Phase One: 2,844 faculty at 8 universities, 1,434 signers (50.4%). Technion 77%, Hebrew University 67%, Bar-Ilan 30%. Companion to our American audit of 2,499 faculty.
OLAM RESEARCH · PHASE ONE
50% of Israeli professors signed a political petition condemning their own government's conduct of the Gaza war. Ninety-seven percent endorsed the same one — the Black Flag letter, which called the war a war crime and urged university leaders to help stop it. At the Technion, the signing rate hits 77%.
1,434 of 2,844 Israeli Faculty Signed Political Petitions — 50.4% of the Audited Universe
This study follows our earlier audit of 2,499 American Jewish Studies faculty at 313 universities, which found 51.9% publicly on the record against Israel. That study examined what Americans teach about Israel. This one examines what Israeli academics say about their own country.
We documented 2,844 Israeli faculty across eight leading universities who publicly signed political petitions between 2024 and 2026. 1,434 (50.4%) signed at least one petition containing explicit political claims about Israel.
Five key findings:
1. One of every two faculty members audited signed at least one petition.
2. Technion: 77% | Hebrew University: 67% | Bar-Ilan: 30%. Institutional character matters.
3. Middle Eastern Studies: 82% | Sociology: 70% | Engineering: 15%. Humanities 4-5x more likely than STEM.
4. The Black Flag letter (May 2025) represented 96.9% of all participation.
5. 18 faculty signed 2+ petitions. The majority participated once.
Technion Leads at 77% — the Full Eight-University Ranking
| Rank | University | Faculty | Signers | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Technion | 85 | 64 | 77% |
| 2 | Hebrew University | 449 | 285 | 67% |
| 3 | Weizmann Institute | 66 | 40 | 62% |
| 4 | Open University | 119 | 67 | 59% |
| 5 | Tel Aviv University | 537 | 303 | 58% |
| 6 | Ben-Gurion University | 242 | 127 | 54% |
| 7 | University of Haifa | 335 | 134 | 41% |
| 8 | Bar-Ilan University | 207 | 63 | 30% |
Three universities account for 69.5% of all signers.
Middle Eastern Studies Signs at 82% — More Than 5x the Rate in Engineering
| Discipline | Rate |
|---|---|
| Middle Eastern Studies | 82% |
| Sociology | 70% |
| Anthropology | 66% |
| Philosophy | 66% |
| Political Science | 59% |
| Law | 56% |
| Literature | 56% |
| History | 52% |
| Education | 47% |
| Economics | 37% |
| Psychology | 35% |
| Physics | 27% |
| Chemistry | 23% |
| Biology | 19% |
| Engineering | 15% |
Middle Eastern Studies faculty are 4.3x more likely to sign than Biology faculty. Humanities are 3.5-4x more likely than STEM. This pattern holds across all 8 institutions.
One Petition Accounts for 96.9% of Signatures — the Black Flag War Crimes Letter
Black Flag (May 2025): Titled "An Urgent Call to the Heads of Academia in Israel," the letter called Israel's Gaza campaign "a horrifying litany of war crimes and even crimes against humanity," and urged the Association of University Heads in Israel and other academic leaders to mobilize the full weight of Israeli academia to stop the war. 1,387 signers — 96.9%.
Scientists for Gaza (Aug 2025): A separate, globally circulated scientists' statement that condemned Hamas's October 7 attack and called on the Israeli government to act immediately to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 28 Israel-affiliated signers (2.0%).
Other petitions: 37 signers (2.6%).
18 faculty signed 2+ petitions — repeated engagement, not necessarily coordination.
Independent press coverage names specific signatories. Yael Hashiloni-Dolev, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Ben-Gurion University, said the war knowingly put the hostages at risk and described a moral collapse, according to Middle East Monitor. Raphael Greenberg, a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University who has staged daily protests against the war since December, told Al Jazeera: "Academics have to make their voices heard."
Limitations
1. Sample is 8 universities, not all Israeli academia. Missing institutions likely lower the true rate. Our 50% likely overestimates.
2. Petition signing is not ideology verification.
3. We cannot determine causation.
4. Faculty activism ≠ institutional policy.
Methodology: How 2,844 Israeli Faculty Records Were Identified and Verified
Sources: Black Flag roster (academia.edu/129505708), Scientists for Gaza, Intl Law scholars. All archived. Each name matched to university directory. 100% match rate. 1,468 raw → 34 duplicates removed → 1,434 unique. Inclusion: publicly posted, source-linked, named, affiliated, politically explicit.
Independent reporting corroborates the pace of signature growth on the Black Flag letter: Al Jazeera counted more than 1,200 signatories on May 28, 2025; Middle East Monitor counted 1,300 on May 29; and Academe Blog counted 1,403 on May 31. This study's count of 1,387 Black Flag signers, after deduplication and university-directory matching, falls within that same range.
American and Israeli Faculty Signed at Nearly Identical Rates — 51.9% vs. 50.4%
| American | Israeli | |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty | 2,499 | 2,844 |
| Institutions | 313 | 8 |
| Rate | 51.9% | 50.4% |
| Elite rate | Ivy League: 72.3% | Technion: 77% |
| Pattern | Humanities dominate | Humanities dominate |
📖 Read the full American study
1,434 Names, Fully Sourced — Readers Can Draw Their Own Conclusions
1,434 Israeli faculty. Publicly signed. Source-linked. Searchable. Every record links to original source material. Readers can examine the evidence and draw their own conclusions.