Eight presidents of major universities said on Sunday that they would go on strike if the government were to fire Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.
“We, presidents of the universities signed below, hereby warn against an unprecedented threat to the rule of law in Israel if the attorney-general is fired,” they wrote in a public letter.They said that in the democratic rule in Israel, the A-G is the most important gatekeeper against possible government harm to civilian rights and individual rights of the country’s residents.
“She is the one who ensures proper government procedure,” they wrote. “She is, alongside the courts, the buffer between a democratic regime with necessary checks and balances on the government, and a tyrannical, dictatorial regime where the government can do as it pleases.”The attorney-general is a public servant and not a politician, they said.“Her only ‘sin’ is that she fulfilled her position with great professional and great courage. Therefore, the calls by government ministers and members of Knesset to fire her are nothing but calls to be rid of the rule of law. Harm to the rule of law will lead to a critical blow to Israeli society, including the economy and security.”
They said that if the move went through, they would also call on others to strike.The eight university heads included Ben-Gurion University president Prof. Daniel Haimovitz; University of Haifa president Prof. Gur Elroi; Weizmann Institute president Prof. Alon Chen; Hebrew University president Prof. Asher Cohen; Technion president Prof. Uri Sivan; Tel Aviv University president Prof. Ariel Porat; Bar-Ilan University president Prof. Arye Zaban; and Open University president Prof. Leo Kory.In an 84-page document sent to all of the government’s ministers on Wednesday, Justice Minister Yariv Levin argued that Baharav-Miara has used her power to serve as a “long arm of the opposition” and block the government from implementing its policies. He requested that the ministers support a decision to support a no-confidence motion in the A-G.Levin also sent requests to Knesset Speaker Amit Ohana and to Cabinet-Secretary Yossi Fuchs to initiate proceedings to elect representatives from their respective bodies to a committee responsible for reviewing the demand to fire her.The move could drag on for months, as the committee must form, review the demand, and issue a recommendation, after which there will likely be a petition to the Supreme Court.Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi criticized the university heads’ letter. He accused Israeli academia of being a “sad joke,” and the university presidents of turning into “political activists” merely because the government was “operating within its authorities.”Response to the university letter
“Anyone who turns educational institutions into a political tool in the hands of the extreme Left and uses their high position as a political tool should not be surprised if the public asks why they need to fund this circus. Want to be an arm of an anti-democratic camp? Do it at your own expense. Resign!”
עניתי כרגע לראשי האוניבסיטאות - התבלבלתם.האיומים בשביתה כדי להשפיע על מדיניות לא מרתיעים אותנו.קץ הדמוקרטיה לא יגיע בגלל פיטורי היועמשית, אלא להיפך - סוף סוף רצון העם יבוא לידי ביטוי.יועמשית שהינה אופוזיציה לממשלה בכל פעולה מיומה הראשון, אינה ראויה להישאר בתפקידה ולכן החל… pic.twitter.com/aLQvs0lFo2
— יואב קיש Yoav Kisch (@YoavKisch) March 9, 2025
Education Minister Yoav Kisch called the university heads “confused.”“The threats of a strike aimed at influencing policy do not deter us,” he said. “The end of democracy will not result from the dismissal of the attorney-general; rather, it will ultimately reflect the will of the people.“An attorney-general who has opposed the government at every turn from day one is unworthy of holding her position, and as a result, the impeachment process has begun. It would have been better if she had resigned on her own initiative.”