This statement by PhD candidate Bar Harel was delivered publicly for the first time on 11 November 2025 in Brussels, during a conference held at the European Parliament. In his address, Harel outlined why, after more than eighteen months of unanswered internal and external report, he chose to disclose his case under Article 15 of the EU Whistleblower Directive and the corresponding Portuguese law. His presentation brought forward detailed evidence of discrimination, harassment, and institutional inaction at the University of Coimbra, culminating in the decision to speak openly despite legal pressure from the university’s leadership.
Dear Rector,
Some of your students call for the destruction of a country — my country.
Some of your faculty call for violence - violence against my people.
Some of your graduates chant against me.
When a professor of international relations advocates for Intifada, or a professor of history encourages to murder, these are not calls for peace.
Yet you, dear rector, in your own letter, wrote that they advocate for the “cessation of the conflict.” You defended their actions while claiming your university stands for tolerance, inclusion, and mutual respect. In doing so, you stripped your institution of the little credibility it once had. If you need this lecture about peace from the mouth of a former soldier, then so be it.
The University of Coimbra receives Portuguese and European funding while at the same time posters promoting EU-designated terror organizations are displayed on its outer walls. We, Jewish students, have said again and again - that enough is enough.
European Parliament, heed my call! Because when knowledge fails, the law must speak.
I, Bar Harel, acting in my capacity as a student of the University of Coimbra, am disclosing this information in the public interest under Article 15 of Directive 2019/1937, also known as the “European Whistleblower Protection Directive”.
I reported this matter internally and externally over 18 months ago, yet no adequate action was taken.
I therefore make this disclosure to the press - despite threats of legal action by Dr. Amilcar Falcao, Rector of the University of Coimbra - to expose possible breaches of EU and Portuguese equality laws, GDPR laws, and less likely - terror financing.
I have reasonable grounds to believe that the information is accurate and that publication is necessary to protect the public interest.
Should investigations confirm those breaches, justice will be sought, including, if necessary, before the European Court of Human Rights.
My teachers at Coimbra once told me, “There’s nothing we can do,” while asking me to print 300 pages for an open exam.
It’s time to show them what you can do with just twelve.
Bar Harel
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