Ma’ariv, Israel, January 10
A few weeks ago, we learned of an incident at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in which a professor scolded one of her students for showing up to class in military uniform. “You cannot wear your uniform and expect to be treated as a citizen,” the professor reprimanded her student. Over the course of the next few days, various versions of this incident circulated around the media. A university spokesperson first denied this event ever happened, then issued a vague statement about “mutual respect” between faculty and students and, finally, when enough public pressure amounted, posted expensive ads in newspapers across the country warmly welcoming soldiers to attend classes in uniform. Putting aside the question of what exactly happened between the professor and her student, one thing remains clear: No one hearing this story found it terribly shocking. Unfortunately, such occurrences have become commonplace in the Israeli academia, and especially at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In previous years, we’ve learned of the university’s decision not to play the national anthem during a baccalaureate ceremony out of fear of “upsetting” Arab students. In a different incident, the university decided to ignore a protest staged on campus in which participants yelled “Zionists, get out of this land!” The university administration even considered issuing an order that would prevent students from flying the Israeli flag on campus. These kinds of policies that hinder free speech and ignore incitement of one student group against another are simply unacceptable. They have long extended beyond the realm of a legitimate political debate between those on the right and those on the left. When a university decides to act in such a blatant manner against the very symbols it is supposed to defend, not even 100 newspaper ads will help save us from disgrace. –Kalman Liebskind