Dear members of the University community,

We find ourselves in the midst of a war that began with the appalling massacre perpetrated by the murderers of Hamas. This is of course an extremely difficult time for the State of Israel, and for the University community. Many of us, whether independently or in relation to our roles at the University, are volunteering in various ways in order to help and make a contribution wherever we can.

Dean of Students Prof. Guy Harpaz is coordinating the University’s aid efforts, and details of many of these can be found on our website under the heading “The Hebrew University in Time of War.” The University has become a hub for aid organizations, schools, and evacuees from the warzones. Many members of our community, both faculty and students, have been called up as reservists, and of course our thoughts are with them along with all of Israel’s soldiers and their families.

The beginning of the academic year has been postponed, and studies will not commence before December 3. The academic year will begin, in coordination with all other universities in Israel, when we feel that the situation in the country permits it, with a major consideration in this situation being the extent of reserve service in the IDF. In the meantime, the University campuses are open and research and administrative activities are continuing wherever possible, with consideration given to the limitations and needs of the members of our community.

As we have written in previous letters, the University will display zero tolerance of expressions of support for the massacre by Hamas. We have set up a special academic committee to examine every complaint received in this context and will be uncompromising in dealing with any such case. Fortunately, such cases have been exceedingly rare. The vast majority of members of the Hebrew University community were horrified by those events and understand that they constitute a terrible crime against humanity.

This week, we also publicly denounced unacceptable comments from a member of faculty at the University, which did not support the slaughter but “only” ignored it, while describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, and even calling into question the legitimacy of Israel’s very existence. To the best of our understanding, while these comments are not contraventions of freedom of speech regulations or of Israeli law (though some of them stray very close to the line), we cannot stand by when such statements are made, as an Israeli university that is proud of being one of the first great Zionist projects in the country. As we have written, we would be happy if the faculty member in question were to choose to leave the University, which is funded to a significant extent by the very state whose legitimacy she denies.

Notwithstanding the above, it is essential to remember that the Hebrew University is proud of its diversity. All members of the University community are part of its essential fabric, regardless of religion, gender, or ethnic origin. This includes, obviously, our members from Arab society. The murderous crimes of Hamas and the ensuing war do not constitute a license for expressions of racism in any form, whether toward members of Arab society, Jewish society, or any other segment of our community. Therefore, the special academic committee we have established is also handling cases of incitement to racism. To date, only one such complaint has been submitted to the committee. This week we witnessed shameful scenes at Netanya Academic College, in which Arab students were attacked and evacuated from dormitories purely on the basis of concerns, which appear to have been unfounded, that a few of them had broken the law. We roundly condemn these actions, and will act to prevent similar events in our own institution. We must display respect and tolerance toward every single member of our community—even more than usual, in these highly charged times.

We all hope for better days, and are confident that these will come soon, once Israel and the IDF have completed the task facing them, of ensuring the safety and protection of the residents of the State of Israel.

 

Yours,

Prof. Asher Cohen, President

Prof. Tamir Sheafer, Rector

Mr. Yishai Fraenkel, VP and Director General