The University of Bologna sanctions a researcher for wearing a keffiyeh and criticising Israel online

A tenure-track researcher (RTT) at the University of Bologna's Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences (DIMEVET), in Ozzano dell'Emilia, received a written censure following a complaint by Israeli students in his department. According to the USB trade union and the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which are defending him, he was targeted for wearing a keffiyeh while teaching, for taking part in the work-to-rule strike of 4 November 2025, and for social media posts denouncing what he described as the genocide under way in Palestine. The sanction temporarily blocks his career at the stage immediately preceding appointment as an associate professor.

The complaint came from a group of Israeli students enrolled at DIMEVET, where there are nearly thirty, whom USB and ELSC describe as including serving soldiers and reservists of the Israeli army. The email that triggered the proceedings was reportedly sent by a student who is a member of the army. According to the researcher's defenders, the group first circulated accusations about him among department staff, then reported him to the administration and the rector, accusing him of fuelling hatred against Israel and falsely claiming he had invited students to follow him online in order to justify monitoring his accounts. They say these claims are contradicted by several documents, including anonymous end-of-course evaluations in which no student reported any misconduct. The group also asked the department to ban the keffiyeh on university premises.

The university opened disciplinary proceedings for breach of its code of ethics, focusing on a post critical of Israel published on the researcher's personal Facebook page, on the grounds that his profile showed his affiliation with the university. The proceedings ended in a written censure. USB says the disciplinary committee and the rector disregarded the evidence it submitted in his defence, and that the researcher was only invited to discuss the case in person after the decision had been taken. His defenders also criticise the university for taking no action over what they regard as defamation, and for offering him no protection against further attacks.

USB and ELSC have challenged the sanction before the Regional Administrative Court (TAR), where a first hearing has been held. They warn that the case sets a dangerous precedent for academic freedom. They have also asked the university to state its position on the presence of Israeli soldiers among its students, and on reports that some have been allowed to sit exams outside regular sessions on returning from military service, a facility they say is denied to students with disabilities or in financial difficulty. The University of Bologna has pledged not to sign new agreements with Israeli universities, but its critics note that existing ones have not been terminated, only left to lapse.