About 298 Indian human rights activists, scientists, researchers, students, and professors have urged that the Indian Statistical Institute in Delhi and Shiv Nadar University cancel their invitations to Israeli-American Zionist economist Robert Aumann.
In letters dated December 27, 2024, and January 4, 2025, the group indicated significant opposition to Aumann's intended keynote address at a workshop organised by the Indian Statistical Institute's Delhi centre, Shiv Nadar University, on January 13 and 14.
Aumann, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2005 for his research on game theory, has been accused of using his research to justify violations of Palestinian rights, Scroll reports.
The petition, which was released to the press today, January 6, notes that Aumann has openly identified as a Zionist, supported ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and supported Israel's expansion into adjacent regions.
The signatories chastised the Indian Statistical Institute and Shiv Nadar University for inviting Aumann at a time when the International Court of Justice ruled Israel responsible for probable genocide and proclaimed its occupation of Palestinian territory illegal.
The letters mentioned that the International Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The letters stress Aumann's previous views and ties, accusing him of referring to Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 as "ethnic cleansing" of Israelis. Aumann has also worked as a scientific advisor to a political group that advocates for a "Greater Israel," which would include sections of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, among other regions.
“Mr Robert Aumann is a member of the group ‘Professors for a Strong Israel’, a group of academics which has publicly and repeatedly called for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the interest of preserving the domination of Jewish Israeli society,” the group wrote.
“While many argue that an individual may be separated from their political beliefs, Mr. Aumann has repeatedly used his research to justify Israel’s authoritarian regime…Even the Nobel Prize conferred to Mr Aumann was vehemently opposed by hundreds of academics,” they added
The activists said that hosting Aumann would insult India's past support for Palestinian sovereignty while also drawing similarities to India's own anti-colonial struggles. They said that the invitation violated universal human rights norms and may tie Indian academics with authoritarian policies.
Peace activist Harsh Mander, economists Jean Dreze and Jayati Ghosh, scientist Gauhar Raza, economist and journalist C Rammanohar Reddy, author and academic Shamsul Islam, sociologist Nandini Sundar and linguist Ayesha Kidwai are some of the signatories of the letters.
