Brussels | Palestine Republic – Special
In a scene reflecting shifting dynamics within European academia, three major Belgian universities — the University of Antwerp, Ghent University, and the Université libre de Bruxelles — jointly awarded an honorary doctorate to UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
While official academic circles attempted to frame the recognition within a general “human rights” context, Albanese — alongside a hall resonating with pro-Palestinian chants — transformed the event into a platform to indict policies of apartheid and genocide.
The ceremony witnessed notable tension when the President of the University of Antwerp, Herwig Leirs, stated that the award “does not target Israel.” His remarks were met with strong backlash and audible disapproval from attendees, who interrupted with chants condemning the massacres in Gaza and calling for concrete action beyond symbolic recognition.
This moment of pressure from within the academic and public audience highlighted a growing divide between university administrations — often constrained by political pressures — and student and academic communities demanding a comprehensive severance of ties with institutions linked to the Israeli system.
For her part, Albanese settled the debate with characteristic clarity, rejecting attempts to depoliticize or sanitize the award. She stated unequivocally:“Of course this is directed at Israel — it is an apartheid state accused of committing genocide.
”She further emphasized that this recognition represents an acknowledgment of realities that some continue to obscure, stressing the need for European universities to move beyond “symbolic gestures” toward “concrete measures” to end complicity.
This joint honorary doctorate marks an unprecedented step in the history of Belgian universities, coming at a time of intensifying student mobilization across Europe calling for divestment and academic boycott of institutions linked to the occupation.
It places Belgian universities before a critical test: whether this “honorary doctorate” will remain symbolic, or be translated into tangible decisions that end all forms of cooperation with entities implicated in violations of international law.
