Genocide in Gaza: Scientists demand the end of the collaboration with Israel

Genocide in Gaza: Scientists demand the end of the collaboration with Israel

Mathematician from all over the world raise your voice against the injustice in Gaza!

On October 7, 2023, the incredible happened: A devastating terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel demanded over 1,200 human lives, including more than 800 civilians and at least 33 children. The number of injuries rose to alarming 5,400, while 248 people were taken hostages - around 100 of them are still caught in Gaza today!

But the reaction of the Israeli government to this attack was nothing less than an act of violence that targeted the Palestinian population in Gaza. The international community is watching while the number of victims increases immeasurably. By the end of October 2024, 43,061 victims were counted, including over 13,735 children, 7,216 women and 3,447 older people. Over 100,000 people were injured and many more are buried under the rubble, listed and forgotten.

The terrifying reality in Gaza

The Israeli military strategy is brutal: on average, a massacre in the style of October 7th is carried out every ten days - and for more than a year! UN General Secretary António Guterres described the situation in Gaza as a "crisis of humanity". The civilian population suffers from massive attacks, while the country's infrastructure is placed in ruins. 90 percent of the population of Gaza are forced to leave their homeland again and again. The hospitals are bombarded and destroyed, medical staff is killed, and the blockade of food, water and medication leads to unimaginable suffering.

The Palestinian Minister of Education reported that since October 7, 2023, over 11,057 school children and 681 students were killed in Gaza. Over 16,897 children were injured, and 441 teachers and educational staff lost their lives. The educational institutions are faced with ruin: 406 schools were damaged, 77 completely destroyed, and almost 88,000 students have been without lessons for more than a year.

A call to solidarity

In the middle of this tragedy, 1,078 mathematicians from all over the world have come together and wrote an urgent letter. They call for an immediate end of scientific cooperation with Israeli institutions that do not clearly speak against the atrocities in Gaza. "Enough is enough!" Call and appeal to your colleagues to put pressure on your own institutions to end these partnerships.

The science community has often fought for human rights and international law in the past. Now it is time for mathematicians to no longer silence and rise against the injustice in Gaza. They also support the call from 3,400 Israeli colleagues who request the international community to impose immediate sanctions against Israel in order to achieve immediate ceasefire.

The voices of the scientists are loud and clear: it is time to stand up for the life and safety of the people in Israel and Palestine and to defend academic freedom as well as freedom of expression!