University students in Jordan are fuming after it became clear that Israeli researchers are participating in a conference on artificial intelligence hosted by the Amman University.
The Israeli researchers hail from the Weizmann Institute and Hebrew University, and were partners in the program.
However, the conference has drawn ire and protests, as well as calls to boycott the Israeli universities. Immediately following the conference, a protest broke out on the Jordanian campus, calling for a boycott of Israeli academia.
In a statement, Bloc Opposing Peace with Israel said: "We demand that the university management take responsibility for what happened today and give an accounting to those responsible for hosting this, and issue an official apology to the students, to ensure that what happened today will not repeat itself. We beg of our colleagues, students, and teachers in the faculty to oppose all acts of normalization."
In a statement, BDS Jordan said: "We praise the patriotic approach of supervision by students at the Jordanian university, which is in accordance with the accepted approach of the majority, which opposes normalization with Israel. Those who stand behind these projects contribute directly to the whitewashing of the occupation and give it a cover, allowing it to commit additional and greater crimes against the nations in this region, especially against the Palestinian nation."
"To Thee Jerusalem" and Im Tirtzu responded: "It is known that most of the Jordanian nation opposes Israel in an extreme fashion, and opposes the peace agreements. The diplomatic progress in signing agreements with Jordan are praiseworthy, but at the same time, the Foreign Ministry must make certain that Israel's interests are not harmed. Not everything is connected only to business - it's also important to protect our values.