Concern from academic: ‘If there’s a dictatorship, you can’t say anything that doesn’t fit their agenda’

By Carrie Keller-Lynn 13 February 2023, 11:48 am

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Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel

Israelis crowd the train on their way to Jerusalem, where thousands are expected to protest outside the Knesset against the government's planned legal reforms. February 13, 2023. (Eric Marmon/FLASH90)

Among the various protest groups are university faculty members, who express concern that the government’s judicial reform plan will have spillovers affecting academic freedom.

Tali Bitan, a psychology professor from University of Haifa, says she expects eight buses from her institution to head to the capital as part of today’s protest.

“If there’s no freedom, there won’t be academic freedom. Once there is a dictatorship, you can’t say, teach anything that doesn’t connect to their agenda,” Bitan says.