13.06.24
Editorial Note
Last week, MK Ofir Katz, the coalition whip, introduced an expedited bill intending to remove professors who speak against the State of Israel or express support for terrorism. The bill aims to terminate their job without a severance package. The proposed legislation was crafted with the Israeli National Union of Students and endorsed by coalition and opposition members.
According to the bill, “Any institution that fails to dismiss a lecturer under this law will lose its funding from the Council for Higher Education” (CHE).
Katz explained that the proposal aims to “eradicate terrorism from academia” after hearing some provocative statements by professors that have escalated since the events of October 7 and the outbreak of the war. Katz claims that these inflammatory remarks often received institutional support.
Two cases drove the initiative. First, Dr. Anat Matar, a senior lecturer from the Department of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, eulogized Palestinian terrorist Walid Daqqa as “beloved and a source of inspiration” after he died in prison. Daqa was involved in the kidnapping and murdering of soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Second, Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian from the Hebrew University Law Faculty called for the abolition of Zionism and, despite overwhelming evidence, doubted that rapes were committed on October 7. She was accused of incitement for labeling the war in Gaza as “genocide” and was briefly detained by police.
Despite student protests, the university presidents refused to dismiss the provocative professors, citing “freedom of speech, even for painful statements.”
The Ministerial Committee will review the bill for legislation. If passed, institutions would have to dismiss a member of staff who denies Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, incites terrorism, or supports terrorist organizations, including an endorsement of armed struggle against Israel or terrorist acts by enemy states, terrorist groups, or individuals who fight against Israel.
MK Katz stated, “We will not let terrorism infiltrate Israeli academia under the pretense of ‘freedom of expression,.. We will not tolerate statements that endorse terrorism or facilitate anti-Israel activities. It is time to fight terrorism in academia, and I am dedicated to this cause.”
The proposed legislation created a firestorm in Israel’s academic circles. The Committee of University Heads (VERA) announced it opposes the bill and stated that the bill not only harms the independence of higher education institutions but also helps the enemies of Israel and the academic boycott movement against Israel and provides them with proof of silencing and limiting freedom of expression in academia.
In a similar vein, Israel’s radical academics organized an anti-Israel webinar. Dr. Matan Kaminer, a Buber Fellow at the Hebrew University Jerusalem, posted a message on the CRIT-GEOG-FORUM list, a forum to discuss critical and radical perspectives in geography. He wrote, “As Israel’s criminal war in Gaza continues, with death, destruction, and starvation reaching disastrous dimensions, Palestinian and critical Jewish faculty and students in Israeli academia are facing unprecedented repression – including suspensions, dismissals and even arrest. Join colleagues from the grassroots organization Academia for Equality for a conversation on the situation in Israeli universities and colleges and the state of the struggle for academic freedom.”
Kaminer currently holds a position at Queen Mary University of London, where, not coincidentally, Profs. Neve Gordon and Shalhoub-Kevorkian also work.
Kaminer invited his readers to a webinar titled “Academic Repression in Israel” held on June 6, 2024. The speakers were Anat Matar (Philosopher and author of The Poverty of Ethics); Sawsan Zaher (Human rights lawyer and legal adviser, Emergency Coalition in Arab Society); Avi-ram Tzoreff (Historian, Academia for Equality’s Solidarity Team); Khaled Furani (Anthropologist and co-editor, Inside the Leviathan: Palestinian Students in Israeli Universities). Chair: Nadia Abu El-Haj (Anthropologist and co-director, Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University).
Academia for Equality organized the event and the co-sponsors were the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom; The Middle East Studies Association (MESA); and the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University.
Shalhoub-Kevorkin was the subject of coverage abroad. The New York Times wrote a sympathetic article, repeating portraying Israel as lacking in academic freedom. Times Higher Education reported on the event, stating there is a “repression” against pro-Palestinian academics and students in Israel during the war, which is, according to scholars, like “being in the belly of the beast.” That there is an increased “crackdown” on those who criticize Israel reaching an “alarming state,” according to Prof. Nadia Abu El-Haj, an anthropologist at Columbia University. She said, “The entanglement of Israeli higher education institutions with the state project is not new… Nevertheless, the extent and character of that cooperation, and the associated increase in repression, is today on steroids.”
Scholars have expressed concern about the “attack” on academic freedom taking place in Israel, with many academics and students being targeted for expressing pro-Palestinian views. Khaled Furani, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Tel Aviv University, referred to the experience of Palestinian academics living in Israel as “being in the belly of the beast… We inhabit Leviathan now, but we didn’t need October 2023 to see this state of affairs,” he said. Furani is the co-editor of Inside the Leviathan: Palestinian Experiences in Israeli Universities. Furani said their plight dates back to the 1948 Palestine War, when the British withdrew, and even to the 1936 Arab Revolt, but continues to the present, where academics are often treated as “criminals” for their social media posts. “It’s as if the founding moment of 1948 never ended for us,” he said. “The violence that is constitutional to the state has never ended.” Furani said Israeli universities have been “bewitched” by the state and have abdicated their responsibility as places for critical learning. stands?”
Another speaker at the event was Sawsan Zaher, a human rights lawyer based in Israel, who said that since October 7, Palestinian students and teachers, as well as Jewish faculty, have been subjected to a “huge wave” of complaints and a targeted incitement campaign on social media. “There was an intense, aggressive, deliberate start of political persecution that… did not end and continues to this day in higher education institutions,” she said. She also said that “racism and discrimination are nothing new for Palestinian citizens” of Israel. “It is not only about the background of racism that already existed before October 7, but also about the persecution from a political perspective,” she said. “They have been persecuting professors for at least a decade – left-wing Jewish professors, including Palestinians, of course – by issuing and publishing documents against them and lobbying against them, trying to promote bills… that target them.”
Those who oppose the new legislation argue that Matar and Shalhoub-Kevorkian do not endorse terrorism. Matar explained that Walid Daqa regretted his murderous past and repented. Shalhoub-Kevorkian later apologized for her words.
Worth noting that Israel has the Combating Terrorism Law, 2016, a law that enables severe punishment for terrorists and people who are members of terrorist organizations. The law also calls for punishment for people who express support for terrorism or identify with a terrorist organization. The law regulates the issue of declaring an organization a terrorist organization and the use of administrative detention.
As IAM repeatedly reported, Israeli scholars enjoy extremely broad academic freedom, given that most universities are public. So much so that the state never enforced the 2011 Boycott Law that made advocating for BDS illegal. Not incidentally, both Matar and Shalhoub Kevorkian breached the Boycott Law with no repercussions.
As for the proposed new law, things are much more complicated. To recall, the Knesset passed the Higher Education Law in 1958, where the CHE is a statutory corporation. It is the State institution responsible for higher education in Israel. The CHE draws up its policy as an independent and autonomous body. A recognized institution is “free to manage its academic and administrative affairs, within its budget, as it sees fit… In addition to the requirement of an adequate scientific level (hereinafter – a recognized institution), provided that these rules do not limit freedom of opinion and conscience.”
IAM will report on this issue in due course.
REFERENCES:
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjgfwuov0
Coalition proposes bill to halt university funds over antisemitic professorsCoalition whip Ofir Katz’s bill would mandate the dismissal of any teacher or lecturer who speaks against Israel or tacitly supports or condones terrorism
Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad, Moran Azulay|06.04.24 | 07:32
Coalition whip Ofir Katz introduced an expedited bill on Monday aimed at removing professors who speak against the State of Israel or express support for terrorism, terminating them without severance pay.
The proposal, crafted in collaboration with the National Union of Israeli Students and endorsed by both coalition and opposition members, is expected to trigger significant backlash in academic circles.
“Any institution that fails to dismiss a lecturer under this law will lose its funding from the Council for Higher Education,” the bill stipulates.
Katz explained that the proposal to “eradicate terrorism from academia” was a reaction to provocative statements made by professors at various institutions, which have escalated since the events of October 7 and the outbreak of the war. These inflammatory remarks often receive institutional support, according to Katz.
He highlighted the case of Dr. Anat Matar, senior lecturer from the Department of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University, who eulogized terrorist Walid Daqqa as “beloved and a source of inspiration” after his death in prison. Despite student protests, the university president refused to dismiss Matar, citing “freedom of speech, even for painful statements.”
Prof. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian from the Hebrew University was also mentioned in the bill. She was detained and later released after being accused of incitement for labeling Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and calling for the abolition of Zionism, on top of questioning reports of rapes by Hamas on October 7.
According to the bill, set to be reviewed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, institutions must dismiss any lecturer (including teaching and research staff) who denies Israel’s existence as a Jewish and democratic state, incites terrorism, or supports terrorist organizations. Support for terrorist organizations includes endorsing armed struggle or terrorist acts by enemy states, terrorist groups, or individuals against Israel.
“We will not let terrorism infiltrate Israeli academia under the pretense of ‘freedom of expression,” Katz said. “We will not tolerate statements that endorse terrorism or facilitate anti-Israel activities. It is time to fight terrorism in academia, and I am dedicated to this cause.”
National Union of Israeli Students Chairman Elchanan Pelheimer added, “It is time to eliminate terrorism from academia. We cannot allow this to continue. We urge all Knesset members, regardless of political affiliation, to support this bill. Freedom of expression is essential, but incitement to terrorism is unacceptable.”
==============================================================
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-jisc.exe?A2=CRIT-GEOG-FORUM;2259eaaf.2405
CRIT-GEOG-FORUM list
| Subject: | Academic repression in Israel: A conversation with colleagues from Academia from Equality | |
| From: | Matan Kaminer <[log in to unmask]> | |
| Reply-To: | Matan Kaminer <[log in to unmask]> | |
| Date: | Thu, 30 May 2024 10:34:16 -0400 | |
| Content-Type: | multipart/alternative | |
| Parts/Attachments: |  text/plain (37 lines) , text/html (24 lines) |
As Israel’s criminal war in Gaza continues, with death, destruction, and starvation reaching disastrous dimensions, Palestinian and critical Jewish faculty and students in Israeli academia are facing unprecedented repression – including suspensions, dismissals and even arrest. Join colleagues from the grassroots organization Academia for Equality for a conversation on the situation in Israeli universities and colleges and the state of the struggle for academic freedom.
Speakers:
Anat Matar (Philosopher and author, The Poverty of Ethics)
Sawsan Zaher (Human rights lawyer and legal adviser, Emergency Coalition in Arab Society)
Avi-ram Tzoreff (Historian, Academia for Equality’s Solidarity Team)
Khaled Furani (Anthropologist and co-editor, Inside the Leviathan: Palestinian Students in Israeli Universities)
Chair:
Nadia Abu El-Haj (Anthropologist and co-director, Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University)
Free to attend and open to all, but registration is essential.
Thursday, 6 June 2024 19:00-20:30 BST Online
More information & registration:
www.brismes.ac.uk/events/academic-repression-in-israel
========================================================
https://www.brismes.ac.uk/news/joint-event-academic-repression-in-israel
Joint Event | Academic Repression in Israel
- Posted: 30/05/2024
Date: Thursday, 6 June 2024
Time: 19:00-20:30 UK time
Location: Online via Zoom
Free to attend and open to all, but registration is essential.
About the Event
As Israel’s criminal war in Gaza continues, with death, destruction, and starvation reaching disastrous dimensions, Palestinian and critical Jewish faculty and students in Israeli academia are facing unprecedented repression – including suspensions, dismissals and even arrest. Join colleagues from the grassroots organization Academia for Equality for a conversation on the situation in Israeli universities and colleges and the state of the struggle for academic freedom.
Speakers
- Anat Matar (Philosopher and author, The Poverty of Ethics)
- Sawsan Zaher (Human rights lawyer and legal adviser, Emergency Coalition in Arab Society)
- Avi-ram Tzoreff (Historian, Academia for Equality’s Solidarity Team)
- Khaled Furani (Anthropologist and co-editor, Inside the Leviathan: Palestinian Experiences in Israeli Universities)
Chair
- Nadia Abu El-Haj (Anthropologist and co-director, Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University)
Event organised by Academia for Equality. Co-Sponsors: BRISMES; Committee on Academic Freedom, MESA; Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University.
===============================================================
Academic repression in Israel ‘on steroids’
POSTED ON JUNE 7, 2024 BY VASELINE
The repression that pro-Palestinian academics and students in Israel faced during the war is, according to scholars, like “being in the belly of the beast.”
Since October 7, the crackdown on those who criticize the Israeli state, including at its universities, has increased to an “alarming state,” said Nadia Abu El-Haj, professor of anthropology at Columbia University.
“The entanglement of Israeli higher education institutions with the state project is not new,” Professor El-Haj told an event organized by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies.
“Nevertheless, the extent and character of that cooperation, and the associated increase in repression, is today on steroids.”
Scholars have expressed concern about the “attack” on academic freedom taking place in Israel, with many academics and students being targeted for expressing pro-Palestinian views. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a leading Palestinian feminist scholar, was arrested and detained by Israeli police in April after signing a petition describing Israel’s attack on Gaza as genocide.
Khaled Furani, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Tel Aviv University, referred to the experience of Palestinian academics living in Israel as “being in the belly of the beast.”
“We inhabit Leviathan now, but we didn’t need October 2023 to see this state of affairs,” says Dr. Furani, co-editor of Inside the Leviathan: Palestinian Experiences in Israeli Universities.
He said their plight dates back to the 1948 Palestine War, when the British withdrew, and even to the 1936 Arab Revolt, but continues to the present, where academics are often treated as “criminals” for their social media posts .
“It’s as if the founding moment of 1948 never ended for us,” he said. “The violence that is constitutional to the state has never ended.”
Dr. Furani said Israeli universities have been “bewitched” by the state and have abdicated their responsibility as places for critical learning. stands?”
Also speaking at the event, Sawsan Zaher, a human rights lawyer and legal advisor based in Israel, said that since October 7, Palestinian students and teachers, as well as Jewish faculty, have been subjected to a “huge wave” of complaints, and a targeted incitement campaign on social media.
“There was an intense, aggressive, deliberate start of political persecution that… did not end and continues to this day in higher education institutions,” she said.
However, she also said that racism and discrimination are nothing new for Palestinian citizens within Israel.
“It is not only about the background of racism that already existed before October 7, but also about the persecution from a political perspective.
“They have been persecuting professors for at least a decade – left-wing Jewish professors, including Palestinians, of course – by issuing and publishing documents against them and lobbying against them, trying to promote bills… that target them. ”
patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com
==============================================
The Markerועד ראשי האוניברסיטאות: התאחדות הסטודנטים מקדמת “סתימת פיות של מרצים”באוניברסיטאות המחקר יוצאים נגד הצעת חוק שיזמה התאחדות הסטודנטים, המחייבת מוסדות אקדמיים לפטר מרצים שמתבטאים באופן שנתפס כפגיעה במדינה ■ “הצעה שתפגע אנושות בעצמאות האקדמיה ובחופש הביטוי, ותסייע לאויבנו להרחיב את החרם האקדמי על ישראל באופן שלא תהיה ממנו דרך חזרה”
June 04th, 13 PM ליאור דטל
אוניברסיטאות המחקר מגנות בחריפות את הצעת החוק שהגיש אתמול (ב’) יו”ר הקואליציה אופיר כץ (הליכוד) – המסיתה נגד מרצים במוסדות האקדמיים. לפי ההצעה, שיזמה התאחדות הסטודנטים, המוסדות האקדמיים יחויבו לפטר באופן מיידי, בהליך מזורז ובלי לשלם פיצויים, מרצים שיתבטאו באופן שמתפרש כשלילת קיומה של מדינת ישראל כמדינה יהודית ודמוקרטית, כהסתה לטרור וכתמיכה בארגוני טרור ובמעשי טרור נגד ישראל. לפי הצעת החוק, המל”ג תטיל סנקציות תקציביות על כל מוסד שלא יפעל כך.
לדברי ועד ראשי האוניברסיטאות וארגון סגל המרצים באוניברסיטאות, הצעת החוק לא רק פוגעת בעצמאות מוסדות ההשכלה הגבוהה, אלא גם מסייעת לאויבי ישראל ולתנועת החרם האקדמי נגד ישראל, ומספקת להם הוכחה לסתימת פיות ולהגבלת חופש הביטוי באקדמיה על ידי הכנסת והסטודנטים. בוועד מאשימים את התאחדות הסטודנטים, שאמורה לייצג את כלל הסטודנטים בישראל, בחבירה לגורמים בימין הקיצוני.
“לצערנו הצעת החוק היא חלק מקמפיין הסתה ושיסוי מתמשך בעל אופי מקארתיסטי נגד האקדמיה הישראלית”, נמסר מוועד ראשי האוניברסיטאות. “שיאו של הקמפיין בקידום הצעת חוק שמהותה סתימת פיות, יצירת אווירת הלשנות ופחד בקמפוסים. הצעת חוק זו תפגע אנושות בעצמאותה של האקדמיה ובחופש הביטוי, ותסייע לאויבנו, באמצעות ארגוני ה-BDS להרחיב את החרם האקדמי על ישראל באופן שלא תהיה ממנו דרך חזרה. אנו קוראים לכל חברי הכנסת לדחות את יוזמת החקיקה לאלתר ולמנוע את הפגיעה הקשה באקדמיה ובדמוקרטיה הישראלית”, הוסיפו.
שר האוצר בצלאל סמוטריץ’ ושר החינוך יואב קיש. בהתאחדות הסטודנטים ביקשו מהם לתמוך בהצעה צילום: אמיל סלמן© סופק על ידי TheMarker
מהמועצה המתאמת של חברי הסגל הבכיר באוניברסיאות נמסר כי גם היא “מתנגדת באופן נחרץ להצעת חוק ההשכלה הגבוהה, שתאפשר פיטורים של חברות וחברי סגל בנוהל מזורז שעוקף את נהלי המשמעת והתקנונים של המוסדות. המועצה רואה בהצעת חוק זה איום על עצמאותן של האוניברסיטאות בישראל ופגיעה בשמה הטוב של מערכת ההשכלה הגבוהה שלנו בארץ ובעולם. ההצעה היא ניסיון גלוי להלך אימים על מרצות ועל מרצים. היא עלולה להיתפס בעולם כפגיעה בחופש הביטוי בקמפוסים ולגרום לניתוק קשרי מדע עם ישראל ולנזקים ארוכי טווח”.
התאחדות הסטודנטים אף השיקה קמפיין חוצות היוצא באופן ישיר נגד מרצים באוניברסיטאות שהוגדרו כ”תומכי טרור”. בוועד ראשי האוניברסיטאות אמרו בתגובה כי “מדובר בקמפיין רדיפה והסתה נגד חברות סגל אשר עלול להתיר את דמן. לא מתקבל על הדעת שקמפיין הממומן מכספי הסטודנטים יעודד שיסוי ואלימות”.
“מקפצה לקידום פוליטי”
הצעת החוק נולדה במכתב ששלחה התאחדות הסטודנטים בשבוע שעבר לשר החינוך יואב קיש, ולשר האוצר בצלאל סמוטריץ’, שבה ביקשה שיתמכו בהצעה. חלק מראשי אגודות הסטודנטים משכו מאז את חתימותיהם מהמכתב.
“בתקופה שבה גוברות המתקפות על האקדמיה הישראלית וקולות החרם על ישראל, בוחר יו”ר התאחדות הסטודנטים לחבור לחברי כנסת מהקואליציה במסעם להחליש ולפגוע באקדמיה מבפנים”, נמסר ממטה המאבק נגד ההפיכה המשטרית באקדמיה. “מדובר ביוזמה של יו”ר התאחדות הסטודנטים, שמנסה להשתמש בה כמקפצה לקידום פוליטי על ידי חבירה לגורמי ימין קיצוני”.
israel-academia-monitor.com 