IDF requests additional delay to start of academic year, currently slated for December 31

IDF officials are requesting that Israel’s universities delay the start of the academic year until mid-January instead of the currently scheduled date of December 31.

The universities are said to be opposed to the request as they believe any additional delays could potentially cancel the entire year.

The start of the academic year was originally scheduled for October 15 but has been delayed several times due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The Association of University Heads says another possibility would be to keep the December 31 opening in place but implement a second start date of January 20 for returning reserve soldiers.

The request to delay the opening applies to Israel’s major public research universities: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Tel Aviv University, the University of Haifa, Ariel University, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.