Students, lecturers, and faculty members from various academic institutions across the country are taking part in the protest against the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform policies, but at the University of Tel Aviv, the administration took it one step further by addressing their students collectively and asking that they join the protests which took place Thursday afternoon. The request was made through the official email of the dean of the faculty, in the electrical engineering department.
Under the name “Dean of Engineering", an ad announcing the demonstration against the judicial reform, along with support and compliments for the demonstration and the blocking of Ayalon routes, was sent to all the official emails held by the university of the students.
Protesting against the arrest of demonstrators, among them a professor from Tel Aviv University and one of the leaders of the students’ protest movement @1StudentProtest @BarPakula @MateAcademia_IL pic.twitter.com/nlaIjXQVxS
— Anat Ben-David (@anatbd) July 3, 2023
In the email, the students were invited to join the demonstration being prepared this afternoon at the university. "After an impressive night of protest and struggle for democracy, we are preparing for a march that will leave at 18:00 from Antin Square to the Tagore shopping center. Please spread the word and come, it's important!"
Alongside this, another ad was published inviting the students to a demonstration of the "academy against violence, incitement, racism and anti-democratic legislation". It is also written that "Professor Ariel Porat, president of Tel Aviv University, will speak, followed by the singing of protest songs by the singer Danni Bassan." The ad is signed by a number of protest organizations. The University of Tel Aviv has been known to support left-leaning politics in Israel through its large infrastructure and has even often accommodated pro-Palestinian protests.
Jeremy Coller, donor of $50mil to Tel Aviv U: "I will have to reexamine my Israeli investments if the judicial reform is adopted. Israel is on its way to turning from a respectable democracy into an authoritarian state, with serious long-term effect."https://t.co/MksUqoKeGP
— av (@AvAxyaxya) March 25, 2023
Last February, Professor Porat told the student protesters that "I want to congratulate you for caring, and for deciding to be active citizens. We are in one of the most difficult times Israeli society has ever known. One of the things that is very troubling is the speed with which the coalition seeks to carry out the constitutional revolution without showing any real will to talk."
This demonstration the University was asking to join came along with another protest Thursday evening in front of the houses of ministers and members of the Knesset in the coalition. In the announcements with the disclosure of the residential addresses of the elected officials, the protest leaders called on the demonstrators to come to the houses of the ministers and protest each in their own area. The police are preparing with increased forces.
Judicial reform lawmaker Simcha Rothman is greeted by the 'Democracy Mob' on his way to a speaking engagement at #TelAviv university.
— Zalmi U (@ZalmiU) May 28, 2023
Freedom of speech is of course not in their lexicon of civil rights.
Empty vessels make the most noise. https://t.co/SSr1dMGvoB
Tel Aviv University stated in response to the Israeli reports on their email: "It is indeed a mistake of judgment. The university is careful not to include content for, or against the demonstrations in official emails of the university administration."
