LONDON: One of the UK’s most prestigious defense academies has banned Israelis from enrolling in its program due to Tel Aviv’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, which some EU officials have recently described as genocidal acts.
Starting next year, the Royal College of Defence Studies will not be accepting students from Israel, the UK government confirmed on Sunday.
The college has promoted understanding among military officers, diplomats, civil servants, and officials for almost a century. Each year, about 110 members from the UK and abroad join its program. Notable alumni include Field Marshall Alan Francis Brooke and former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
According to The Telegraph, the college’s postgraduate course in international strategic studies focuses on “political, diplomatic, security, social and economic issues at the grand strategic level — the level at which governments take decisions on these issues both nationally and within the international community.”
However, its main course is “practical rather than theoretical.”
