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Anti-Israel Petitions Signed by Israeli Academics
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Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University – Far Leftist Faculty at TAU wants Shaul Mofaz, the Minister of Defense, to stand trial for "war crimes"; blames him for "moral decline"In a more just world, Mofaz would have had to stand trial before the International Court of Justice in The Hague on grounds of war crimes. In a more just university, staff would have been ashamed of hosting this man at an official occasion and would organize to struggle against him and his methods - methods which have brought Israel to an unprecedented moral decline. Among the Signatories:
To see the full original article, go here The following letter of protest to the President, Rector and Dean of Humanities at Tel Aviv University has been sent on the specified date. The letter is self explanatory. Following its dispatch, a correspondence started between the signatories and the addressees and the whole affair has been published in the Israeli press. Here is the letter and the list of signatories: To: Professor
Itamar Rabinovich, President, Tel Aviv University April 23, 2006 Dear Sirs, Tomorrow a one-day conference will be held celebrating the inauguration of Tel Aviv University's Center for Iranian Studies and the Iranian Jewry Research Program. The ceremony will be attended by the President of Israel, the Minister of Defense, and by yourselves, the President of Tel Aviv University, its Rector and the Dean of the Humanities. The participation of the Minister of Defense in this ceremony as a key speaker at the conference is an unacceptable blemish on Tel Aviv University's reputation. The new Center, which is supposed to be dedicated to the study of Iranian culture and the history of the Iranian people, and to serve as an inter-cultural bridge, appears to have been recruited by the propaganda campaign that brands Iran as the ultimate threat to Israel, the Middle East and the entire world, thereby identifying it as the next target of U.S. (and possibly Israeli) military escapades in this region. Rather than subjecting this approach to responsible criticism, as would befit a self-respecting academic institution, one of its most outspoken representatives has actually been invited to deliver the inaugural speech at the conference. The Minister of Defense's participation in the opening ceremony of the Center for Iranian Studies raises further concern that the University is now including another body that will offer its services to the Government instead of carrying out independent critical research. The very fact that the Defense Minister is invited to speak at an academic conference held at Tel Aviv University, severely hampers the required separation between government and academy. It also, in this case, is tantamount to approval of an Israeli politician who should be held directly accountable for the war crimes that Israel is perpetrating in the Occupied Territories. In his function of Chief of Staff, and later as Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz developed and/or conducted the methods of warfare that have caused the deaths of thousands of Palestinians - including hundreds of children - wholesale house demolitions, the uprooting and destruction of agricultural land and olive groves, grave interference with the freedom of movement - all of which have contributed to turning the Occupied Territories into a disaster zone. In a more just world, Mofaz would have had to stand trial before the International Court of Justice in The Hague on grounds of war crimes. In a more just university, staff would have been ashamed of hosting this man at an official occasion and would organize to struggle against him and his methods - methods which have brought Israel to an unprecedented moral decline. We believe that in order to enable the University's existence as a free academic institution that encourages liberty, reflection and critical thinking, the academic acknowledgement that the University bestows on the Government should be reduced. Such honor and praise should go to those who deserve respect rather than condemnation. Of the little an Israeli academic institution is currently able to do in the face of the state's criminal conduct in the Occupied Territories, refraining from inviting those who are deeply identified with this conduct, is one possibility. This is how we expect you to act as leaders of the University. Only thus can you be true leaders, conscientiously and intellectually alike. Signatories:
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