Some University of Helsinki Employees Demand End to Collaboration With Israeli Universities

Some University of Helsinki employees have, quite evidently, lost their minds. I arrived at this conclusion because over 700 of its employees are demanding that Finland’s largest university end its cooperation with Israeli universities.

Behind the petition is an organization called Researchers for Palestine, which I had never heard of before. They describe themselves as "a group of staff and researchers based at the University of Helsinki who are committed to pushing for an academic boycott of Israeli educational institutions, in line with BDS and PACBI guidelines."

Among the signatories, there appear to be mainly ethnically Finnish representatives of the social sciences, but with a quick glance I also found, for example, two people named Muhammad, a few named Ahmed or Ahmad, and several variations of Hassan, as well as some non-Finnish European names.

In fact, 700 is not a particularly large number, considering that the University of Helsinki employs approximately 7,800 people. So, less than 10 percent of the staff have signed the petition—unfortunately, I personally know a few of them.

Naturally, such a petition has no actual impact on inter-university relations, nor should it. If for no other reason, then because research is inherently something that connects people rather than separates them—and it is such a long-term endeavor that temporary political disagreements should not be allowed to influence it.

Nevertheless, I offer a suggestion to all the petition’s signatories: “No force in the world can stop you from ending your own cooperation with Israeli universities and researchers. Therefore, you are entirely free to set an example for others and return any funding you may have received for such cooperation.”

However, if you don’t personally have any such cooperation, then I view your demand as rather ridiculous. It seems to be a clear case of virtue signaling on matters that require no personal sacrifice from you, but would demand that others break their commitments. That is simply spineless.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
University of Helsinki gained an anti-Semitic reputation
Demonstrations cause trouble in Helsinki and Sweden
International Master´s degree is an opportunity to be used

Is the UK's Democracy Facing an Existential Crisis?

In the UK, a petition was launched to call for a General Election. Its proposer believes that "the current Labour Government has gone back on the promises it laid out in the lead-up to the last election." The Government needs to respond to the request because it has obtained more than 2.6 million signatories in just a few days.

This is a peculiar case, as the election that transferred power from the Conservatives to the Labour Party took place only last July 4th — just four and a half months ago.

This demonstrates that Keir Starmer is facing exceptional dissatisfaction in the UK. One likely reason is the heavy-handed manner in which his government dealt with Britons protesting against criminal immigrants in late summer. It even released actual criminals from prison to make room for political detainees.

There is also data to back this up. According to surveys, a majority of the public was already dissatisfied with Starmer’s administration by September. In a recent poll, 28% of the public hold a favourable view of Labour, compared to 49% who view the party unfavourably.

However, other parties are not faring well either. Reform UK has the highest favourability rating of any party, with 27% holding a favourable view of the party and 46% unfavourable, while the figures for other parties are even worse.

It is therefore necessary to ask whether the UK's democracy is facing an existential crisis where no political solution satisfies the citizens. And one must hope — if this is indeed the case — that the politicians of the island nation find a way to address the situation while respecting the principles of democracy.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Predictions Based on the Opinion Polls in the UK
Why Were Violent Protests Acceptable for George Floyd but Not for the UK Child Murders?
Elections in the UK: A Shift Toward Hand-Waving Politics?