Hundreds of Israelis have signed a petition calling on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to fire a lecturer who scolded a student serving in the military for attending class in her Israel Defense Forces’ uniform after public broadcaster Kan 11 broke the story of the incident on Tuesday.
The story unfolded at a lecture by Dr. Carola Hilfrich, who teaches comparative literature and cultural studies. When the soldier arrived for class, an Arab student who noticed her uniform made an insulting remark about the IDF, and an argument broke out between the two.
After the lecture, Hilfrich approached the soldier and told her, “You can’t be naive and expect to be treated like a civilian when you want to be in uniform. You’re a soldier in the Israeli army, and you will be treated accordingly.”
The soldier asked her teacher if she was personally disturbed by the fact that she was wearing her uniform in class, and Hilfrich responded, “For some people, civil society is as important as the army is to you, and you must be tolerant of their priorities just like they accept and grapple with your priorities.”
The right-wing Zionist organization Im Tirzu condemned Hilfrich, and is demanding that Education Minister Naftali Bennett take steps to have her fired.
Im Tirzu also circulated a petition urging that Hilfrich be dismissed, stating that in 2005 the lecturer had signed a petition in support of students and faculty who refused to serve in the West Bank, and in 2014 had signed another petition declaring that the Israeli government was responsible for “slaughtering” innocents and “oppressing” the Palestinian people.
“We believe that the violence with which the student [in uniform] was treated simply because she was in IDF uniform is a new low for Israeli academia,” stated Im Tirzu.
The university issued a response to the incident that read: “The Hebrew University respects all its students, including those who attend in uniform during their army service, whether during their compulsory service, as professional army personnel, or as reservists.
“Many soldiers are studying at the university, some under special cooperative programs with the various security branches, like the IDF. These students also receive special academic support as needed. The board of the Hebrew University condemns disrespectful conduct between students and between faculty and students. The university and the lecturer apologize to the student who felt offended, and will continue to work to strengthen each student’s sense of safety,” the university said.
