Prominent mathematicians leave Israel over Netanyahu's hardline policies: Media

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Several prominent Israeli mathematicians have left the country, citing the hardline policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

Israeli daily Haaretz said that some of these academics have accepted job offers abroad, while others have taken unpaid leave.

According to the newspaper, seven senior lecturers in the mathematics department at the Hebrew University reached a breaking point after what it described as a "regime coup" - referring to the dominance of right-wing factions since the formation of the current government in December 2022.

The paper viewed the departure of these scholars as a cautionary sign for the entire Israeli academic community.

The Ministry of Education estimates that around seven lecturers have left, marking a trend as this number was lower in the past.

One of the mathematicians received an offer from Chicago, while another went on unpaid leave, with many expressing doubts about their return to Israel, Haaretz said.

There has been no comment from the Israeli government on the report.

Opponents and Israeli media consider Netanyahu's current administration to be the most hardline right-wing government since Israel's establishment in 1948 on occupied Palestinian lands.

Experts suggest that Israeli society may shift further to the far right following Tel Aviv's ongoing military offensive in Gaza since last October.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,100 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio