Bar-Ilan University announced that this year during the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies, studies will be held as usual.
In a letter sent this morning to the student body, the university stated: "This year, during the memorial ceremonies, studies will proceed as usual and there will be no breaks from studies."
Another announcement stated that "A student who deems it very important to specifically participate in the Bar-Ilan Holocaust Remembrance ceremony can ask for exemption from the lecturer or cover the material independently. It should be noted that on the Memorial Day for fallen Israelis soldiers, there are no classes on campus, so the students can participate in any ceremony they choose. Regarding Holocaust Remembrance Day - since the semester only started yesterday, and it is shorter than usual due to the war, this year we cannot allow a break from studies. Many of our students have already received new draft orders and we need to manage to teach in the little time left until the year ends."
The chairman of the National Union of Israeli Students, Elhanan Fleihymer, responded, saying that "The role of the academia and the universities is to provide education and a profession, but no less than that, to cultivate and educate the young generation about the values of the State of Israel and the story of the Jewish people. The decision not to allow students to come to the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies, especially in a year when we experienced the October 7th massacre, indicates at best a disconnect and at worst insensitivity."
"I call on every student who desires, cut a few minutes of class learning and go participate in the ceremonies and commemorative events. You might lose a bit of material, but your soul and conscience will thank you," Fleihymer added.
The Im Tirzu movement commented: "The university"s explanations are embarrassing and shameful. The excuses about the war cannot explain why Bar-Ilan chose to desecrate the holy day. Instead of encouraging students and lecturers to participate in the important ceremony, the university tries to minimize presence at the ceremony."
"We remind that this is the same institution that called on lecturers to allow students to miss classes in order to participate in protests against the judicial reform. But here it is about the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, which is apparently less important to them. The conduct of Bar-Ilan only proves that even in Israel there are problems with academic priorities. We demand an apology and a retraction from the shameful announcement."