2,844 faculty at 8 Israeli universities. 1,434 signed political petitions — 50.4%. Technion 75%, Hebrew University 63%, Bar-Ilan 30%. Humanities 4-5x more likely than STEM. Named faculty, full methodology, companion to our American audit of 2,499 faculty.
OLAM RESEARCH · PHASE ONE
2,844 faculty at eight Israeli universities. 1,434 signed political petitions — 50.4%. At the Technion: 75%. Companion study to our audit of 2,499 American Jewish Studies faculty.
Executive Summary
This study follows our earlier audit of 2,499 American Jewish Studies faculty at 313 universities, which found 51.9% publicly on the record against Israel — and 72.3% at the Ivy League. That study examined what Americans teach about Israel. This one examines what Israeli academics say about their own country.
We documented 2,844 Israeli faculty members across eight leading universities who publicly signed their names to political petitions between 2024 and 2026. 1,434 of those faculty members (50.4%) signed at least one petition containing explicit political claims about Israel. All names are matched to public petition rosters, university faculty directories, and institutional records. Every record is source-linked. No names were inferred or estimated.
Five key findings:
1. Overall participation rate: 50%. Approximately one of every two faculty members audited signed at least one petition.
2. Dramatic institutional variation. Technion: 75% | Hebrew University: 63% | Bar-Ilan: 30%. Not random. Institutional character matters.
3. Discipline matters most. Middle Eastern Studies: 82% | Sociology: 70% | Engineering: 15% | Biology: 19%. Humanities faculty are 4-5x more likely to sign than STEM faculty.
4. One petition dominated. The Black Flag Action Group petition (May 2025) — declaring "Israel practices apartheid" — represented 96.7% of all documented participation. 1,387 of 1,434 signers signed this single petition.
5. Faculty who signed multiple petitions are rare. 18 faculty (1.3% of signers) signed 2 or more petitions. The majority participated once.
Three surprises:
1. Technion's high rate. Technion is Israel's premier STEM university. Yet 75% of audited faculty signed — higher than either Hebrew University or Tel Aviv. This suggests petition participation is not confined to humanities faculties.
2. Bar-Ilan's low rate. Only 30% of audited Bar-Ilan faculty signed. As Israel's modern-Orthodox university, Bar-Ilan draws faculty with different values. Institutional affiliation correlates with participation. Zero participation was documented in Bar-Ilan's religious departments (Jewish Studies, Talmud, Jewish Philosophy).
3. STEM's consistent low engagement. Across all institutions, STEM faculties show 15-27% participation while humanities show 60-82%. This pattern holds even at the highest-participating institution (Technion).
Three limitations:
1. Sample is not representative of all Israeli academia. We audited 8 leading research universities (2,040 faculty at these institutions, plus 804 at smaller colleges also captured via petition rosters). We did not specifically sample Ariel, Reichman, Sapir, or community colleges. These missing institutions skew toward religious or politically conservative faculty, suggesting our overall percentage likely overestimates participation across all Israeli academia.
2. Petition participation is not ideology verification. Signing a petition is one form of political expression. It does not prove the signer's full ideological commitment, understanding of all petition claims, or current views.
3. We cannot determine causation. Why any individual faculty member signed (conviction, peer pressure, professional incentive, or other factors) is not documented.
Why This Matters
For Israeli university leaders: Faculty political participation is now documented and searchable. Institutional boards, presidents, and donors can see which universities show highest petition signing rates and which departments drive participation.
For journalists: Verified data on which institutions, disciplines, and petitions mobilized faculty — with named individuals, departments, and source links.
For researchers: This database enables future studies on academic culture, discipline-specific political engagement, institutional variation, and how participation changes over time.
For students: Understanding your professor's public political statements is relevant to evaluating their scholarship and positioning.
For international observers: Our earlier audit showed how Israel is positioned in American classrooms. This data documents how Israeli citizens themselves publicly position their own country. Together, they offer two perspectives on academic positioning toward Israel — one from abroad, one from within.
What We Audited
Institutions (8 leading universities):
Tel Aviv University (537 faculty) · Hebrew University of Jerusalem (449) · University of Haifa (335) · Ben-Gurion University (242) · Bar-Ilan University (207) · Open University of Israel (119) · Technion (85) · Weizmann Institute (66)
Total: 2,844 faculty members (2,040 at the 8 main universities; 804 additional faculty at smaller colleges captured through petition rosters)
Petitions (3 categories):
Category A — Apartheid framing: Black Flag Action Group petition, May 2025 ("Israel practices apartheid"). 1,387 signers.
Category B — Humanitarian/Gaza: Scientists for Gaza, August 2025. 28 signers.
Category C — Other petitions: Sanctions Oct 2024 (20 signers), International Law Scholars (8 signers), Artists/Intellectuals Aug 2025 (9 signers). 37 signers total.
18 faculty signed 2 or more petitions. 1 faculty member — Uri Hadar of Tel Aviv University — signed 3 separate petitions.
Time period: October 2024 – August 2026
Overall Findings
| Category | Count | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Black Flag (Apartheid framing) | 1,387 | 96.7% |
| Scientists for Gaza | 28 | 2.0% |
| Other petitions (Sanctions, Intl Law, Artists) | 37 | 2.6% |
| Signed multiple petitions | 18 | 1.3% |
| Total unique signers | 1,434 | 50.4% |
| No documented participation | 1,410 | 49.6% |
Participation is not random. It concentrates in specific institutions and academic disciplines.
Institutional Breakdown
| Rank | University | Faculty Audited | Signers | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technion | 85 | 64 | 75% |
| 2 | Hebrew University of Jerusalem | 449 | 285 | 63% |
| 3 | Weizmann Institute | 66 | 40 | 61% |
| 4 | Tel Aviv University | 537 | 303 | 56% |
| 5 | Open University of Israel | 119 | 67 | 56% |
| 6 | Ben-Gurion University | 242 | 127 | 52% |
| 7 | University of Haifa | 335 | 134 | 40% |
| 8 | Bar-Ilan University | 207 | 63 | 30% |
Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University together account for 41% of all documented signers (588 of 1,434). These two institutions are the center of gravity for the study.
Technion's high rate (75%) is the study's most counterintuitive finding. Technion is Israel's premier STEM university. STEM faculties across the study show 15-27% participation — yet Technion's overall rate exceeds every humanities-heavy university except Hebrew University.
Bar-Ilan's low rate (30%) is the clearest outlier. As Israel's modern-Orthodox university, Bar-Ilan shows less than half the participation of the next-lowest institution. Zero participation was documented in Bar-Ilan's Jewish Studies, Talmudic Studies, and Jewish Philosophy departments.
Discipline Analysis
The strongest pattern in the study: humanities faculty are approximately 4-5x more likely to sign than STEM faculty.
| Discipline | Participation Rate |
|---|---|
| Middle Eastern Studies | 82% |
| Sociology | 70% |
| Anthropology | 66% |
| Philosophy | 66% |
| Political Science | 59% |
| Law | 56% |
| Literature/Languages | 56% |
| History | 52% |
| Education | 47% |
| Communication | 44% |
| Economics | 37% |
| Psychology | 35% |
| Physics | 27% |
| Chemistry | 23% |
| Biology | 19% |
| Engineering | 15% |
A faculty member in Middle Eastern Studies was approximately 4.3x more likely to sign as one in Biology (82% vs. 19%). A faculty member in Sociology was approximately 2.6x more likely to sign as one in Computer Science (70% vs. 28%). This gradient — from normative disciplines to technical disciplines — holds across all 8 institutions.
Named Faculty
Of 1,434 signers, 1,174 have academic title data: 755 listed as Prof. (full professor) and 419 as Dr. Full professors — the most senior, most tenured faculty — represent nearly two-thirds of all titled signers. This is not junior faculty activism.
Tel Aviv University — 29 professors among signers, including 9 in Law (Prof. Aeyal Gross, Prof. Daphna Hacker, Prof. Eliav Lieblich, Prof. Guy Mundlak, Prof. Hila Shamir, Prof. Issachar Rosen-Zvi, and others) and 6 in Sociology.
Hebrew University — 15 professors, including Prof. Eva Illouz (Sociology, one of the most internationally cited Israeli sociologists), Prof. Yuval Shany (Law, member of the UN Human Rights Committee), and 6 professors in Sociology and Anthropology.
Open University — 11 professors, including 7 in Sociology/Political Science and 4 in Education/Psychology. Prof. Eran Fisher signed multiple petitions.
Bar-Ilan — 7 professors: Prof. Anat Matar (Philosophy, the only Bar-Ilan multiple signer), Prof. Alon Harel (Law), Prof. Barak Medina (Law), and 4 others in Political Science and Sociology.
The 18 Who Signed Twice (or More)
18 faculty members signed 2 or more petitions. Uri Hadar of Tel Aviv University is the only person in the entire study to sign 3 separate petitions (Black Flag + Artists/Intellectuals + Sanctions Oct 2024).
Multiple signers by institution: Tel Aviv University (5), Hebrew University (5), University of Haifa (3), Ben-Gurion (2), Bar-Ilan (1), Open University (1), Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo (1).
Multiple signers include: Prof. Anat Matar (Bar-Ilan, Philosophy), Prof. Eran Fisher (Open U), Prof. Hannan Hever (HUJI, English), Prof. Yael Berda (HUJI, Sociology), Eyal Benvenisti (TAU), David Kretzmer (HUJI), and 12 others.
What This Study Does NOT Show
Institutional policy. When 75% of Technion faculty sign a petition, that does NOT mean Technion University opposes Israel. Faculty are individuals making personal choices, not representatives of their institutions.
Organizational coordination. 18 faculty signed 2+ petitions. This shows repeated participation, not necessarily membership in any organization. Signing two petitions independently does not prove a coordinated campaign.
Curriculum content. These petitions show public political expression outside the classroom. They tell us nothing about what is taught in courses. Separate syllabus analysis would be needed.
Causation. Why any individual signed (conviction, peer pressure, institutional norms, professional incentive) is not documented. Participation correlates with discipline and institution, but we cannot prove those factors caused the signing.
Generalizability. These 8 universities represent approximately 70% of Israeli research university faculty. They do NOT represent all Israeli academia. Excluding Ariel, Reichman, Sapir, and community colleges — which skew toward religious or conservative faculty — means our 50% likely overestimates participation across all Israeli academia.
Methodology
Primary source: Black Flag Action Group petition roster (academia.edu/129505708). Supplementary sources: Scientists for Gaza petition roster (sites.google.com), International Law Scholars petition documents, Sanctions Oct 2024 petition, Artists/Intellectuals Aug 2025 statement. All sources archived via Archive.org and direct URLs preserved.
Verification process: Each name was searched against university faculty directories, cross-referenced by department and institutional affiliation, and verified for current or recent faculty status. Match rate: 100% (1,434 of 1,434 names successfully matched to an institution).
Inclusion criteria: Publicly posted petition, source-linked and retrievable, signer named explicitly, affiliated with an audited institution, petition contains specific political claims about Israel/Palestine (not general human rights statements).
Exclusion criteria: Private correspondence, unclear or unverifiable affiliation, anonymous or ambiguous names, graduate students, non-academic staff, general human rights statements without Israel-specific content.
Deduplication: 1,452 raw petition entries across all petition rosters. 18 individuals appeared on multiple petition rosters (the 18 multiple signers). Final unique count: 1,434 individuals.
Edge cases: Joint appointments counted once at primary institution. Emeritus faculty included if affiliation was claimed at time of signing. Visiting scholars included if affiliated at signing. Adjuncts included if listed in university records as faculty.
Petition Detail
Black Flag Action Group (May 2025)
Explicit claim: "Israel practices apartheid." Called for BDS. Published on academia.edu with full signatory roster. 1,387 Israeli faculty signers documented from audited universities. This single petition represents 96.7% of all documented participation.
Scientists for Gaza (August 2025)
Focus: Gaza humanitarian crisis and scientific community response. Published at sites.google.com. 28 Israeli faculty signers. 4 also signed Black Flag.
Sanctions Petition (October 2024)
Called for international sanctions on Israel. 20 Israeli faculty signers documented. Tracked via Israel Academia Monitor.
International Law Scholars Petition (2024)
Published on verfassungsblog.de. Called for international legal intervention. 8 Israeli faculty signers, including Prof. Yuval Shany (Hebrew University) and Eyal Benvenisti (Tel Aviv University).
Artists/Intellectuals Statement (August 2025)
Published via Jerusalem Post coverage. 9 Israeli faculty signers documented, including Prof. Moty Heiblum and Prof. Oded Goldreich (both Weizmann Institute).
Companion Study: American Audit
| American Study | Israeli Study | |
|---|---|---|
| Published | August 3, 2026 | August 17, 2026 |
| Faculty audited | 2,499 | 2,844 |
| Institutions | 313 universities | 8 universities |
| Participation rate | 51.9% | 50.4% |
| Elite institutions | Ivy League: 72.3% | Technion: 75% |
| Discipline pattern | Humanities dominate | Humanities dominate |
| Database | Google Sheet (2,499) | CSV (1,434) |
📖 Read the full American study
Phase Two
This is Phase One — eight leading research universities. Phase Two will expand to additional institutions including Ariel University, Reichman University, Sapir Academic College, and other academic colleges. Announcement forthcoming.
Conclusion
This database documents 1,434 Israeli faculty members who publicly signed petitions containing explicit political claims about Israel between October 2024 and August 2026. The data is publicly searchable. Every record links to original source material. Readers can examine the evidence and draw their own conclusions.
In This Series
📖 Top 25 Departments by Participation
📖 Israel vs. America Comparison
📖 Bar-Ilan: Why It's Different
📖 Weizmann, Open U, Ben-Gurion, Haifa
📖 Senior Faculty and Endowed Chairs
Ronn Torossian is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. He is the author of two best-selling editions of For Immediate Release.