A few days ago, a friend tagged me in a post by a fellow former alumna of the Davao Medical School Foundation about the visit of the ambassador of Israel to the school. Her post appears in Instagram with an account name lobnasam_15, a Palestinian-Filipino. Her post was entitled: DAVAO MEDICAL SCHOOL FOUNDATION PLANS TIE WITH ISRAEL.
When Israel’s Ambassador Ilan Fluss visited Davao Medical School Foundation Inc. (DMSF) in 2022, he spoke of cooperation in medicine, education, and technology. Later, in 2025, his visits to Mariano Marcos State University and Tarlac Agricultural University promoted agricultural internships and innovation partnerships. These engagements were framed as goodwill gestures, highlighting Israel’s expertise in healthcare and farming.
But universities must ask: what is the broader context? At the same time these visits were taking place, international bodies were documenting grave human rights violations. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (2025) pointed out that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice (2024) ordered Israel to stop its genocidal acts against Palestinians. Scholars and human rights organizations worldwide argue that Israel’s actions amount to systemic violations of international law. Against this backdrop, partnerships with universities risk becoming instruments of humanitarian washing—where aid and scholarships are used to obscure or soften global criticism of war crimes.
Israel’s government and affiliated foundations use scholarships, medical partnerships, and agricultural aid to project a humanitarian image. Programs like MASHAV agricultural training and medical scholarships are presented as humanitarian outreach. Yet critics argue they function as soft power tools to distract from accusations of genocide and occupation. By engaging with institutions like DMSF, Israel projects an image of benevolence and innovation, while international courts document mass killings, displacement, and destruction in Gaza. Diplomatic visits emphasize “development cooperation,” but omit the reality of military aggression and human rights violations.
Universities abroad have already faced this dilemma. In the United States, student protests erupted at Columbia and Harvard, demanding divestment from companies linked to Israel’s military actions. In Europe, faculty and student groups at SOAS in London joined the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, rejecting partnerships that normalize or legitimize human rights abuses. Institutions that accepted Israeli funding or partnerships faced backlash, accused of complicity in humanitarian washing. These experiences show the reputational risks of uncritical cooperation.
Philippine universities should learn from these lessons. Institutions in Mindanao and across the country must scrutinize partnerships to ensure they do not whitewash human rights violations. They must place international law and human rights at the center of academic cooperation. And they must recognize that true education cannot be separated from the realities of genocide, occupation, and systemic abuses. Cooperation without scrutiny risks undermining credibility and moral standing.
Israel’s ambassadorial visits are not neutral acts of diplomacy. They are part of a broader strategy to reshape global perceptions through humanitarian washing. Institutions like Davao Medical School Foundation must critically assess these engagements. Education should never be used to sanitize war crimes.
Universities must stand firm: true cooperation cannot come at the expense of human rights.(davaotoday.com)
