VIDEO FOOTAGE OF UCLA FACULTY TRIP Feb 2024

Day 2 Photos:  TEL AVIV -- Tel Aviv University & Sheba Medical Center

Day 2:

The day began with a trip to Tel Aviv University. The following represents my personal recollections and is meant to accurately reflect what I heard. If I misheard or am mistaken, I apologize for any possible inaccuracies. 

We learned how the University has responded since October 7. The President of the University, Professor Ariel Porat (a member of the Faculty of Law), said that by 9.30 am, a hotline for all faculty and students had been created. As information became known, Prof. Porat personally contacted and visited the families of the 27 murdered university students. One of the faculty professors drove from Tel Aviv in his Tesla to the kibbutz where his brother was holed up in his safe room, rescued him, and drove furiously back to Tel Aviv with Hamas shooting at them in hot pursuit. They both survived. 

Initially, the university canceled all classes. But after a number of weeks, the decision was made to reopen and resume classes in order to reestablish as normal an atmosphere as possible, despite the fact that 30% of the student body was immediately drafted. Dorms were opened to house evacuees from the devastated Kibbutzim. A nursery and school for higher grades were set up for evacuated children. Students and faculty joined forces to pick fruit from orchards since most international farm workers had left the country. Now that many student soldiers have come back from the front for a break, they have returned to classes, and efforts are being made to tutor them and otherwise help them catch up. Of course, the school year will be lost for many. 

He described how disappointed he was at the lukewarm responses of American university presidents. A university president whom Professor Porat considered a friend was especially disappointing. Professor Porat contacted him about his immediate expressions of sympathy for “both sides” of the war. That president explained that there were both Jewish and Palestinian students on his campus. Prof. Porat asked if this was what he would have done during WW2 when Germany made clear their plans for a “final solution.” Would his official response have catered to all members of the campus? That Professor then sent out a second letter to his campus constituents, which was slightly less neutral but still a disappointing statement. Professor Porat stated that he felt “betrayed” by this. 

Notably, of all public responses by university presidents worldwide, by far the most supportive came from German universities. 

Next, Professor Porat discussed the responses of three university presidents at the Congressional hearing. He began by stating that some months before October 7, he had released a letter in response to a proposal by the far right-leaning Knesset government that all university students who displayed a Palestinian flag (not a Hamas flag but rather a Palestinian flag) should be expelled. Professor Porat noted in his letter that a sizable portion of university students are Arab and that such statements would not result in expulsion because they were expressions of free speech, which is a principle of Israel's "Basic Law." He circulated his letter to all other Israeli university presidents, who added their signatures to his letter. Prof. Porat (who is a law professor) stipulated that “campuses are not perfect” but that politics should not control what occurs on campuses. 

He too was appalled by the responses of the three American university presidents at Congress, but he believes that Congress was politically motivated to address antisemitism at these universities. He clearly believes that antisemitism has no place on campuses but that, in this case, the university presidents were used as political pawns. They were, in his opinion, ill-equipped to respond in ways that truly reflected their opinions about genocide against Jews. He stated that he does not believe that these three university presidents are antisemitic. 

The Vice President of DEI at Tel Aviv University discussed how the university handles diverse views on campus. The student body consists of Jews (secular and ultra-orthodox), Arab Muslims (16%), Christians, Bedouins, Druze, etc. After Oct 7, many Arab students expressed fear of coming to school. 

Members of the university are permitted to use personal (not university) media avenues to express their opinions. They can physically protest outside the campus grounds. Surprisingly, there have been only about 100 complaints about overt antisemitism at Tel Aviv University. After investigation, there have been three expulsions; the remaining investigations apparently concluded that the reported behaviors were expressions of free speech but not threatening.

Day 4: JERUSALEM PHOTOS, President Herzog Reception & Hebrew University

Day 4:

Today started with a visit to the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Basically, this is a list of 76 scientists and scholars who have demonstrated brilliance, original research, or creative scholarship. The group seems (at least to me) to be an old boys club of senior scholars who have earned their spot in this group on the basis of past accomplishments.  I say old boys because only 12% of members are women, and the average age of the members is 76. They say they are trying to increase the number of women and encourage younger members, but that has so far not happened. It seems like this is more like a think tank of elders.  

The war has had an effect on this body, as it has in every other arena. The annual lecture for this year has been canceled because the invited guest scholar has declined to come to Israel. There is concern that, because of the politicized response to the war, they will not be invited to speak internationally. There was discussion about the possibility that reviewers' bias against papers written by Israeli scholars will also have a negative impact on the acceptance of scientific papers. (The Lancet is one journal that is known to be anti-Israel.). 

“Science speaks,” and the fear is that many potentially promising scholars and scientists from Israel will give up rather than pursue rigorous years of work because they cannot get the funding and support required to do their research and will not be able to publish in peer-reviewed journals. We will have to wait and see, but that is the concern at this point. 

The President of the National Academy of Science in the U.S. sent out a lukewarm letter of support to the Israeli Academy, although individual members sent personal supportive and empathic letters. The Israel Academy has not publicly chastised the U.S. academy for its lack of support for fear of alienating them. Pretty sad state of affairs in the scientific world. 

Next, we had the extraordinary privilege of meeting in our small group with President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, in their private residence. President Herzog was incredibly approachable, wise, thoughtful, and reflective. A great listener! He eagerly encouraged us to talk about our fears of burgeoning antisemitism throughout the world and in the United States. Members of our group gave examples of antisemitism at UCLA, and at various points, he directed his assistant to take notes and get back to our group with ways his office could help formally address the problems raised. This seems a lot more than just polite listening; he really seems to care and has responded to our concerns about local antisemitism with action items he can launch from his own office. 

There was much discussion about the rise of “wokeness” in the U.S. and how it has spawned antisemitism and anti-Zionism. President Herzog is very concerned about this. He stated that Biden is very supportive of Israel and also highlighted his belief that Kamala Harris is a strong supporter of Israel as well and that her husband is both Jewish and a Zionist.”. 

Michal Herzog brought with her a copy of the recently released “Special Report of Deliberate Rape and Mutilation of Civilians by Hamas,” which details the evidence of specialized assaults by Hamas on October 7. Systemic sexual violence was incontrovertibly used by Hamas as a weapon of war, as detailed in the report, which has been made publicly available and officially submitted to the UN (which has been deplorably silent about these horrific crimes against humanity). Michal Herzog, like her husband, is incredibly bright, articulate, warm, and engaging. 

The afternoon was devoted to academic discussions and presentations at the Hebrew University. The president of the University spoke of the shock reverberating throughout Israel and on his campus. He stated, “Sometimes we do things we wouldn’t dream of doing because we have to defend ourselves.” This statement says a lot, in my opinion, about how agrieved Israelis are about both October 7 and its aftermath. 

Like other universities in Israel, Hebrew University has a disciplinary board to deal with subversive and anti-Israel behaviors and public comments, and, like other Israeli universities, there have been very few problems of this nature. For the most part, the students in Israel are focused more on learning than protesting. 

In one case, a faculty member signed a petition claiming that Israel was to blame for October 7 and for colonizing Palestine. The president of Hebrew University published a harsh letter condemning this. The faculty member remains on the faculty. As the president of the university said, “I believe in free speech, but if students and faculty have the right to freedom of speech, so too does the president."  (On a personal note, it is too bad that the presidents of universities in the U.S. do not seem to agree.)

The Dean of Students spoke of the determination of the university to help students and faculty deal with the trauma of October 7 and its aftermath. On October 8, the university lost its first student—an Arab whose home was destroyed by a missile from Hamas. The dean visited his family and described how deeply saddened he was by the devastation of the father. Another student‘s brother remains a hostage, and a second student’s grandfather is a hostage. Just a few days ago, he visited a student, the mother of a four-year-old, whose husband (a combat soldier) died in Gaza. As the dean said, his job is to provide support, empathy, and therapy for every student who needs it. 

The Vice President of DEI at Hebrew University is an Arab Christian woman, Professor Mona Khoury, an impressive woman who is an example of how DEI can work for every student. All students are admitted by a blinded selection process, not by affirmative action. Nevertheless, the Arab student body has increased from 6 to 12% because the university has reached out to encourage Arabs to apply. Previously, most Arabs never thought to apply because Hebrew University is so highly competitive and prestigious. Arabs from East Jerusalem generally are not fluent in Hebrew and are provided special help in attaining fluency. Those Arabs who need additional preparation can do an extra first year to get up to speed and then apply for admissions; after completion of the extra year, their chance of admission is no different from any other student, and they are subject to blinded standardized tests. 

Dr. Khoury also described how Hebrew University has developed workshops to train faculty on how to teach their students (Jews, Christian’s, Arabs, Druze, Haredi, modern Orthodox, secular, LGBTQ+, etc.) during a war situation. Furthermore, she designed creative and effective strategies and approaches for students to engage with one another. These approaches are too lengthy to describe in detail but are innovative and are working. 

One last thing: three students at Hebrew University spoke of the way they were affected by October 7 and the months since. Two students spoke who were deployed to the army. Both have been incredibly grateful for the help they have received upon their return. One had just returned from deployment; he is in law school, and his professors have gone out of their way to help him catch up; some even tutored him in their homes. He spoke poignantly about his own experiences as a lieutenant overseeing his platoon. In the morning of October 7, he communicated through his WhatsApp platoon group to immediately meet up at the northern border. One apologized for being a bit late because his home was being shelled by Hamas. Three of his men rushed to join the platoon despite the fact that their wives were due to have babies; they each returned home for one month following the births of their babies, and two have since returned to the front. A third man has not yet returned due to birth complications. On a more humorous note, he described how he spent many hours in a tank. When he had free time, he tried to keep up with his studies, communicating with his instructors, who told him to rest up when he could and not to worry about catching up; they would help him when he returned! They just wanted him to return safely.

In the evening, at our final dinner, we had a special treat (thanks to Shimon Weiss, a member of our group who reunited with a friend after fifty years): a surprise speaker Amotz Asa-El is a prominent Israeli author and senior opinion writer for the Jerusalem Post. His latest book, The Jewish March of Folly, published in 2019, is incredibly prescient. It chronicles the history of Israeli wars from biblical times to the Holocaust. Each time there has been a foreign attack on Jewry, it has come during either a civil war or extreme civil discord among the Jewish people. The current invasion by Hamas, of course, has come after a year of explosive internal unrest within Israel. When the Israeli people are divided, they are rife for attack from within. In a final comment, Asa-El suggested there are concerning parallels within the U.S., which is split into opposing factions fed by extremists on multiple sides of the political spectrum. This comes at a time of widespread international threats from several countries. An ominous prediction. A hopeful final comment: the Israeli people have now come together as one—of course it is unfortunate that it took a devastating war to bring Israelis together. 

To all who have chosen to follow me on this journey, I have come to the end of an amazing, impactful, and moving four-day visit to Israel.