Israeli Academic Extremism
MK Alex Miller, Head of the
Education Committee, proposes no funding for Academic Institutions
that do not play the National Anthem
MK Alex Miller, Head of the Knesset’s
Education, Culture and Sport Committee, is initiating a bill that
would make academic institutions that do not
play the
national anthem in their ceremonies ineligible for state funding.
… “This action has
nothing to do with academic freedom and expresses the private will
of people to use their position and status in order to express a
radical political stance that disrespects national symbols. Some
hinted that they decided to forgo the playing of HaTikva so as not
to offend certain populations. This is a slippery and dangerous
slope. What will be the next stage? Will they also remove
the national
flag?”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145558
No Anthem – No Money, According to Proposed
Law
by Gil Ronen
Published: 10/07/11
MK Alex Miller, Head of the Knesset’s
Education, Culture and Sport Committee, is initiating a bill that
would make academic institutions that do not
play the
national anthem in their ceremonies ineligible for state funding.
The bill was
conceived after Haifa
University
and the Hebrew
University’s
School of Social Work
refused to play the national anthem at their latest graduation
ceremonies. The refusals were explained by the claim that Arab
graduates would be offended by the anthem.
The bill determines
that institutes for higher learning that wish to be funded by the
state must play the
national anthem at every formal ceremony, including commencement
ceremonies and other events that have national meaning.
“In view of the fact
that the State of Israel funds the institutes for higher learning
and invests tens of thousands of shekels in every
student, the decision to
keep the anthem out of commencement ceremonies is a particularly
insolent and unacceptable one.
“This action has
nothing to do with academic freedom and expresses the private will
of people to use their position and status in order to express a
radical political stance that disrespects national symbols. Some
hinted that they decided to forgo the playing of HaTikva so as not
to offend certain populations. This is a slippery and dangerous
slope. What will be the next stage? Will they also remove
the national
flag?”
The Knesset’s
Education Committee will convene Monday for an urgent meeting in
which Miller intends to notify the heads of academic institutions of
the legislative initiative. “The
Council
for Higher Learning and the
Council of
University Heads should realize that there is a limit to
[their] disregard and cynicism, he warned. He hinted that if the
obligation to play the
anthem is written into the universities’ internal rules and
enforced, he would forgo the legislation.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)
|