A group of French politicians known for their anti-Muslim attitude at the European Parliament targeted a Turkish university over its rector’s criticism of Israel and support of Palestine.
In a letter addressed to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French lawmaker and former Minister Nadine Morano accused professor Şehmus Demir, the rector of Gaziantep Islam, Science and Technology University (GIBTU) of “being close to Hamas” and urged the EU to cut off its relations with the school “immediately.”
The letter, including signatures of other French politicians, claimed the university supported Hamas and said EU’s Erasmus+ partnership with it was “scandalous” in light of its support of Palestine against Israel’s occupation.
Islam plays a central role in the university’s educational program, the letter argued, slamming Demir for his criticism of Israel.
The letter comes at a time when Islamophobic sentiments and far-right parties have been strengthening across Europe and the European Parliament, revealing that anti-Islam policies are not limited to security but spreading to cultural and academic cooperation, too.
The French politicians’ letter is based on claims published in Journal du Dimanche, a popular French weekly.
Turkish universities were among hundreds of other institutions around the world that organized encampments to protest Israel’s brutal offensive in Gaza earlier this year.
Türkiye has been a vocal critic of Israel since the start of the war and a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause, including holding talks with Palestinian, Israeli and Hamas officials.
President Erdoğan has called Israel a "terrorist state" and accused it of carrying out a genocide in Gaza. He has expressed full support for Hamas and rejected the Western stance of classifying it as a terrorist organization.
Israel’s brutal onslaught in the Gaza Strip is nearing its first anniversary, which began on Oct. 7 following Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel and has since spread to Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.
In the past year alone, Israel’s bombing killed at least 41,800 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, and more than 700 others in the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.
Israeli estimates indicate that around 720,000 Israelis now live in illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The international community, including the U.N., considers these settlements illegal under international law, and the U.S. has said that Israel's expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank is inconsistent with international law.
The Lebanon escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that declared Israel's decadeslong occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
