The Cornell organization Students for Justice in Palestine, a group supporting Palestinian activism, is currently voicing their concerns regarding potential ties between the Israeli government and Technion – the Israel Institute of Technology that recently paired up with Cornell University in their successful bid to construct an Applied Science graduate school in New York, New York.

The group has released a petition calling upon the University to end its relationship with Technion on grounds of that University’s involvement in research and development of military and arms technology for the Israeli government. They claim that some of the Institution’s involvements with the Israeli government have had an effect on the country’s “war crimes” in the ongoing conflict with Palestinians in the region. The petition will be sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President David Skorton, Vice President Susan Murphy, and Provost Kent Fuchs.

Here’s an excerpt from their petition:

 ”More than any other university in Israel, the Technion, which is involved in the research and development of military and arms technology, is directly implicated in war crimes. Its joint programs with the Israeli military and its cooperative research programs with two of Israel’s major weapons corporations, Elbit and Rafael, renders Technion a full participant in the actions carried out by the Israeli military. Those actions include targeting civilians, as in the 2006 invasion of Lebanon and the 2008-2009 Cast Lead operation against Gaza, and physically contributing to Israel’s discriminatory practices in the West Bank with the construction of the separation wall that cuts sharply into the occupied West Bank and disrupts the lives of Palestinians in countless ways. The Cornell administration cannot plead ignorance of these facts. We refuse to collaborate with this.”

Founded in 1912, Technion is the oldest University in modern Israel. It boasts to have three Nobel Prize winners among its world-renowned researchers. With Mayor Bloomberg’s recent game-changing announcement, however, little attention has been paid to the history and specifics of Technion as an institution and as a leader in Israeli education.

As it turns out, Students for Justice in Palestine is not the only group to question the ethics of the Institution. Just last week, students at the London School of Economics began questioning the school’s recent pairing with Technion for an EU initiative called “Policy Incentives for the Creation of Knowledge: Methods and Evidence (PICK-ME).” Here’s an excerpt from The Beaver, the newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union:

“Similarly, the Institute for Technology has been heavily involved in developing tunnel detecting equipment for the Israeli government. In her article published in the Beaver last week, Clifton suggests that Technion has been both “directly and indirectly” involved in the creation of military surveillance and security equipment in conjunction with Elbit Systems, an Israeli company known for providing the monitoring systems for the 760km separation wall. Auer further emphasised this point in the general meeting on Thursday, saying there has been a “close relationship” between Technion and Elbit since a research agreement was signed in 2008.”

And from the UK’s The Independent:

“These numerous ties, say Israel’s critics, make Technion complicit in the crimes associated with Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The Israeli military breaches international law daily, as it enforces an apartheid regime in the occupied territories that goes strictly against the Geneva Conventions.”

These initiatives mark the first criticisms of Technion since Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement last December. If nothing else, they are an indication that not everyone in the Cornell community is a supporter of the Cornell-Technion relationship. The implications of Technion’s influence in the Israeli government remain ambiguous. Regardless, any negative PR regarding the Institution’s ethics will be bad press for Cornell at this decisive moment in school history.

Expect more news and analysis regarding Technion’s role in Middle Eastern politics here at the Cornell Insider in the coming days.

On the first day of classes this fall semester, President David Skorton grabbed national attention by publishing an Op-ed in the New York Times asserting that “National fraternities and sororities should end pledging across all campuses.” After a semester of students trying to figure out exactly what that meant, the first day of winter recess has brought a new, attention-grabbing headline to Ithaca, courtesy of President Skorton and his friends in NYC.

According to multiple sources, including the Wall Street Journal which broke the story early this morning, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce this afternoon that Cornell University has won the much coveted contest to build an applied-science campus on Roosevelt Island.

Following months of effort by the administration, Board of Trustees, public relations department, and others in the University to build support for the initiative, it appears that the efforts have paid off.

It was believed that the apparent frontrunners in the contest were Cornell and Stanford, which both submitted revolutionary proposals before the October 28 deadline. Columbia, New York University, and Carnegie Mellon were also considered to be in the running, but their proposals received far less media attention. (Cornell’s winning proposal)

With Stanford’s sudden, unexpected announcement that it would be dropping out of the contest last Friday, many suspected that the path had been cleared for a Cornell victory. Then, an hour after Stanford’s departure, Cornell announced a $350 million donation from an anonymous donor to be put toward the new campus. The mysterious gift is the largest in school history.

Support for the “Tech Campus” as it has been commonly called, was high among the student body in Ithaca this semester. The Student Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in mid-October announcing student support. They also formed an “NYC Tech Ad-Hoc Committee” in early September.

At the same time, little information was shared with the student body as to how the campus will actually enhance the college experience of the current undergrads. The good publicity that will come to the University following the announcement, however, is undoubtedly beneficial for all. The $2.1 billion campus is expected to take up to 30 years to be built in its entirety. Cornell has promised to have initial classes running by next September.

A press conference with Mayor Bloomberg and President Skorton will be held at 2:30PM today.