement, something the university did not want to do.
The University of Copenhagen went further last year. It held approximately DKK 1 million in investments in companies operating in settlements and pledged to end those holdings. But the university maintained research partnerships with Israeli institutions located within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. It also froze student exchanges with Israel due to the ongoing conflict.
In December 2024, Denmark’s Minister for Higher Education and Science issued formal guidance. Christina Egelund stated that cooperation should be limited to Israeli institutions within pre-1967 borders and should not include illegal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The guidance was clear. No student exchanges, no conference participation, no workshops in occupied territories.
The Transparency Problem
What remains murky is exactly how much collaboration continues. Among six Danish universities surveyed for institutional agreements with Israeli entities, three fully disclosed their arrangements. Three did not.
The University of Copenhagen identified at least eight collaboration agreements involving Israeli universities or companies but claimed it needed permission from all parties to disclose details. DTU acknowledged multiple cases but argued verification would take too much time. Meanwhile, the University of Southern Denmark provided full transparency on all its research projects involving Israeli institutions.
This inconsistency is frustrating. These are public universities funded by taxpayers. When institutions refuse to disclose partnerships, it suggests resistance to scrutiny. I have covered Danish transparency culture for years, and this level of institutional opacity is unusual here.
What Activists Want Now
Student demands have hardened. Groups like Academics for Palestine are calling for complete academic boycotts, not just investment divestment. They want all institutional collaboration agreements terminated. They argue that Israeli universities are structurally complicit in military activities and discriminatory policies, regardless of their geographic location.
This argument extends beyond settlements. The University of Southern Denmark maintains research collaborations with Ben-Gurion University on organic photovoltaic solar panel research through the EU’s Horizon Europe framework. The project runs until August 2027. Ben-Gurion operates within Israel’s pre-1967 borders, which makes the partnership compliant with Danish government policy. But activists point to alleged linkages between Ben-Gurion and Israeli military programs.
This is where the debate gets complicated. Geographic boundaries are clear. Institutional complicity is not. Universities within Israel proper may host research with military applications or receive government funding tied to defense ministries. Should Danish universities apply a blanket boycott, or should they evaluate partnerships case by case?
European Momentum
Denmark is not isolated. The University of Granada suspended student and researcher exchanges with Israeli institutions and halted cooperation on five Horizon Europe projects. Ghent University cut ties with three Israeli research organizations. OsloMet and the University of South-Eastern Norway both ended or suspended agreements with Israeli institutions in early 2024.
Israel has received more than €600 million from Horizon Europe, more than Poland or the Czech Republic. That funding creates significant financial and political stakes. European universities face pressure from student activists, but they also navigate EU framework programs that legitimize collaborations at a supranational level.
Where This Leaves Expats and Students
For international students and researchers in Denmark, this matters practically. If you are considering exchanges or collaborative research, the landscape has shifted. Student mobility with Israel is frozen at Copenhagen University. Partnerships with settlement institutions are off limits everywhere. But partnerships with Israeli universities within pre-1967 borders remain legally and politically acceptable under current Danish policy.
The student movement shows no signs of stopping. Activism that began with divestment demands has evolved into calls for comprehensive institutional boycotts. Whether Danish universities will comply remains an open question. What is certain is that the debate over Palestine has permanently altered how Danish academic institutions think about international partnerships. The days of unexamined collaboration are over.
This will continue. Student activists have forced universities to confront uncomfortable questions about complicity, transparency, and the limits of academic freedom. Those questions will not go away, regardless of how the conflict in Gaza evolves. Danish universities will keep facing pressure to choose between international academic cooperation and political solidarity with Palestinian rights. That choice is getting harder to avoid.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: Majority of Danes oppose Israel’s Gaza offensive
The Danish Dream: Will Denmark recognise Palestine amid growing pressure?
The Danish Dream: Israeli arms firms spark controversy in Denmark expo
Arbejderen: Studerende i København kræver stop for samarbejde med israelske universiteter
