University heads urge Netanyahu to act over Gaza hunger crisis
Presidents of Israel’s top academic institutions call for immediate humanitarian action and condemnation of extremist rhetoric
The presidents of five leading Israeli universities have issued an extraordinary public appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging immediate intervention to address the escalating hunger crisis in Gaza and to condemn extremist political rhetoric calling for its destruction.
In a joint letter dated 28 July, the heads of the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Hebrew University, the Open University of Israel, Tel Aviv University, and the Technion expressed “shock” at the worsening humanitarian situation and implored Netanyahu to act with “decisiveness and clarity to save lives.”
“We… call on you to instruct the IDF and other security forces to intensify efforts to address the severe hunger crisis currently afflicting the Gaza Strip,” the letter states, adding that the catastrophe is “causing immense harm to innocent civilians, including children and infants.”
The unprecedented intervention by the presidents – all of whom lead globally respected academic institutions – also condemns recent comments by Israeli ministers and MKs advocating for “the intentional destruction of Gaza” and “forced displacement” of its population. The letter calls such rhetoric a “loss of moral restraint” that violates the country’s humanitarian obligations and risks constituting “serious violations of international law… amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
The signatories – Professors Alon Chen, Asher Cohen, Leo Corry, Ariel Porat, and Uri Sivan – cite a shared moral imperative “shaped by the trauma of the Holocaust” to “do all we can to prevent cruel, indiscriminate harm to non-combatant men, women, and children.”
They urge the prime minister to issue a “clear and unequivocal condemnation” of such statements and to uphold Israel’s ethical and legal responsibilities.
The letter marks one of the most high-profile domestic criticisms of the government’s handling of the war in Gaza from within Israel’s academic elite. It comes amid growing international concern over the scale of civilian suffering and worsening malnutrition in the Strip, exacerbated by ongoing fighting and restrictions on aid delivery.
The Israeli government has not yet responded to the letter.
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