Israel/Palestine

By retracting a prize to Breaking the Silence in the name of 'the consensus', Ben-Gurion University has made a dangerous capitulation to the forces that seek to suppress civil society.

In recent years the Israeli government has waged a methodical campaign to undermine any criticism of its policies, focused mainly against human rights and anti-occupation organizations. The mud-slinging against various individuals and organizations, which has judicial and public outgrowths, has become a given for large swaths of Israeli society.

The decision of the president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Prof. Rivka Carmi, to cancel an award to Breaking the Silence in the wake of a vicious incitement campaign against the organization encourages this unacceptable way of thinking. Instead of reinforcing civil society, Carmi joined with the forces that seek to suppress it while adopting the language of delegitimizing organizations that criticize government policy, in particular with regard to the occupation.

The Berelson Prize has been awarded by the university’s Middle East Studies Department for 25 years. The public recognition and modest monetary prize of 20,000 shekels (around $5,000) that it entails are awarded to individuals and nonprofit organizations that faculty members judge to have contributed to the advancement of understanding between Jews and Arabs. About a month ago the department chose to give the prize to Breaking the Silence. “We believe that advancing Jewish-Arab relations requires confronting the public with the truth of the occupation – which may not be pleasant to hear, but constitutes a fundamental condition for reconciliation between the two peoples,” explained department chairman Prof. Haggai Ram.

Carmi ignored the fact that the prize recipients have always been chosen by the department. They include the Egyptian playwright Ali Salem, the poet Siham Daoud and organizations such as Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, Sikkuy – the Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality and the Galilee Arab-Jewish School. The department’s arguments for choosing Breaking the Silence were rejected out of hand.