Knesset Research and Information Center researcher Dr. Gilad Nathan removed from position after repeated vilification as a “leftist.”
In a letter sent on January 7 to Knesset Speaker Ruven Rivlin, Hagai El-Ad, Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) protested the removal of Dr. Gilad Nathan from his position as a researcher at the Knesset Research and Information Center.
The excuse for Natan’s dismissal was the publication, three years ago, of articles of a political nature. The articles, however, were published legally and with the knowledge of Dr. Natan’s superiors. El-Ad stressed the fact that Dr. Natan’s work had been examined by an independent third party that found no wrongdoing, and argued that Dr. Natan’s research was professional, reliable, free of political bias, and has earned wide praise from the Knesset and academia, both in Israel and abroad.
On several occasions Dr. Natan’s research had revealed “uncomfortable” findings, such as deficiencies in the operation of state institutions, and the fact that incitement blaming recent high crime rates on African “infiltrators” was baseless.
El-Ad warned that the Dr. Natan’s removal casts a heavy shadow on the Knesset Center for Research and Information, whose researchers now know that if they want to keep their jobs, they must tailor their research to government positions. The letter recalls a chain of cases of political harassment and silencing of people or institutions whose expressions and research do not adhere to the government authorities’ positions in recent years, including the firing of Adar Cohen, commissioner of civics studies; the disqualification of winning architect Rafi Segel in the competition for the design of the National Library; and the disqualification of Professor Rivka Feldhay’s participation in a scientific meeting between the German Chancellor and Israeli Prime Minister.
“In each case, as in the case of Dr. Nathan, circumstances, excuses and reasons were found for the decisions, but the trend they signify is clear and troublesome. It is unfortunate to discover that the Knesset too has lent a hand to McCarthyism.”
The letter notes that as far back as 1951 the Supreme Court held that government authorities cannot harass public employees on the basis of their beliefs or positions. This decision was reached after Prime Minister David Ben Gurion tried to block Dr. Israel Eldad (father of MK Professor Aryeh Eldad) from being a teacher because of his right wing political positions.
For the letter (in Hebrew) click here
