The presidents of the research universities in Israel to their colleagues: "Campuses around the world have become a breeding ground for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel discourse, fueled by a lack of knowledge and understanding"

The committee of heads of research universities is once again required to address the problem of the hostile attitude and violence that Israel receives at the world's most prestigious universities, even though it protects its residents. Yesterday, 1/11/2023, the heads of the committee wrote to colleagues in universities around the world:

• We, the presidents of the universities and research institutes in Israel, hereby express deep concern in view of the discourse taking place in universities around the world following the violent attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, and in light of the reactions that came out from some of the universities and their leadership.

• On Black Saturday, October 7, Israel suffered the most severe attack in all of its 75 years, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering more than 1,400 civilians, including children, women, men, and elderly Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike; and kidnapped more than 240 citizens of all ages to Gaza. The fate of dozens of other missing persons is still unknown. Unfortunately, many of the descriptions of that day as they are told in universities around the world are not accurate in the details of that black Sabbath at best, and in the worst cases even direct the fire towards Israelis and Jews in general.

• We found ourselves in a war against two fronts: one against Hamas and its criminal acts, and the other in the arena of international public opinion. In this arena, Israel is presented as an oppressive force despite its right to defend itself. Therefore, a false symmetry was created between the actions of a murderous terrorist organization and the actions of a sovereign state that is obligated to protect its citizens, even at the cost of harming Palestinian citizens. The creation of this false symmetry is against every intellectual and moral value and is unjustified.

• Various campuses in the world have become a breeding ground for anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli discourse, fueled by a lack of knowledge and understanding of the subject, false information and prejudices. Precisely in the corridors of the universities in the USA and Europe, the beliefs about education, enlightenment and progress, have become axes of support for the terrorism of Hamas and the demonization of Israel. Precisely institutions that are supposed to promote an intellectual discourse based on facts and research did not take the responsibility that was expected of them to take in light of the discourse that arose in them.

• For the avoidance of doubt: Hamas does not share any of the values ​​promoted by enlightened and advanced higher education institutions in the Western world. Hamas is a terrorist organization whose banner is the destruction of Israel for all its inhabitants. The ideology of Hamas completely contradicts all the liberal values ​​that are dear to our hearts and constitute our moral backbone and that of all those institutions and universities that now give free rein to expressions of support for Hamas. Hamas is known for the fact that for years it has been exploiting every attempt at reconstruction and humanitarian aid intended for the residents of Gaza for its military purposes. While Israel uses force of arms to protect its citizens, Hamas uses the residents of Gaza as a human shield for its forces and weapons - after all, it operates from schools, hospitals and mosques.

• It is very important to distinguish between the murderous ambitions of the terrorist organization Hamas and the Palestinian ambition for an independent state. The blurring of the differences between these aspirations - and the very contradiction between them - feeds the voices of hatred and ignorance that are heard so loudly on campuses around the world these days.