Israeli Academics denounce “the cynical use of 'combating antisemitism' as a pretext” by Trump Administration

The following statement (discussed in Haaretz on April 17) has been signed by more than 200 Israeli academics.

We, Israeli professors, educators, researchers, graduate students, and members of academia, hailing from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, possessing diverse political views, living in and outside Israel, are deeply concerned about the recent actions undertaken by the US Administration against Columbia University and other US universities. In particular, we are alarmed by the persecution of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students and faculty, including the illegal arrests and threats to deport activists without any specific charges or due process, at times in clear violation of court orders, especially under the pretext of combating antisemitism.  

As Israeli citizens and academics who have devoted our careers to teaching and research in the spirit of free inquiry and free exchange of diverse ideas, we consider these steps to be profoundly unjust, dangerous, and in violation of civil rights and principles of academic freedom.  Such draconian moves do not protect us!

We strongly denounce the cynical use of 'combating antisemitism' as a pretext for these measures. While antisemitism is a dangerous phenomenon that should be combated, it should be addressed alongside other types of ethnic and racial hatred such as white supremacy, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian sentiments. The current acts of the Administration do not keep Jewish people (or anyone) more protected or safe. Quite the opposite: by singling out Jews as a homogeneous group to be protected at the expense of other marginalized groups and minorities, the Administration is in fact  fostering anti-Jewish sentiments, easily lending itself to chauvinistic, exclusivist, and racist tropes.   

The movement activists supporting Palestinian rights in US universities and beyond them act as human rights defenders, providing much needed moral clarity and courageous leadership in condemning and demanding an end to the unprecedented and ongoing atrocities against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Many Jewish students and faculty members are part of this movement. Peaceful protests are and should be protected as political speech. While the safety and inclusion of Jewish students and faculty is vital, so is the safety and inclusion of all communities, including Muslim and Palestinian students, who are actively targeted by the Administration. We condemn the weaponization of Jewish students’ safety as grounds to silence, harass, suspend, punish, or deport pro-Palestinian members of US academia. 

Furthermore, we reject the manipulation of the US Civil Rights Act to justify deep university funding cuts that will devastate many important research programs, which support thousands of researchers and benefit society in myriad ways.  

As Israelis who also witness similar oppression in Israeli universities, we know that silencing campus protests, free research, and exchange of ideas, does not make us safer. On the contrary, it threatens key academic values like freedom of speech and free association, which are the basis for Jewish and other minorities’ rights.

We stand in solidarity with our US-based colleagues—whether they are  US citizens, permanent residents, or academic visa holders. We consider the US Administration’s invocations of antisemitism to be disingenuous, thinly veiled attacks against Muslims, Palestinians, pro-Palestinian, and international students, serving as a pretext for the violent suppression of protected speech and the abolition of the university as a space for free inquiry. We also recognize that the same rhetoric can quickly turn on us or other groups if and when it serves the Administration’s interests. We stand alongside our colleagues firmly against this dangerous assault on academia.

List of signatories:

Dorit Naaman, Queen’s University

Tamar Berger, Bezalel Academy of Art

Arie M. Dubnov, The George Washington University
Menachem Klein, Bar Ilan University
Preston Werner, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Raphael Greenberg, Tel Aviv University
Anat Matar, Tel Aviv University
Ayelet Ben-Yishai, University of Haifa
Mical Raz, University of Rochester
Yael Berda, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hilla Dayan, Amsterdam University College
Outi Bat-El Foux, Tel Aviv University
Naftali Kaminski, Yale University

Lee Mordechai, MIT
Akiva Leibowitz, Harvard Medical School

Ofra Rechter, Tel Aviv University

Isaac Nevo, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Orly Benjamin, Bar Ilan University

Louise Bethlehem, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Erella Grassiani, University of Amsterdam
Orian Zakai, George Washington University
Itamar Shachar, Hasselt University
Matan Kaminer, Queen Mary University London
Karin Loevy, New York University
Maya Herman, New School for Social Research
Amit Shilo, University of California, Santa Barbara
Ruti lavi, Kindergarten worker

Oren Yiftachel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Moshe Behar, University of Manchester
Nufar Shimony, Open University

Revital Madar, European University Institut
Tom Pessah, Independent Scholar

Itamar Haritan, Cornell University
Avner Ben-Amos, Tel Aviv University 

Roni Tzoreff, Independent Scholar

Norma Musih, Independent Scholar
Zeev Matalon, Independent Scholar
Sara Carmeli, Independent Scholar
Lin Chalozin Dovrat, Tel Aviv University
David Katzin, Wageningen University and Research
Nomi Shir, Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Assaf Oron, University of Washington
Naveh Frumer, Tel Aviv University

Tamar Schneider, The Open University of Israel

Nira Yuval-Davis, University of Rast London 

Nitzan Lebovic, Lehigh University

Smadar Ben-Natan, University of Oregon

Noa Roei, University of Amsterdam

Shlomi Segall, The Hebrew University

Roy Wagner, ETH

Nir Gov, Weizmann Institute

Gadi Algazi, Tel Aviv University

Yigal Bronner, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Ofer Aharony, Weizmann Institute

Daniel Behar, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Naomi Friedman-Sokuler, Bar Ilan University

Nitzan Tal, Bar Ilan University

Yiftah Elazar, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Abigail Jacobson, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Regev Nathansohn, Independent Scholar

Ariel Handel, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

Avi Rubin, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Yael Sela, Goethe University Frankfurt

Haggai Ram, Ben Gurion University

Juliet Floyd, Boston University

Arnon Levy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

David Stern, University of Iowa

Oded Goldreich, Weizmann Institute of Science

Hagar Kotef, University of London

Yohai Hakak, Brunel University of London

Na'ama Morag-Zamonski, Independent Scholar

Ronit Matar, Queen Mary University London

Ron Mordechai Makleff, Middlebury College

Anat Rimon Or, Beit Berl College

Lia Tarachansky, York University

Ilana Hairston, Tel Hai Academic College

Lee Mordechai, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Moshé Machover, KCL

Tamar Hager, Tel Hai College

Miriam Eliav-Feldon, Tel Aviv University

Zeev Rosenhek, Open University of Israel

Tamir Sorek, Penn State University

Anat Greenstein, Independent scholar

Nitza Berkovitch, Ben-Gurion University

Hagit Borer, QMUL

Adam Weilet Gur Arye, Tel Hai College

Daphna Hacker, Tel Aviv University

Chaim Gans, Tel Aviv University

Tamar Megiddo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Avi-ram Tzoreff, The Open University

Margit Cohn, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Tamar Barkay, Tel Hai College

Tamar berger, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

Emiliano Laurenzi

Rona Mashiach, University of Haifa

Gil Sagi, University of Haifa

Yair Lorberbaum, Bar Ilan university

Nimrod Ben Zeev, Tel Aviv University

Gadi Perets, University of Lyon

Beata Sheyhatovitch, Tel Aviv University

Ruth Weintrsub, Tel Aviv university

Yael Dekel, The Open University of Israel

Amir Perez, Tel Aviv University

Amos Laor, Columbia University

David Meyers, Main Maritime Academy

Noam Ross, rOpenSci

Alon Marcus, The Open University of Israel

Assaf David, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Ronen Eidelman, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Ran Shauli, Bar Ilan University

Yona Kidron 

Dana Ron, Tel Aviv University

Noam Shoresh, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

Tomer Cooks, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Yonathan Shapir, University of Rochester

Jenn Lewin, University of Haifa

Natalie Davidson, Tel Aviv University

Shula Gilad, Harvard University

Ruth Ben-Artzi, Providence college

Keren Cohen, David Yellin College of Education

Karen Ross, University of Massachusetts Boston

Elsa Flacco

Anna Gutgarts

Sigal Barnir, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design

Mieka Polanco

Lior Yom Tov, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Illan Gonen, Columbia University

Rajmil Fischman, Keele University

Noa Levin, Università della svizzera italiana

Sahar Bostock, Columbia University

Shay Hazkani, University of Maryland, College Park

Meir Aridor, University of Pittsburgh

Anat Biletzki, Tel Aviv University

Avigail Gilad, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Chen Misgav, The Open University of Israel

Yael Amitai, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Yonatan Mendel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ami Oren MD, University of Southern California

Ido Shahar, University of Haifa

Ilan Saban, University of Haifa

Efraim Davidi, Tel Aviv University

Jenia Kim, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

Menny Mautner, Tel Aviv University

Yuval Yonay, University of Haifa

Erez Tzfadia, The Open University of Israel

Meir Hemmo, University of Haifa

Abeer Baker, University of Haifa

Zohar Eviatar, University of Haifa

Tali Bitan, University of Haifa

Roy Kreitner, Tel Aviv University

Avner Giladi, University of Haifa

Micah Leshem, University of Haifa

Alex Gekker, University of Amsterdam

Lior Sternfeld, Penn State University

Itamar Mann, University of Haifa

Mayra Garcia, University of Texas in Dallas

Iris Idelson-Shein, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Idan Erez, Hebrew College

Meir Amor, Concordia University

Martin Auerbach, Independent Scholar

Alona Baidani-Auerbach, 

Irit Ben Moshe, Tel Aviv University

Einat Metzl, Bar Ilan University

Shira Bahat, The Hebrew University

Fabien Lafont, The Weizmann institute of science

Tomer Barak, Tel Aviv University

Emmanuel Auerbach, The New School for Social Research

Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Hebrew University

Pola Osher, Bar Ilan University

Shlomi, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Neta Stahl, Johns Hopkins University

Ivy Sichel, University of California Santa Cruz

Noa Roe, University of Amsterdam

Dudy Tzfati, The Hebrew University

Talia Fried, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Judith Suissa, University College London

Galia Faingold, ETH

Joseph Lefkowitz, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Nir Friedman, The Hebrew University

Eithan Galun, The Hebrew University

Yuval Dor, The Hebrew University

Shula gilad, Harvard University

Eitan Berechman