No Italian universities are boycotting Israel say deans

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 18 - The head of the conference of Italian university deans, CRUI, said Thursday that no Italian universities have boycotted Israel despite pressure from some student groups for them to do so, amid the war in Gaza.
    "There is no boycott by Italian universities in relation to the existing scientific relations with Israeli universities," CRUI President Giovanna Iannantuoni said.
    "No university has ever voted for a boycott of scientific collaboration, only some academic senates (have voted) for the suspension of individual (cooperation tender) calls.
    "We remain open to collaborating with everyone'".
    Student groups have staged a series of controversial demonstrations calling for universities to severe ties with Israel.
    In particular, they have called for programmes with alleged 'dual use' research, also potentially useful for military ends, to be terminated.
    A protest at Rome's La Sapienza University was marred by violent clashes with police on Tuesday, which drew the ire of Premier Giorgia Meloni.
    One student was arrested for resisting arrest and another for jumping onto a police vehicle. Several police and some students were hurt.
    Some members of a group who have been camped out in tents at La Sapienza for several days chained themselves up and started a hunger strike on Wednesday.
    They have displayed banners including "Stop the Gaza genocide" and "end the NATO war industry".
    Despite the protests, Iannantuoni said: "we do not need preventive actions or special measures by the police". (ANSA).