The president of the Academy of Sciences, Prof. David Harel, calls on the presidents of Harvard and MIT to resign, as did the president of the University of Pennsylvania

"My 45-year-old pride in the doctorate I received from the Institute of Technology - these days is being replaced by great shame" * These words were said at the ceremony of welcoming eight new members to the Israel National Academy of Sciences held every year during the Hanukkah holiday

The president of the Israeli National Academy of Sciences, Prof. David Harel, calls on the president of Harvard and the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to resign, as did the president of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

"The unbridled anti-Israel incitement, which shows its ugly face on various campuses around the world and which endangers the safety, and perhaps even the lives, of students and Jewish and Israeli faculty members, was reflected in a hearing held in Congress... We must look for ways to act decisively and tirelessly against such phenomena Abroad: from the level of incitement and ranting on the campuses to the level of the management bodies of the universities. The international scientific community must strongly condemn not only the horrific massacre committed by Hamas and its followers on October 7, but also the very disturbing wave of hatred that followed it," said Prof. Harel At the ceremony welcoming new members to the National Academy of Sciences held on Tuesday, December 12 in Jerusalem.

Prof. Harel even added that from a personal perspective, as someone who received his doctorate from MIT, he is especially saddened by the conduct of MIT President Prof. Sally Kornbluth, who benefited from positive reinforcement the day after the hearing, in the form of a supportive and warm statement from The board of directors of the institution. "My 45-year-old pride in this doctorate is replaced by great shame these days," said the president of the Academy of Sciences.

The president of Sapir Academic College, Prof. Nir Kidar, and the president of Tel-Hai Academic College, Prof. Eliezer Shalu, also spoke at the ceremony, who reviewed how their institutions are dealing with the difficult security situation. Faculty and students of the two colleges, which stand on the front lines of the war in the south and north, were directly affected by the conflict, but they are determined to continue providing an academic, economic and community response to the surrounding communities. Their continued involvement in the community is key to the rehabilitation of society and the economy in the periphery in the long term.

The reception ceremony for members of the National Academy of Sciences was held this year in a reduced format, due to the war. With their joining, the academy now has 147 members.

And these are the new friends:

• Prof. Michal Irani, Computer Science, Weizmann Institute of Science
• Prof. Israel Gershoni, History of the Middle East and Islam, Tel Aviv University
• Prof. Ofer Zithoni, Mathematics, Weizmann Institute of Science and New York University
• Prof. Eli Zaldov, Solid State Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science
• Prof. Leona Toker, English Literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem         
• Prof. Sara Stromza, Arabic language and literature, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem        
• Prof. Shmuel Feiner, History of the People of Israel, Bar-Ilan University          
• Prof. Yitzhak Fried, Brain Research and Neurosurgery, Tel Aviv University and UCLA