The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed a decision to pause the enrolment of new Israeli personnel at the Royal College of Defence Studies for the upcoming year, though students currently attending will be allowed to complete their studies.
According to its website, the college, which is a post-graduate institution and part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, provides training for “strategic thinkers and leaders within the armed forces and civil service,” with specific courses open to international students.
An MoD spokesperson noted that while “UK military educational courses have long been open to personnel from a wide range of countries,” the Israeli government’s choice to “further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong.” The spokesperson also called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
In response to the decision, Amir Baram, the director general of Israel’s defence ministry and a former student of the college, denounced it as a “discriminatory act” and “disloyalty to an ally at war.”
