‘Full cooperation’: How Tel Aviv University serves Israel’s security state

JVL Introduction

Focusing on the situation at Tel Aviv university this article shows how the intertwining of Arabic and Middle East studies in Israeli academia and the country’s security establishment probably predates the state itself.

The recent graduation ceremony, in which playing “Imagine there’s no countries…” was followed by a guest of honour talk entitled Turning Vision into Security, a paean of praise to Israel’s defence industries, was more in-your-face than usual and protest led to an apology for hurting some in the audience.

Faculty members affiliated with Academia For Equality who argued that the problem went beyond an insensitive graduation speech got short shrift however, their claim that the university was being militarised being called “a lie and a fabrication — a veritable smear campaign”.

Rapaport and Porath, drawing on Maya Wind’s 2024 book “Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Freedom to Palestinians” and up-to-date information, show that it isn’t.

This article was originally published by +972 Magazine in partnership with Local Call on Thu 30 Jul 2026. Read the original here.