Over 1,470 academic staff and administrators from all institutions of higher education in Israel have signed a petition urging the Israeli far-right government to promptly end the war in Gaza and to secure the immediate release of the hostages.

Lecturers and student’s protest against the war in Gaza and for the release of hostages held near the University of Haifa. The university rejected the demands of Hadash students to held the demonstration into the campus, May 16, 2024 (Photo: Zo Haderech)

The petition — titled “A Call on the Israeli Government to End the War and Ensure the Return of the Hostages” — states, “We, faculty and administrative staff at academic institutions in Israel, call on the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza without delay and ensure the immediate return of the hostages,” emphasizing that both these things are “moral imperatives that align with Israel’s interests.”

According the call, “War should never be an end goal in itself; therefore, in its management, the government should have established a realistic strategic vision for a post-war political reality. The horrific Hamas attack on October 7th granted Israel the right of self-defense against such acts within the limits of international law. However, this initial purpose has been exhausted, partly because the government has deliberately avoided setting a strategic or political vision beyond the war, instead aiming for an undefined ‘complete victory,’ which, even according to senior military officials, is not only unachievable but likely to result in the death of the hostages.”

“Furthermore, while the benefits of continuing the war are manifestly unclear, its grave and certain damages are. The war and its conduct are causing tremendous harm to civilians in Gaza, starvation, and unprecedented destruction of infrastructure. It leads to many Israeli casualties, mental harm to hundreds of thousands, enormous economic damage, and a severe deterioration of the rule of law in Israel and the occupied territories. It also prevents the stabilization of the situation in the north of the country and the return of displaced populations. Additionally, it severely damages Israel’s international standing, leads to international isolation, legal entanglements, cultural and academic boycotts, and long-term damage in many other aspects.”

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31844