Half of Israeli university faculty signed petitions accusing IDF of Gaza war crimes: study

A significant portion of Israeli academics have publicly voiced concerns over the Gaza campaign, with a new report revealing that over half of faculty members at eight major Israeli universities signed petitions labeling the conflict a war crime. The study, conducted by research outlet The Olam, examined 2,844 faculty members between 2024 and 2026.

The findings showed that 1,434 academics, or 50.4%, signed at least one petition. The vast majority of these signatures, 96.9%, were linked to a single document from May 2025, titled “An Urgent Call to the Heads of Academia in Israel.” This letter described the Gaza campaign as “a horrifying litany of war crimes and even crimes against humanity” and urged academic leaders to intervene.

Participation varied across institutions, with the Technion seeing 77% of audited faculty sign and Hebrew University at 67%, while Bar-Ilan University had a 30% rate. A notable divide also emerged between academic disciplines. Humanities professors were significantly more likely to sign petitions than those in STEM fields. For instance, Middle Eastern studies faculty signed at an 82% rate, sociology at 70%, and political science at 59%. In contrast, physics saw 27% participation, chemistry 23%, biology 19%, and engineering 15%.

The Olam researchers acknowledged methodological limitations, noting that signing a petition doesn't define an individual's broader ideology and that the study's scope was limited to eight universities. The report aimed to provide a comparative context for faculty activism within Israeli academia.

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a horrifying litany of war crimes and even crimes against humanity