1. At the beginning of the "Iron Swords" war, both the President and Rector contacted Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian regarding the petition she circulated, which refers to the actions of the IDF at war as "war crimes" and denies the legitimacy of the State of Israel, as well as ignoring the events of 7/10, and suggested that she reconsider her work at the university.

 

2. In recent days, an interview given by Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian in connection with the war was published, which includes various statements, including an expression of disbelief regarding the acts of rape and sexual assault committed by Hamas during the brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.

 

3. The publication of the interview ignited a wave of public protest on a large scale against Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian and the Hebrew University. It is possible that this wave of protest will spill over into the campus as well.

 

4. The publication of the interview and the wave of protest presented the university administration with two major issues. The first stemmed from things said in the interview, and especially the lack of belief expressed by Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian in the testimonies of the acts of rape, as well as other statements that may border on incitement. The question was asked, also by the relevant deans, how a researcher who teaches social work and criminology can continue to teach students after she expresses such public disbelief in testimonies of rape victims. Second, there is considerable fear of emerging demonstrations for and against Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian inside the campus. All this, in the last week of the semester, and in an academic year that is already complex and challenging in all aspects.

 

5. As a result, the President and Rector decided to suspend Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian from teaching, in order to prevent tensions on campus and allow students to finish the semester and concentrate on their studies and exams. It is important to clarify that this is not a punitive measure, since Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian's full salary is paid, but rather a measure taken by the university management to manage the institution.

 

6. This case raised questions that are repeated from time to time, and even more so during the current war. Questions of blurred boundaries between statements of academic members outside of their position at the university, and the teaching and research at the university. These questions are currently not addressed in any academic regulations and require an in-depth discussion and long-term decision-making.

 

7. Therefore, university management decided to establish a committee that will examine broad questions on the subject, including the educational role of senior academic staff members.

 

8. The committee will examine whether there is any reason to recommend to the Standing Committee and the University Senate to amend existing regulations so that they regulate the handling of cases like this. It will be emphasized that the committee's recommendations must be approved by the Standing Committee and then by the Senate. Also, the committee will be authorized to recommend to the university's administration further steps regarding the case of Prof. Shalhoub Kevorkian.

 

9. The committee will consist of five members, all senior academic faculty members appointed by the standing committee, where at least one of them will be from the Faculty of Law.

 

Yours,

Asher and Tamir