Dear Friend,

The following item from this morning’s English version of Ha’aretz reports the decision of the Hebrew University to reconsider what may aptly be called its special Third Degree course.

This English version is only a partial translation of the report that appears in this morning’s Hebrew version:

www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/722198.html

This Hebrew version makes an explicit connection between the doubts that the Hebrew University has suddenly began to feel about this Third Degree course and the international campaign to boycott Israel’s academic institutions. The recent Natfhe boycott resolution is explicitly mentioned.

The moral is that

1. the boycott campaign is already having an effect;

2. but Ha’aretz  does not wish its foreign readers to know this.

BTW, Blog comments appended to the Hebrew version mention the fact that the course in question is not the only one that the Hebrew University offers especially to members of the occupation forces. Other Israeli universities, particularly Bar-Ilan, also offer similar courses,

ATB, MM

www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/722201.html

Thu., June 01, 2006

Last update – 07:27 01/06/2006

Shin Bet staffers won’t receive special B.A. from Hebrew University By Tamara Traubmann, Haaretz Correspondent

Hebrew University will not offer a special program to Shin Bet personnel that would have allowed the completion of an undergraduate degree in Middle East studies in 16 months.

At a meeting of senior university staff on Tuesday, it was decided that the special conditions enabling members of the Shin Bet to take many of their classes at an installation belonging to the security organization were unacceptable.

The program came under intense public scrutiny primarily for the special treatment that was being granted to Shin Bet personnel by a respected academic institution.

A compromise to hold 60 percent of the classes on campus and expand the duration of the program from 16 to 24 months did not put an end to the criticism, which also fueled an hour-long debate among the heads of the university during the Tuesday meeting.

Central to the criticism was the plan to hold special classes for the Shin Bet students, which would not be open to the regular student population. Academic staff have raised concerns in the past that classes limited only to security personnel may result in undue pressure on the lecturers.

Other academics, both at the Hebrew University and other institutions, criticized the decision of a university to cooperate with a security organization on moral grounds.

[Here the English translation omits some significant paragraphs. —MM]

The Tuesday meeting did not involve a vote, which still allows the heads of the program to make the necessary changes and seek approval at a later date.  However, university and Shin Bet sources said that the opening of the program is no longer relevant.

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