Our values are our compass

The brutal Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip have also impacted international academia. Israeli researchers were barred from conferences, and some European universities called for an end to partnerships with Israeli universities. On 7 January 2025, the president of the Technion, Uri Sivan, and the president of the University of Jena, Andreas Marx, discussed how the conflict affects everyday life at the Technion in Haifa and the role of universities as places of discourse and freedom of expression. The two universities have been linked by a cooperation agreement since 2020.

Interview by Ute Schönfelder

Prof. Sivan, first, congratulations on the anniversary. The Technion began operations in December 1924, 100 years ago. Is that a reason to celebrate? 

Sivan: Well, we were planning to celebrate it, but obviously, given the circumstances, we decided to delay the celebration until 2025. However, we did mark the hundredth anniversary as it is obviously a landmark date for us. The Technion, the oldest university in the country, opened in 1924, a quarter of a century before the founding of the State of Israel. We opened our doors with 17 students in one building and grew in just 100 years to a full-fledged globally leading university. We now have about 15,000 students, 100,000 alumni, and several campuses, including two international ones in New York and Guandong, China.

The Technion is linked to many profound technological developments. Can you give us a few examples?

Sivan: Of all the technological developments, the one that I'm most proud of is drip irrigation. This seems very simple at first, a mere plastic hose with pores that do not clog. But this invention feeds 1.5 billion people around the world, which is incredible. It facilitates agriculture in dry areas and saves tremendous amounts of water.

There are, of course, many other, more sophisticated technological innovations. For instance, the fact that we now can communicate online is based on data compression algorithms. They originated from the data compression algorithm developed by two Technion scientists, Jacob Ziv and Abraham Lempel. Another example is the discovery of how cells mark unwanted proteins for degradation using a molecule called ubiquitin, which earned Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko a Nobel prize and provided humanity with a new class of anti-cancer drugs.

Yet another example is Azilect, a widely used medication developed by Moussa Youdim and John Finberg for treating Parkinson's disease. Their research has contributed to improving the lives of many people.

How has the Technion been able to achieve all this in just 100 years?

Sivan: One of the main reasons why we have been so successful in just 100 years is immigration: Jews from European countries such as Hungary, Poland, Russia and Germany, who fled Europe before, during and after the Second World War. Many of them ended up in the United States but quite a few ended up in this part of the world, which later became Israel. They provided the foundations to our academia.

The Technion was founded earlier, around 1911, by German Jews from Berlin. The architect of our first building, Alexander Baerwald, was »a Berliner« as well. And so was Albert Einstein, who was deeply involved with the Technion. Einstein visited the Technion in 1923, just one year before we opened our doors to students. Back in Berlin, Einstein established the first society of Technion friends at his home. So it is interesting that the Technion is so tightly connected to German science and culture. In fact, a fierce debate took place as to whether the teaching language should be German or Hebrew.

Prof. Marx, you have been president of the University of Jena for half a year. What is your connection to Israel and especially to the Technion?

Marx: Israel is, for me, a country that represents science and innovation at the highest level, and the Technion exemplifies this excellence. I had the privilege of spending my sabbatical in March 2024 at the Technion in Haifa, exchanging ideas with outstanding colleagues—an experience that left a lasting impression on me. Due to the tense situation at the time, I was one of the few international guests, and the gratitude shown to me during that time was deeply moving.

Israel is not only a place of excellent science for me, but also a country where diversity and tolerance are impressively lived. My connections to the Technion and Israeli universities are shaped by respect, admiration, and a clear conviction: cooperation with Israel is indispensable for science and our society.

The situation in Israel and the entire Middle East region has drastically changed over the past one and a half years since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. How have the Technion and its community been affected?

Sivan: It has had a tremendous effect on the country and on the Technion. Nearly 100 students, faculty, and staff lost family members. Some were murdered on October 7. Some fell in battle. Twelve of our family members were abducted to Gaza. Some were released, some were murdered in the tunnels of Gaza, and one is still held there. About 3,500 of our students, faculty and administrative staff were called to active duty. So the impact on campus has been profound.

Prof. Marx, at that time (October 7, 2023), you were still a scientist at the University of Konstanz. How did you experience the events there, and how do you perceive the situation today as a university president and in cooperation with other German universities?

Marx: The events of 7 October, 2023, deeply shook me. The brutal terrorist attack is a watershed moment that affects not only Israel, but the entire world. This kind of attack in one day, killing that many people was really shocking. I was concerned about my colleagues and their friends, about my friends from the Arab community. And I was in close contact with friends from Tel Aviv. And everybody was touched, everybody was shocked. But now, somehow, they have moved forward. This is something that is, in the end, good to see; that they don't give up the spirit of open-mindedness. They can really differentiate between what Hamas did and what the Arab community is doing in Israel.

Today, as president of Friedrich Schiller University Jena, I see it as my responsibility to articulate solidarity with Israel clearly and to advocate for open, factual discussions. Together with other German universities, we are sending a strong signal against antisemitism and for the protection of freedom of expression—while ensuring that there is no space for hate or violence. Our relationships with Israeli scientific institutions remain unaffected, and indeed, they are more important than ever in challenging times. 

How do you perceive the support and the position of German universities regarding the situation in Israel?

Sivan: I can't tell you how moved we are. We feel a deep sense of gratitude to our German colleagues. Academia is about freedom. Academia is about liberal values, inclusivity, equal rights, freedom of speech, and the pursuit of truth. All these values really unite us. I started my presidency five years ago, just before the COVID pandemic. If there is one lesson that I learned during those years, it is that in times of crisis, you can throw out all your protocols and procedures and regulations and put them in the garbage can! You are left with just one compass—values. When the German academic community reached out to us, we knew that they did so because we share the same values, and we will never forget that.

However, in more and more EU countries such as Spain, Italy, Belgium and others, pressure is growing on universities to cease cooperation with Israeli research institutions and researchers due to the war. Can you understand these demands?

Marx: No, I cannot understand these demands. We just talked about the values that universities share. Science thrives on dialogue and collaboration, regardless of political conflicts. And we should support people that share these values with us. We should build bridges to solve problems and not make the fences higher or the moats deeper. The boycott of Israeli research institutions contradicts the fundamental principles of science: openness, universality, and the pursuit of truth.

The German Rectors' Conference (HRK) has taken a clear position: scientific cooperation must not become a pawn in political disputes. For the University of Jena, collaboration with Israeli partners is non-negotiable. These relationships not only strengthen research, but also send a strong signal against exclusion and antisemitism.

What do boycotts and the exclusion of Israeli researchers from international conferences mean for universities in Israel?

Sivan: Academic boycott is an oxymoron, because academia is all about collaboration, communication, arguing. Sometimes we argue fiercely, but it is all about communication, exchanging ideas and asking tough questions. So boycotting our universities is boycotting academia itself, it is boycotting the values that our academic colleagues are supposed to represent. The boycott has little effect on the boycotted side, but it comes at a great price for the boycotting side as they abandon the principles they should have defended.

Moreover, intentionally or unintentionally, they side with heinous terror organizations and countries such as Iran. Up till now, there is not even one university in the United States that stopped collaboration with Israeli universities, and only few in Europe that did so. Identifying »silent« boycott is obviously harder, because, when a researcher refuses to review a paper and says that he or she doesn't have time, you just don’t know whether this is the truth. 

At many universities worldwide, including in Germany, pressure from pro-Palestinian groups is growing. There are protests, occupations, and even violence against people and institutions. How do you assess this? What role should universities play? Where are the boundaries of freedom of expression?

Marx: Yes, we have heard about this on campuses in Germany. And these movements are backed by our Constitution. Our Constitution allows freedom of speech and the freedom to protest. But nevertheless, this should not be the way how we as scientists articulate conflicts. Universities are places of freedom and discourse. Their task is to create space for the exchange of diverse opinions—but without exceeding the boundaries of freedom of expression, which end where hate, incitement, or violence begins.

The growing pressure through protests and occupations underscores how important it is to take clear positions: for peace, tolerance, and mutual respect. At the same time, universities must fulfil their responsibility to resolutely oppose antisemitism in all its forms. Our freedom of expression is a precious asset, but it must not be misused as a cover for extremism.

Sivan: We are aware of what's happening in some universities abroad. Much of the demonstrations and boycotts are based on ignorance. When people say, »from the river to the sea«, they often have no clue which river and which sea they're talking about, or what the implications are–essentially eliminating Israel. But more than that, they betray the set of values that underlie academia.

Since the Hamas attack and the ensuing war, have there been experiences or events in your country that give you hope?

Sivan: Yes, a shining light in all this darkness is our community. Already on 7 October, 2023, our campus turned into an incredible logistics hub. We sent out tons of food and medical supplies that we purchased with the help of our supporters; first to our reservists, but also to other communities that needed help. During the month that followed, we housed hundreds of evacuated and displaced families in our student dormitories. We invited them onto our campus, providing them with everything, from toothbrushes to personal computers; they just came with the shirts on their backs. So the way people came together was truly inspirational. I can't tell you how proud we are of our community.

Another issue that we handled was mitigating tensions between Arab students that constitute 25% of our student body, and Jewish students. You can imagine the first day of school when thousands of reservists, including dozens of students students whose family members were murdered on 7 October or had fallen in battle, met thousands of Arab students coming back to the campus. We spent months working with each community separately and with the communities jointly to diffuse the tension and I'm very proud that a year has passed during which we had absolutely zero incidents on campus.

What expectations and hopes are there for the year 2025 regarding the situation in Israel?

Sivan: So first and foremost, I hope for the return of all the hostages. Unfortunately, we know that many of them have been murdered. In addition, I hope for peace. I believe that amongst the Palestinian population, the vast majority of people would just like to live in peace and prosperity, to raise their children and their grandchildren, and so do we.

Marx: For Israel, I hope above all for peace and stability–conditions that are also essential for scientific collaboration. Looking at the global situation, I hope that international leaders will embrace their responsibilities for a more peaceful future. The scientific community has a special role to play: building bridges and developing solutions to global challenges through collaboration. For the University of Jena, it is clear: our solidarity with Israel remains steadfast, and we will continue to strengthen our scientific connections with Israeli partners in the future. In times of uncertainty, it is more important than ever for the academic community to stand together.