Technion

A Palestinian photographer standing during a minute of silence commemorating the Nakba, as part of a ceremony that was held by Palestinian and Israeli students in the entrance to the Tel Aviv University, May 13, 2013. A right wing demonstration was held against the ceremony, as the protesters were shouting slogans against the participants, under police surveillance. (Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Is academia the last bastion of progressive thought in Israel?

Israeli universities have long been viewed as a bulwark against extremism. A new database, compiled by a group of Israeli dissident academics, reveals how the academy works in concert with the state. It’s no secret that the Israeli government’s crackdown on freedom of expression in recent years has extended into the academy. Through far-right student groups such as…

By Edo Konrad January 23, 2018

Israeli soldiers belonging to the IDF's Sky Rider unit seen during a training drill at the Tze'elim army base, August 5, 2013. The Sky Rider Unit operates unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by Elbit Systems. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Top Israeli university marketing country’s arms industry to the world

A new university course at Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology teaches students how to brand and market Israel’s defense industry to global audiences. By Shimrit Lee Contrary to popular belief, Israel’s military-industrial complex doesn’t run on government and arms manufacturers alone. Academia, a sphere often imagined as a bastion of free speech, independent from corporate interests, plays…

By +972 Magazine March 9, 2017

Illustrative photo of boycott advocates. (Photo: Brian S / Shutterstock.com)

Israel’s president calls BDS a ‘strategic threat’

The resources and attention Israel’s government is investing in fighting BDS indicates that the Palestinian-led boycott movement is making serious inroads. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin held an “emergency” meeting Thursday with the heads of Israel’s universities and colleges to discuss the academic boycott, which he described as a “strategic threat.” Israeli institutions and officials have…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man May 28, 2015

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Participants in the Open Hillel Conference, Harvard University. (photo: Gili Getz)

How Israel stupefies so many brilliant Jews

It’s the occupation, professor. Deja vu from the Technion. On the eve of Passover 1988, I was working at the Technion, Israel’s prestigious technological institute in Haifa, writing fundraising prose. It was a few months into the First Intifada, and Israel’s image had been taking a battering overseas like never before, with scenes being televised continually…

By Larry Derfner December 24, 2014

A dangerous position

Despite the onslaught of discriminatory legislation and racist declarations by public leaders, empirical data suggests that the government of Israel is closing the gaps between its Jewish and Arab citizens in many fields. The refusal to recognize those changes is dangerous and counter-productive. By Ron Gerlitz and Batya Kallus The policies of the current government and Knesset in relation…

By +972 Magazine October 19, 2012