Ben-Gurion University gets chance to reform department

Israel’s Council for Higher Education gave the controversial political science department at Ben-Gurion University a three-week deadline to commit to remedying problems pointed out by an international committee, reports Israel Hayom.

The council, which had initially planned to shut the department down, decided to grant the university a temporary reprieve and allow it to formulate a plan for reform. Before the reprieve was granted, the council threatened to prevent potential students from applying to political science studies for the coming academic year.

The issue arose last year when an international committee of experts issued a report criticising the Ben-Gurion department for a series of failures. The committee voiced concern that the "study of politics as a scientific discipline may be impeded by such strong emphasis on political activism", and recommended "major changes”. Staff and the department's curriculum were criticised by officials as being left-wing and anti-Israel.
Full report on the Israel Hayom site