The committee was appointed about a year ago by then minister Modi Zandberg. The report was published yesterday as part of a discussion that took place in the Science Committee of the Knesset and dealt with the Academy of Sciences and the MoLMOP * Prof. Avitar Nebo from the University of Haifa, who was a member of the committee, claims that unlike India and China, Israel does not have an atmosphere sympathetic to science and technology
of the Knesset that was held yesterday (Monday) a report was published that was compiled by a special committee appointed about a year ago by the then minister Modi Zandberg regarding the functioning of the Israeli Academy of Sciences. The committee also referred to the findings of the State Comptroller's report 55b dealing with the Academy of Sciences published in 2005, during the work of the committee and in parallel with it. The committee was chaired by Prof. Oded Abramski (Hebrew University) and its members included Professors Dafna Barak-Erez and Yoram Shapira (Tel'a University) and Avitar Nebo (Haifa University), who also presented the findings of the report to the members of the Science Committee.
The committee formulated eight recommendations, including a requirement to add to its goals the need to "promote interdisciplinary scientific activity and scientific activity in new fields of knowledge"; Requiring the academy to issue an annual report on the state of higher education and research in Israel with the help of the universities; oblige the government to consult the academy and receive information from it in all matters related to scientific and technological issues or that it can be assisted.
The committee's main recommendation refers to the fact that the academy should initiate an activity in the field of examining the state of scientific research in Israel - systematically and not randomly, through reports that will be published regularly, will be placed on the desks of the relevant authorities - the government, the Knesset and the Council for Higher Education and will be accessible to the public.
Additional recommendations refer to the issue of membership in the Academy, emphasizing the expansion of its membership circles both numerically and in terms of aspects of representation - in a way that will reflect the changes that have occurred in the scope of academic activity in Israel and in the circle of those engaged in it during the years that have passed since the establishment of the Academy.
In the report, the members of the committee write that the committee's work was based on its recognition of the supreme importance of advancing science, knowledge and technology on the basis of excellence. The committee believes that the National Academy of Sciences is a body that is important to maintain its existence and independence in order to promote science, knowledge and technology in Israel. However, the committee found deficiencies both in the legal framework under which the academy operates and in the existing fields of activity of the academy as a body whose role is to influence research and science at the national level in the State of Israel.
"The committee's recommendations indicate both the need to update the law applicable to the activity of the academy, in light of changes that have taken place in the country in general and in the higher education system in particular since its enactment. as well as the need to turn the academy into a body whose activity is active and proactive.
The president of the Israel Academy of Sciences, Prof. Menachem Yaari, who took office seven months ago, said at the meeting that he agrees to the review and is ready to make corrections as needed. As for consulting the government, the Academy advises the government in the field of bioethics, applied research in education (where the Academy leads the research-scientific side, and the Rothschild Foundation the executive side.) Biological research with security aspects and prevention of leakage of the results of these studies without harming minimal damage to academic freedom. "I interpret the section of the advice to the government, as it has not been done until now, that the academy is supposed to tell the government once a year what the academy thinks is the state of science in the State of Israel. It is appropriate that an annual report be issued by the Israel Academy of Sciences and not by another body. The academy is a skilled body on the subject. This thing was prevented from us in the absence of a sufficient database that would support the preparation of such an annual report on the state of science."
As for the demand for an annual report, Prof. Yaari says: "I don't want to belittle the effort of the OT, but it records data on higher education issues rather than research issues. There are many bodies that collect data starting from the Central Bureau of Statistics through the R&D authorities of the universities, through international databases, such as those of the OECD. The data do not connect to one picture, not even comparable, we need to create a database that will tell, that will give a picture of the state of research in science in the State of Israel. The Academy Council allocated a budget for this this year and I hope it will continue in the years to come.
To which Prof. Nevo replied, who as mentioned presented the report: "There is no doubt that it is comforting that the activity of the Academy is important, and what the Academy has done to date is blessed. Is it enough? What else can be done? And the real question is what is the place of science in Israel. In my humble estimation, apart from certain islands, science in Israel is on the decline, contrary to what was said in several committees of the Knesset. My main argument - Nehru 50 years ago claimed that a scientific atmosphere should be created in India. This claim of Nehru took about 40-50 years to make India today an important scientific power, like China. China today is progressing in its scientific work in an exceptional way. China sent tens of thousands of doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in the western world who absorbed the science and brought it back to China. No wonder China's economy is booming. Science is the flag.
The American Academy of Sciences writes 200 reports and advises on every subject, including bioterrorism. A problem like disconnection, I'm not sure that a scientific committee should not have been set up to accompany the issue. I don't know of a single issue that science can't advise the political system on. When Bruce Albert arrived at the American Academy of Sciences, he said that the role of the academy is to tell the truth to those who run the system (that is, the politicians) and this is not trivial. This means that every socio-economic decision has consequences that are based on objective scientific knowledge. I attended a program on evolution on Saturday and was amazed to see how beliefs take over educational systems. 40 states in the USA doubt the study of evolution and here, outside the ivory tower of academia, most of the people navigate their way according to astrology. I have not seen our academy handle navigation. Why are there separate rules for the academy? What is the reason why the Cooperative and the Higher Education Council (HEC) should be separate bodies? The education system should be connected with the system that believes in the navigation of science in the State of Israel. The assumption of the committee is that science should be the flagship of any political system. It cannot be a marginal and side thing. It's not that the US academy rapes the political system. The political system wants to turn to academia. The reports created dramatic changes in various areas in the US."
There is no scientific atmosphere in Israel, not in higher education institutions, not in the government, not in the Knesset. The concept of a scientific atmosphere, that the people will understand that it is not astrology that leads them but science. The academy should do it. There were reports on immunology and neurobiology. And they were not published in the general public. Every report in the US is published and the whole nation can see and read and then it can also be corrected.
The committee also dealt with the National Council for Research and Development (the National Council for Research and Development) which was established about a year ago, headed by Prof. Dan Zaslavsky, but so far it has not been able to act because its budget is falling victim to power struggles between several government bodies, which provides an excuse for the finance guys not to move it to its destination and to its people at the end of the budget year.
