Universities group chief quits over ‘political takeover’

The chairman of Israel’s Association of University Heads, Professor Ron Robin, announced on Tuesday 14 July that he would resign from his position, citing attempts by the government to “terrorise, weaken, censor and let political interests dictate the research agenda”, calling these “a clear, immediate danger to the State of Israel and to our future”, write Shira Kadari-Ovadia and Or Kashti for Haaretz.

Robin, who is the president of the University of Haifa, announced his planned resignation in a letter to staff and students at the institution. In it he said this was due to a series of decisions made by the recently appointed Higher Education Minister Ze’ev Elkin, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud.

The latest infraction, the letter said, was the decision not to extend the tenure of the acting director general of the Council for Higher Education, Michal Neumann, whose term expires this week. Neumann was appointed about six months ago after the previous director general, Matanyahu Englman, was appointed state comptroller. She had held various positions on the council for over two decades and is considered a respected figure in the field of higher education. Robin’s letter says Elkin’s decision is intended to weaken the independence of the council and make it more susceptible to political considerations.
Full report on the Haaretz site