Palestinians look at destruction by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza on November 22, 2023. (AP)

Israeli education minister and the entity’s union of students are backing a draft law to limit academic speech in the country, which the heads of leading universities have attacked as “McCarthyite” and fundamentally "undemocratic", The Guardian reported on Monday.

The legislation, currently being debated in the Knesset, would give a government-appointed committee the power to order the firing of academic staff that it decides have expressed “support for terror." If the universities refuse, their funding will be cut.

Critics say the legislation is fundamentally "undemocratic" and would undermine Israeli academia because it restricts free speech and allows politicians to weaponize accusations that should be handled by the legal system.

The president of the renowned Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, a key institution connected to the entity's hi-tech and defense sectors, described the law as “McCarthyite.”

“It is a form of McCarthyism, a very violent form, because it is meant to threaten people not to express their mind, in a system that should be free of any intimidation, encouraging free speech, encouraging criticism,” Uri Sivan said, as quoted by The Guardian.

The student union advocated for the law, investing 500,000 shekels (over $136,000, £105,000) in a billboard campaign across the entity to support it. This led Haaretz newspaper to caution in an editorial that Israeli “illiberal students need a lesson in democracy.”

Israeli education minister, Yoav Kisch, has expressed his support for the law, even though it is not a government initiative.

His office released a statement, saying, “It is important that academic institutions have great independence, but there are places that cross a line that must not be crossed.”

'A blunt move meant to intimidate free thinking'

Ofir Katz, a member of the ruling Likud party and head of the coalition, introduced the draft law as a private bill. Supporters also include a legislator from the party of Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival, Benny Gantz. The bill has now cleared the first of four votes in the Knesset.

Sivan criticized the legislation for its sweeping restrictions and its limited focus on universities, noting that "Israel" already has laws against incitement to terrorism that apply to everyone.

“The question is, why is academia singled out [with this law]? And the answer is pretty clear: it is a blunt move meant to intimidate free and critically thinking independent minds."

“What they are trying to do is subject academics to stricter rules than other residents of Israel, where a violation of state laws is not judged in court but rather by a government-appointed administrator, with no process or opportunity for the accused one to defend him or herself."

“This is an extreme violation of fundamental democratic principles. In a democratic country everyone is equal before the law.”

Free speech is not an incitement to terrorism

Katz, when questioned about whether current laws on incitement were inadequate, told The Guardian that "Israel" required extra measures to regulate the speech of individuals with “public platforms” and rejected the idea that the proposed law would restrict academic discussions.

“The criminal aspect is a separate matter,” he stressed. “The freedom to express oneself is not the freedom for incitement to terrorism.”

On its part, the Association of University Heads, Israel (Vera), criticized the student union billboards that supported the law, calling them a divisive “campaign of persecution and incitement” that could incite violence.

In "Israel", criticism of the war on Gaza is already restricted and penalized. A teacher who faced treason charges and spent four days in solitary confinement for expressing concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza described the situation as “a time of witch-hunts.”

Elchanan Felhimer, chair of the National Union of Israeli Students, stated that the provocative nature of the posters was intended to draw attention to the law and emphasized that the campaign had significant student backing, with two-thirds of the 30 university chapters supporting it.

Anat Matar, a professor from the Philosophy Department at Tel Aviv University, voiced worry about students being involved in drafting and endorsing a law designed to suppress their professors.

“Whether or not it passes, a significant damage has already been done,” she told The Guardian. “The mere fact that it is supported by the national student union and by many local student unions, and that there is hardly any protest among students against, it manifests another step down the ladder toward full-blown fascism.”