A SOAS spokesman rejected the report and told the Times of Israel: “No member of the SOAS Center for Jewish Studies has moved the program to Birzeit or Al-Quds University.
However, following Israel Academia Monitor’s Facebook post, the pinsker Center’s student activist group, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Paris, denounced SOAS for rescinding its contract with the Hebrew University.
In response to questions from the Times of Israel, the Pinsker Center issued a statement: “The Open Democracy report and statements officially attributed to SOAS painting a university that has bowed to the tension of a coordinated national crusade called ‘Apartheid Off Campus’ that seeks to nullify all links between British universities and the Hebrew University on the basis of dubious claims that the university is breaking the law.
Recognizing that “conflicting stories have emerged since then,” the Pinsker Center, however, under pressure that “in this context, SOAS has a duty to explain to the public whether it has given in to the student pressure of a minority activist organization to discriminate against Israeli Educational Institutions.”
On 17 August, the director of the Wiesenthal Center, Dr. Shimon Samuels, wrote a letter to British Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on israel’s Message Monitor Academy, stating that the Hebrew program at SOAS was over and that the university had succumbed to pro-Palestinian pressure.
Wallach tweeted a reaction to the rumors, calling them “nonsense and lies,” then posted a tweet criticizing an Israeli media outlet in English for spreading a “false and misleading story” without asking SOAS for comment.
– Yair Wallach (@YairWallach) August 19, 2020
Wallach, who ran the Center for Jewish Studies at SOAS for a decade, told the Times of Israel that “the Overseas Year program has been targeted by BDS activists for years as the ultimate sign of cooperation between British and Israeli universities.”
“I was just looking to respond, not ideologically or politically, but as a Hebrew programming chief at SOAS, and make sure Hebrew remains viable,” he said.
Wallach said his concept “to force others to perceive the implications of what they were asking for.”If they wanted to avoid Hebrew, they had to say it, and that’s not what they mean.
Wallach said that when critics expressed dissatisfaction with SOAS ‘cooperation with Israeli universities, he asked them to recommend alternatives, in this context, he said, the concepts of Birzeit and Al-Quds universities emerged. He and Drukker knew there. There is no option to host a Hebrew program at either location, however they promised to provide those concepts to the University of London board, though neither of them seemed realistic.
In late July, Drukker voluntarily accepted a monetary package and withdrew from SOAS, a move she and Wallach told The Times of Israel that it had been for 3 years.An alternate teacher has now been appointed.
Wallach also addressed pro-Israel critics who said he had said he had said the Hebrew University campus was in “occupied territory.”Wallach said he had quoted the plaintiffs to oppose any agreement with an Israeli university.There was also opposition to the association with the University of Haifa.he said, he was not supported through the university council.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, SOAS university programming has been simplified and so-called “small languages” such as Hebrew and Persian have been consolidated into a more general curriculum for which SOAS still accepts programs until September 1.Arabic and Chinese are taught separately..
The component of the Hebrew Year Abroad, which Wallach said it considers a component of the studies, remains in force.
“Both sides feed on others,” Wallach told the Times of Israel.”The other people in bdS claim victory from the outside.Israel’s supporters say he won BDS. In fact, either party has an interest in making BDS bigger than it is.”irony.’
Prior to the publication of this article, SOAS told the Times of Israel that “we sent [our explanatory statement] to Dr. Shimon Samuels of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and got a reaction that they are extremely pleased that the Hebrew program will continue in Haifa..»