SETU staff call to sever ties with Red Hat over IDF links

Over 180 members of staff at South East Technological University (SETU) have signed a letter urgently calling President Veronica Campbell to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and to cut ties with Red Hat Media over their involvement with the Israeli military. 

The letter was released on Wednesday, May 22, the same day that the Irish government officially recognised the statehood of Palestine. 

The document directly references Red Hat, which has offices in Waterford, and their involvement with cloud-based technology that is being used by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

It read: "While Red Hat’s release of open source software has been a positive force in the tech industry, the company has been directly involved in supporting, enhancing and profiting from the Israeli military apparatus, an apparatus charged with committing war crimes.

"According to the company’s website, the Israeli Defense Forces’ Center of Computing and Information Systems (Mamram) "relied on Red Hat to support its primary goal of facilitating multiple edge services to various internal customers across the organization"."

A Lieutenant Colonel from the Mamram Unit of the Israeli Defense Forces said that Red Hat’s system has helped “save our organization time and money, all while better protecting the citizens of our country.”

The letter requests a statement from President Campbell that contains the following five points:

An expression of abhorrence at the events of October 7th and subsequent taking and retention of hostages. 

An expression of abhorrence at the subsequent seven-month onslaught by Israel, "the main features of which are well recognised: nearly 35,000 have been killed, including 14,500 children; all Gazan universities have been either damaged or destroyed; hospitals and other essential services (including water) have been relentlessly targeted. The International Court of Justice has ruled that there is a ‘plausible case of genocide’ committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza." 

A call for an immediate ceasefire; unhindered aid; the release of all hostages in Gaza, and of Palestinians unlawfully detained in Israeli jails.

A commitment that SETU will sever its links with Red Hat "and desist from taking any further sponsorship from this company. Red Hat is directly involved in supporting and enhancing the Israeli military apparatus, an apparatus that is committing war crimes before our very eyes." 

A public commitment to review any links that SETU may have with other companies "that are complicit with, or profit from, the war in Gaza or the Israeli occupation more generally". In the event that such links exist, the letter states, "we call for these institutions to be boycotted. When the basic freedoms of millions of people are at stake, we believe that the defence of ‘academic freedom’ is misplaced in this regard."

It added: "In addition to the above, we would like to express our disappointment that a letter to our VP for EDI, signed by 69 members of staff requesting a solidarity event with Gaza and a public statement of condemnation, has received no formal response."

This is the second letter sent to President Campbell urging action. The first letter was sent in March 2024. 

Michelle Byrne of Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign South East (IPSC SE) said: “The absence of a clear and public statement from SETU management in regard to their links with companies profiting from the death and displacement of Palestinian people is disappointing."

Red Hat and President Veronica Campbell were contacted for comment.