VERA is the Association of University Heads, Israel. Members are the presidents, rectors and director generals of each of Israel’s universities. Published in May 2026, the Academic Boycott Report no. 4 covers the period from October 2025 through March 2026 and lists 4 key findings:
1. There has been a relatively moderate increase in the number of overall reports concerning new academic boycotts of all types, whether boycotts targeting individual researchers, academic institutions, or professional associations. This moderate increase likely reflects the fact that many of those inclined to boycott Israeli researchers and institutions have already done so over the past two years, and therefore the number of new actors joining these efforts is now smaller.
2. However, there has been no decrease in the scope or scale of existing boycotts. This means that the broader trend of academic boycotts against Israeli academia continues, and there are clear signs of a gradual strengthening.
3. The academic boycott is changing in both form and emphasis. In particular, the relative share of boycott incidents connected to Horizon Europe projects has increased significantly. Israel’s participation, and the participation of Israeli academia, in the scientific framework of the Horizon Europe agreements is a strategic objective and a flagship national project. The authors point out that both competitors and adversaries recognise this vulnerability, and are targeting it accordingly.
Meanwhile, initiatives aimed at excluding Israeli researchers and Israeli professional associations from international academic organisations continue. The phenomenon of severing academic ties, both at the individual and institutional levels, remains ongoing, and many Israeli researchers continue to report cancelled conference invitations and sanctions related to lectures and academic appearances.
4. The original assumption that a ceasefire in Gaza would reduce boycott activity has clearly not materialized. Monitoring of boycott organisations and their public discourse demonstrates that these organisations adapted very quickly to the changing circumstances, including the war with Iran and developments involving Israel’s activity in Lebanon.
Boycott organisations are also taking advantage of a growing hostility toward the Trump administration among progressive circles and among segments of European decision-makers, in order to reinforce hostility toward Israel, which is perceived as the United States’ closest ally and, in their view, as pursuing increasingly aggressive regional policies.
Download the full report including strategic implications and conclusions from the VERA website.
Source: VERA