Dear members of the Hebrew University community,
Below is an announcement from the presidents of research universities in Israel:
The presidents of Israeli research universities believe that passing the law to reduce probable cause in the Knesset is a dangerous and destructive move for Israeli academia and the entire State of Israel. The presidents decided to personally strike together without pay this coming Sunday (23.7.23). During this day they will join the public protest actions against the legal reform. The committee of university presidents (VERA) joins the calls to stop the legislative process immediately and reach a broad consensus before causing more irreversible damage to Israeli society.
Announcement of the President, Rector and CEO of the Hebrew University:
The three of us will act this coming Sunday in accordance with the announcement of the presidents of VERA. We will go on a day of personal strike without pay. We fully support the content of the announcement. It is necessary to reach a broad agreement regarding the legislative procedures concerning the foundations of the judicial system and the regime, in order to prevent the social and public rift in the State of Israel.
We assume that there are many among the University’s leadership and among the faculty members (academic and administrative) who will choose to join such a move. At the same time, we emphasize that this is a personal decision of each and every one of us. We would like to emphasize that according to the law, salary will be deducted for anyone who chooses to strike. Of course, those who choose to participate in a demonstration supporting the legislative process are also entitled to act in a similar manner.
Exams on Sunday: The university's directive regarding holding exams has not changed: in order to minimize harm to the student body, we have decided that all exams must be held as scheduled. We ask that you comply with this request.
Joint activity on Sunday: the three of us plan to leave at 13:00 from the Safra campus gate and walk towards the Knesset.
Best regards,
Asher Cohen, President
Tamir Shafer, Rector
Yishai Frankel, CEO