Deputy Speaker of the Knesset MK Nachman Shai said in this context that there is a silent boycott from which Israeli researchers are suffering whose promotion is being delayed and said that legitimate criticism of Israel must be separated from Israeli science and culture * Education Minister Naftali Bennett spoke of the need to reverse the downward trend in mathematics studies
"Recently we have been exposed to a serious involvement of politics and science in the form of calls to boycott academic and research institutions in Israel. The scientific world must immediately stamp out any attempt to politicize science. These boycotts are an insult to the principle of academic freedom and will lead to a disaster for science." This is what State President Reuven Rivlin said last night in his speech at the Wolf Prize distribution ceremony held at the conference center.
"Those who boycott science and the arts in Israel are denying the rights of scientific and artistic creation and subjecting scientific practice to a political agenda. Loss of academic criteria and preoccupation with judging based on nationality, religion or political opinion will seriously harm science.
"The award winners, by coming here you show that art and science are above any boycott. You show how the human spirit has no limits when it works for humanity."
The Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Nachman Shai, who was present at the meeting held last week at the President's Residence with the participation of university heads, said: "Recently we have been encountering in the international arena crude attempts to intervene between the legitimate criticism of the State of Israel's policies and its activities in the fields of science, culture and even Sports as we have seen in the last week's residence, the heads of the Israeli Academy explained their plight to the President of the country Because on campuses around the world, political campaigns against Israel are conducted and in private rooms, without public announcement, Israeli researchers and Israeli scientists suffer from adverse discrimination in their academic and research promotion."
"I would like to call on the winners of the award to help us conduct a great journey whose purpose is to create a complete separation between politics and science. We are open to any political discourse and discussion, even on this stage there are differences of opinion, but the demand that comes out of Israel is to let Israeli science flourish and develop in its own way without any limitations."
Education Minister Naftali Bennett did not comment on the boycott but did refer to another crisis he was exposed to when he took office, the decrease in the number of students studying five math units
"I have been serving as the Minister of Education of the State of Israel for less than a week, but it is already clear to me that one of the main tasks is to develop and elevate the capacity for invention and renewal inherent in Israel. To make sure that every student in Kiryat Shmona and Dimona in Beitar Ilit and Barhat will receive the full tools to realize their dreams. The ability to invent To take the initiative to see the unborn and develop the existing, to bridge the gap between imagination and reality are the ones that march humanity Come on. They're also the paths of excellence that brought you here, Wolf Prize winners."
"Since its awarding began, the prize has been among the most prestigious and respected in the world. So far, over 280 artists and scientists from 23 countries have won the Wolf Prize. Over thirty percent of them (in the overlapping fields, AB. There are no science prizes in mathematics and the arts) is an impressive testimony to the quality The amazing, for the professional standard set by the award winners, this is also an impressive testimony to Israel's image as an international scientific and academic beacon Which is a reference point and a leading force in the entire world. The foundation allows us to present the exact image of the State of Israel. Just this morning there was a headline in the New York Times about the fact that Israel leads the world in water desalination and water conservation, and now the whole world wants to learn from it. "
: We are a country that strives for peace, seeks to advance the spirit, sanctify life. To open to the whole world new gates of good news, hopes and opportunities. When I took office I was of the opinion that Israel should and could be at the scientific forefront of scientific and educational achievements in general and in the field of mathematics in particular. The success of high-tech today rests on the education system of thirty and forty years ago. Our responsibility is to establish the masters for the next generation."
"The decrease in the number of engineers, in the number of students completing five units of mathematics worries me greatly and may have serious consequences for the State of Israel. Mathematics, science and art are a window to large and full worlds and these worlds must not be closed to children even in the second or third grade just because they had a teacher who was a little intimidating We are already working on them with full vigor. I am doing everything to reverse the trend and promote processes that will return Israel to the front of the stage in the fields I am proud of the privilege I have been given to act on the important front.
You, the prize winners, the young scientists sitting in the audience, the students on the Zionist paths as well as the veterans, the researchers, you are the cultural heroes. Our society must honor heroes like you and not culture heroes of the kind that grow overnight on TV shows.
Later, Minister Bennett praised the students of the majors for excellence from all over the country, and asked that they learn from the winners, and achieve high achievements themselves.
- Gifted students from a science project and future inventors present the 2015 Wolf Prize winners
- Prof. James Bjorken, the weak force researcher and astrophysicist Prof. Robert Kirchner won the Wolf Prize for Physics
- Three immune system researchers were awarded the 2015 Wolf Prize in Medicine
- Researcher of the immune system in humans and farm animals and who develops strategies for the development of antiviral vaccines won the Wolf Prize for Agriculture
Soon we hope to bring the words of the winners
