1300 Students, Faculty Ask IISc to Cancel Israel-India Summit, Call It ‘Unconscionable'

New Delhi: More than 1,300 people from various universities across India and overseas have written to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru asking it to cancel an Israel-India summit scheduled to be held on Monday (September 23).

‘The India-Israel Business Summit’ is being organised by Think India, the Indian Chamber of International Business and the Mysore Lancers Heritage Foundation.

Calling IISc’s participation in the event as ‘unconscionable’, the letter says the event would “amount to direct support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine and its aggressive actions against its neighbours”.

The letter highlighted the scale of violence unleashed by Israel in the months since the October 7 Hamas attack last year. “…Israel has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children. A report in the Lancet suggested that the true casualties might be four times higher, which would amount to about 10% of Gaza’s total population. Israel has destroyed every University in Gaza. It has also destroyed healthcare facilities, leading to the resurgence of diseases such as polio,” it said, adding that Israel was also responsible for several civilian deaths in Lebanon in the deadly pager explosions.

“We request you to stop the ‘India Israel Business Summit’ event on 23rd September and not allow the use of the Indian Institute of Science as a platform to legitimise genocide and colonialism,” the letter addressed to IISc director Govindan Rangarajan read.

According to social media posts from the organisers, the summit “aims to bring together business leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers from both countries to discuss and explore potential areas of cooperation, foster partnerships, explore synergies, and drive innovation.”

It added that discussions will be held on bilateral trade and investments between India and Israel, defence and cybersecurity, startup and venture capital, sustainable technology and water technology.

“We are especially concerned that one of the planned tracks of discussion is in defence and cybersecurity,” the letter said.

The letter also pointed to the July ruling of the International Court of Justice, which said Israel’s continued presence in the Palestinian territories violates international law and must end “as rapidly as possible”.

It added that students and faculty members across the globe have expressed solidarity with Palestine and called for divesting from Israel. In this context, the signatories asked IISc to stop the event and “not allow the use of the Indian Institute of Science as a platform to legitimise genocide and colonialism”.

The names of the first few signatories are published below.