Tag: Israel at War

“We all share the responsibility to educate our communities.”

To our colleagues, heads of universities around the world,

These are difficult times. We thank you for the support and concern we have already received from so many of you.

As you are aware, early last Saturday morning, Hamas carried out an unusually brutal and violent attack primarily against civilians, within Israel. While the leadership of some academic institutions has issued public condemnations, we learned that in others this has been regarded as just “one more event” in the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, which can be understood from multiple perspectives.

We would like to emphasize that this is far from the truth.  This was an act of singular barbaric violence which must be thoroughly renounced.  To show why this is so, we will need to share some truly disturbing details, as referred to in President Biden’s speech and now coming to light in the international press. We know that these will disturb you no less than they have shaken us.

On the Sabbath and Sukkoth holiday and 50 years almost to the day after the fateful Yom Kippur War, Hamas unleashed a surprise rocket attack on Israel from Gaza, reaching as far north as the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas, while simultaneously Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants breached the border and brutally massacred those in the communities just across the border inside Israel – women, elderly, children, young families. Kids attending a music festival, peace activists, elderly people in their 80’s, toddlers.  Hundreds. Many were slaughtered on the spot, others huddled in their homes for hours before being found and killed or were held hostage in their homes or communities under constant threat of death, while still others were taken captive and brought into Gaza. Horrific videos posted by Hamas from Gaza show the parading of injured hostages in the street to great cheering, show cruelty to children, taunting of the elderly, show rape and torture.

All this as hundreds of Israelis were injured or killed by indiscriminate rocket fire, which has hit both Jewish towns and Bedouin and Arab villages.  Just two days ago, a mosque in the village of Abu Ghosh was hit by rocket fire.

Let’s be clear.  This is not “war as usual” or just another chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  There are not “good people on both sides”.  Hamas and Islamic Jihad have proven themselves to be cruel, barbaric organizations reminiscent of the Taliban and the Islamic State.

We have heard of initiatives undertaken by faculty and students on some campuses in countries outside of Israel to support Hamas and Islamic Jihad actions, and we understand that there has not always been a clear response from academic leadership to such signs of support. We hope that you will agree with us that there can be no support for such terror organizations in Western democratic societies, just like there is no support for Al Qaeda or the Islamic State. There can be no support for purposeful massacres of civilian populations, or for the taking civilian hostages.

As the guardians of higher education and academia, actively pursuing knowledge for the benefit of humanity, as role models for and teachers of the leadership of tomorrow, we all share the responsibility to educate our communities.

What values are we passing on? Freedom of speech and academic freedom, absolutely.  But a stand against barbaric violence perpetrated on civilian populations?  We know you join us in renouncing such acts of violence.

Yours,

Prof. Arie Zaban, President, Bar-Ilan University; Chairperson – Association of University Heads – VERA

Prof. Daniel A. Chamovitz, President, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Prof. Alon Chen, President, Weizmann Institute of Science

Prof. Asher Cohen, President, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Prof. Leo Corry, President, the Open University of Israel

Prof. Ehud Grossman, President, Ariel University

Prof. Ariel Porat, President, Tel-Aviv University

Prof. Ron Robin, President, University of Haifa

Prof. Uri Sivan, President, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Dear faculty, staff, and students, 

Let me begin by expressing deep, almost unbearable sorrow for the death of over 1,200 women, men, and children, murdered or killed in the horrific crime perpetrated against the Jewish people in its homeland. I am immensely grieved by the death of 11 of our students and relatives of our faculty members, who have been murdered or killed in this atrocious attack. Their names can be found in this link which, sadly, we are updating as information flows in.

May their memory be blessed.  

Almost a week has gone by since the brutal massacre, and the enormous emotional burden grows heavier every day. We are burying our dead; we are exposed to more and more atrocities; we were devastated to discover that even small infants were not spared from the slaughter; and we are desperately concerned for the fate of the hostages. Indeed, such personal torment and nationwide anguish we have never known in the state of Israel, and the end is nowhere in sight.  

TAU has harnessed all its strength and abilities to support the nationwide efforts. We have established an emergency fund to provide financial assistance, and considerably reinforced the psychological services offered to the TAU community, including opening hotlines in both Hebrew and English. Our faculties and schools are personally contacting students who live in southern Israel or serve in the armed forces. We are hosting families of our students from the south in the TAU dorms. 

Together with the Student Union, TAU is recruiting volunteers from the TAU community, to help wherever help is needed. We are extremely proud of our Student Union, who are collecting food, clothing, medical equipment, and other necessities for mobilized soldiers and residents of southern Israel who have become refugees in their own land. In the coming days we will look for faculty members who can offer assistance in their own areas of expertise – such as social work, dentistry, various fields of medicine, psychology, law, etc. In fact, volunteer activities have already begun in the Schools of Dentistry and Social Work. We are turning to faculty, staff, and students, to ask whether they wish to host Israelis from the south in their own homes.  

But while we hurt and grieve, as individuals and as a nation, there are those who applaud the bloodshed. In places around the world, including the campuses of some renowned universities, we witness rising BDS activities, justifying the atrocities perpetrated by the butchers of Hamas. It is very hard to read or watch these posts in the social networks. It is hard to observe the feebleness of certain leaders of academic institutions, who do not do enough to prevent this abuse of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is not an absolute right. It must be trumped by the sanctity of life and the value of personal safety. It cannot protect expressions of hatred or incitement to murder and violence. I would expect my colleagues, heads of academic institutions, especially in the USA, to treat students and personnel who justify the slaughter as they would have treated anyone who justified the events of 9/11. I would expect them to condemn–clearly, firmly, and unequivocally–the horrendous massacre that has taken place in our land. Some have done so. But others have not.  

Against this background, TAU is adding media outreach to its tasks. Some of our international students are already doing very valuable work in this respect. With the help of our Student Union, we are recruiting students who will operate in the social networks, to refute the terrible lies that might influence naïve, unknowing audiences who are unaware of what our enemy has done to us.  

Finally, I must speak of expressions of hatred and incitement right here on campus. A few of our students have expressed support for the atrocities of Hamas. Their number is very small, but that detracts nothing from the gravity of this phenomenon. We will be very strict with this handful of students, and when we feel the offense is criminal in nature, we shall report them to the police. We will act swiftly, as required in this sensitive situation, but will not deny any student the right to a fair investigation of the facts. A society is tested in its difficult hours – and none are more difficult than those we are experiencing today. Democracy and human rights are not to be suspended in wartime. If anything, their importance increases.   

At the same time, we are seeing deplorable incitement from extremists against our own students, whose only fault is being Arab. The Hamas murderers made no distinction between Jews and Arabs, and in their despicable attack many Arab Israelis were also killed and injured. The phenomenon of incitement against Arabs on our campus is of small proportions, but it shall not be overlooked. Inciters of any kind will not be tolerated. As noted above, a society is tested in its hour of calamity. TAU will serve as a model in this matter as well.  

I wish you all better days.  

Yours, 

Ariel Porat 

Tel Aviv University addresses the current situation.

My dear Governors, Friends, Alumni, and other members of the Tel Aviv University community in Israel and around the world, 

As I write these lines, the media is reporting that over 700 individuals have tragically lost their lives in the horrendous terror attack on the State of Israel. Unfortunately, it seems this number may rise. Reports suggest over 100 people have been taken captive, and even here, the number is not final. 

It is hard to describe the magnitude of the pain each and every one of us is experiencing these days. The images of grandparents kidnapped with their grandchildren, of a father left without his wife and children, of young children witnessing the murder of their parents – these pictures remind us of other bloody events in our people’s history. The determination to respond is stronger than ever, mixed with shock, tears and agonizing sorrow. Today, we are all united in our resolve that such an event should never happen again. 

We suspect there are victims from our university community, although it is still difficult to assess their number. The Dean for Student Success is working with the faculties and schools to establish contact with students and faculty members living in Israel’s South, or serving in the IDF and other security forces. TAU, along with the other universities in Israel, is postponing the start of the academic year by at least a week. We are significantly expanding the scope of psychological services we provide to the university community. TAU is also exploring ways to assist families from the south of the country, both with psychological counseling and with finding alternative housing until the war concludes. 

In recent days, many of our supporters and others have reached out to me to express their terrible grief and participation in our sorrow. We feel deeply that all of you are with us. We are one family. I hope that the war in which we find ourselves will end quickly and that calm will return. We do not cease to think about the Israeli hostages being held by the enemy. This situation is very distressing. We pray for their well-being. 

The State of Israel is the home of the Jewish people, not only for those who live in it. Your support during this difficult time is more important to us than ever. 

Yours sincerely, 

Ariel Porat