Overview
- Education Minister Yoav Kisch ordered university presidents to sign a pledge that their institutions will stay neutral and keep teaching and administration running without politically driven shutdowns.
- He warned that leaders who refuse will face legislation he supports that would set formal limits on campus political activity and allow the state to cut funds to institutions found in violation.
- In a public tweet, Kisch said he is ending what he called politicization by presidents and told those who want to push a political agenda to resign and run for office.
- Likud lawmaker Avichai Boaron said his bill would return university funding to government control with Knesset oversight and would impose financial penalties on schools that break the rules.
- The push follows campus activism during the 2023 judiciary protests and a March 2025 strike threat by eight research university heads over a possible firing of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and universities’ responses to the new pledge were not reported.