The Council of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities warns in the strongest possible terms that advancing the proposed amendment to the Law of the Council for Higher Education (CHE) is an unbridled political takeover that would deal a fatal blow to higher education, science, and academic research in Israel.

Although its title talks about “transparency” and “public overseeing”, the proposal’s true purpose is to dismantle the institutional safeguards that protect the independence of science, higher education, and research, and to place them under the direct discretion of the political leadership, in a destructive move that would wipe out what has been built in Israel over generations. The proposed amendment would shatter the principle that has sustained the system for decades: academic decisions based on excellence and far-seeing professional judgement, and not on shifting political interests.

Let there be no mistake. This is not a local, minor change, nor a “structural update”. It is a move that seeks to turn the CHE from a professional, balancing body into one that is politically controlled. It would enable the government to make political appointments to senior professional posts in the CHE and its committees by circumventing professional appointment procedures; to set research priorities according to political considerations rather than scientific excellence, and on that basis allocate all academic research and higher-education budgets; to cut funding from institutions that do not comply with the desired political line; and to individually target academic leaders who dare to oppose such political decisions.

Additionally, the amendment would expropriate certain powers from the President of Israel and violate the spirit of the separation of powers, a cornerstone of democracy. Concentrating such authority in political hands, in a manner echoing authoritarian regimes, would create a deep chilling effect, fundamentally altering institutional and academic conduct, and turning any professional disagreement into an existential risk to higher-education institutions.

No less severe is the fact that the proposed legislation lays the groundwork that will serve any future government. Once a mechanism of subordination is anchored in law, there will be no effective protection against political intervention in scientific priorities, in the structure of higher education institutions and their roles, in the subject matter of teaching and research, in the allocation of resources, and in academic appointments. A higher education system that is subordinated to the government’s will cannot fulfil its role in a democratic state, and ceases to be an independent source of knowledge, critique, and innovation.

The damage will not stop at Israel’s border. Israeli academia is already dealing with an unprecedented international crisis: expanding boycotts, severe damage to scientific collaborations and to the ability to secure research grants and increasing attempts at exclusion. The proposed legislative move will directly undermine the ability to present Israeli science as independent, untainted, and of the highest quality. It will provide additional justification to those calling to exclude Israel from research programs, will impair the recruitment and retention of outstanding researchers, and will seriously undermine Israel’s standing in the global scientific community.

The Council calls upon the Government of Israel to immediately and completely put an end to the legislative process of this proposed amendment. It is not a proposal that can be “fixed” by softening language or making minor, localized changes. It is a move that will ruin the system’s independence and endanger the future of higher education and research in Israel, and, as a result, the very democratic character of the state.

The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities will continue to act resolutely to defend the freedom of research and teaching, the independence of higher-education institutions, and Israel’s standing in the international scientific arena, out of deep responsibility for the resilience of the state and for the benefit of future generations.

Council Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities:

Prof. David Harel, President

Prof. Margalit Finkelberg, Vice President

Prof. Joseph Kost, Chair, Sciences Division

Prof. Avner Holtzman, Chair, Humanities Division

Prof. Nili Cohen, Former President

Ms. Esther Sivan, Director General