War, weapons, business and academia. The case of Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University has appointed a former senior Mossad official as vice president for industry and entrepreneurship relations, and is hosting a major security conference sponsored by arms companies. The article argues that this reflects an ideological line that marginalizes Palestinian researchers and ignores criticism of the university's role in the war.

Tel Aviv University has appointed Hagai Itkin, a former senior Mossad official, as vice president for industry and entrepreneurship relations. At the same time, the university is hosting for the second consecutive year the DefenseTech Week conference, sponsored by 22 entities, including Israeli and international arms companies such as Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Lockheed Martin. The article argues that these choices reflect an ideological, political, and economic line of academia in Israel, which pushes Palestinian researchers and students to the margins and ignores growing criticism of its role in the war and occupation. The university president, Prof. Ariel Porat, addressed in his letter the 'challenges of the war' and boycotts against Israeli academia, but the article notes that he ignores the question of why the renewal of the Horizon Europe agreement is at risk, given the discussions in the European Union on a condition prohibiting participation of states responsible for genocide.