Tel Aviv University Professor Gives His View of the Prolonged Dispute Between Israel's Academics and the Government. (December 14, 2007)

Tel Aviv University's Professor Menachem Nathan in the School of Electrical Engineering earlier this week published the following opinion regarding the prolonged dispute between Israel's academics and the Olmert government.

This coming Sunday the strike will have lasted eight weeks.

According to Haartz: "Professors went on strike last October 21 seeking to revamp their collective wage agreement and get compensation for wage erosion. Progress was made in the negotiations between the lecturers and Finance Ministry officials when a mechanism was agreed on to prevent wage erosion in the future, but the talks broke down on Tuesday. The head of the coordinating body for senior faculty organizations, Prof. Zvi Hacohen, on Tuesday accused the treasury of "torpedoing the understandings that had been reached." The Finance Ministry declined to comment."

Below TFW reprints Professor Nathan's assessment in full.

Click here for a PDF version.