Over 500 ex-pats in academia sign petition backing anti-government protests

Over 500 Israeli academics posted at universities around the world have signed a petition backing protests against the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary, warning that the upheaval around the issue will sap Israel of its brain power, unless the legislation is halted.

“Israeli academic institutions are already experiencing a loss of funding and a ‘brain drain,’ due to the government’s assault on democracy and the politicization of research and education. These destructive processes will eventually lead to the decline of science and the higher education system in Israel,” reads the petition, which is signed by figures hailing from universities in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere.

The signatories say they are “appalled and alarmed by the grave crisis instigated by the Israeli government.”

“The government’s destructive conduct is scandalous, characterized by concealment and distortion of facts, verbal abuse, dangerous incitement, and disregard of experts’ opinions,” reads the text, which is sponsored by the UnXeptable protest group made up of Israelis abroad and local allies. “Pursuing limitless power requires relentless, uncompromising acts of protest and resistance.”

As of publication, there were 552 signatories.