Three Irish figures, including actress Olwen Fouéré, have rejected honorary doctorates from the University of Galway due to the university’s research partnership with The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Fouéré, who has appeared in movies and shows including “Derry Girls” and “The Crown,” refused to receive the honor at a ceremony on Thursday, alongside filmmaker Margo Harkin and academic Kerby Miller, according to the Irish Times.

Fouéré said her decision was due to the university’s “extremely problematic” ties with the Haifa-based Technion.

Through the EU-funded ASTERISK program, Galway has a partnership worth some €4 million (NIS 15 million) with the Israeli university to derive sustainable green hydrogen from seawater.

Anti-Israel groups like Academic for Palestine have called on Galway to withdraw from the program due to what they say is Israel’s unfair treatment of the Palestinians and “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

The school’s president said in September that, while it would not participate in any new research........

© The Times of Israel