Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett, has sent a letter to the president of the University of Michigan, following reports that a lecturer at the school used an image in a class to draw comparison between Israel’s Prime Minister and Adolf Hitler.
In his letter, Minister Bennett voiced his strong condemnation of the incident and noted that such a comparison breached the widely accepted IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. He added that allowing such hatred to be expressed on campus - especially in a mandatory class - was greatly detrimental to the well being of the students under the care of the University.
The minister went on to note this was not the first incident of concern, following the recent refusal by a faculty member to provide a recommendation letter for a student who wished to study at Tel Aviv University, citing support for the BDS movement.
The Minister concluded, “The time has come for you as head of the university to make a strong stand against what has clearly become a trend of vitriolic hatred against the Jewish state on your campus,” and added that he stood ready to promote cooperation between Michigan and Israeli academic institutions.