Israeli Council for Higher Education Committee Recommends University's Politics Department Should be Abolished Unless... (November 28, 2011)

Israel's ynetnew.com reported last week that an international committee composed of members chosen by the Council of Higher Education has recommended that the Politics and Government Department at Ben Gurion University be shut down unless it addresses some of the problems pointed out by the committee.

According to the report: "The political science professors must note that the opinions they are expressing are personal...so that the students will be exposed to alternative viewpoints," and expressed concern that "strong emphasis on political activism may undermine the research of politics as a scientific field."

The report states that there is a consensus among the students that the courses offered to them are politically biased, but Committee member Galia Golan, a professor at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, said the demand for a more "balanced" study program is in direct contrast with the principle of academic freedom, which she called a pillar of higher education.

The Department head, Professor Dani Filc, told Ynetnews that "most of the report's claims are based on empirical mistakes, 'adding that the report was part of a 'campaign aimed at hurting the most popular department in Israel.'" However, he did agree with the Committee's recommendation that the department should hire additional staff.

Rivka Carmi the university's president says the department is "well-known throughout the world" and the report is "much ado about nothing."

She added that while some students believe the department is politically biased, others say it taught them to think for themselves.