Dear friends,

We assume most of you have heard that the Israel Prize Committee for Sociology has decided to award the prestigious prize to our colleague, Prof. Eva Illouz from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Minister of Education Kisch announced that he refuses to grant her the prize due to a petition she signed a few years ago.

The Hebrew University responded by stating: "Prof. Eva Illouz was recommended to receive the Israel Prize based on her scientific achievements and significant contribution over the last few decades in the field of contemporary social sciences in Israel and abroad. The Israel Prize is awarded to academics for their research activities, not for their political positions or public statements. We call on Minister Kisch to remove his objection to granting the prize, and emphasize that this call does not express support for Prof. Illouz's personal views."

Additionally, please see the attached PDF of an article on the subject from Haaretz newspaper, which also includes a response from Eva Illouz. We highly recommend reading it, if only because it refutes incorrect accusations against her.

Best regards,
Asher & Tamir