Head of universities’ union appeals to PM to end row

The Jerusalem Post 13 July 2018

The Chairman of the Union of Universities in Israel, Professor Yosef Klapter, appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to override the minister of science and appoint a leading scientist who allegedly approves of ‘refuseniks’, individuals who refuse to serve in the Israel Defense Forces for conscientious reasons, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Minister of Science Ofir Akunis refused to approve Professor Yael Amitai to serve in a joint Israeli-German committee dealing with science research and development since Amitai, a leading brain scientist, signed a petition in support of Israelis refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) because of the various missions the IDF carries out in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Amitai says she never expressed such an opinion, stating she believes Israelis should serve in the IDF in any position as long as it’s within the 1967 borders of the country. However, Akunis claimed that Amitai was not denied the position due to her views. “Even points of view I disagree with are legitimate,” said the minister, “until we come to actively calling [on Israelis] to refuse [army service]”. Amitai serves as the head of Inter-Faculty Brain Sciences School at Ben-Gurion University.
Full report on The Jerusalem Post site

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