66% fear violent incidents: the alarming statistic of students - ahead of the elections

A new survey by the Accord Center and the Russell Berrie Foundation, two weeks before the Knesset elections, reveals that 66% of Arab students fear violent incidents on campus. About 40% of all students completely avoid political discourse, and only 20% want lecturers to encourage discussion about the elections. The data cuts across faculties and poses a challenge to institution heads.

Two weeks before the Knesset elections on October 27, a new survey by the Accord Center at the Hebrew University and the Russell Berrie Foundation reveals an alarming statistic: 66% of Arab students fear violent incidents that will affect the academic atmosphere on campus. 58% of them fear targeted harm to their group during the election period. The survey, conducted among 837 Jewish and Arab undergraduate students, shows that about 40% of all students completely avoid political discourse, and only 20% want lecturers to encourage discussion about the elections. The highest rate of avoiders was recorded among students in therapeutic professions (48%). The data cuts across faculties and poses a challenge to heads of academic institutions, with 43% of students expecting the institution to take responsibility for respectful and safe discourse. The article notes that the avoidance may stem from the struggles surrounding the judicial reform and the campaign for the release of the hostages.