BELGIUM - 3 Israeli Academics Win $1 Million
Belgium’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize has been awarded to three professors at Tel Aviv University for their pioneering work on statistics.
Yoav Benjamini, Daniel Yekutieli, and Ruth Heller received the $1 million Rousseeuw Prize in a ceremony at the Catholic University of Leuven on December 3.
The Israelis were honored for their pioneering methodology for controlling the False Discovery Rate (FDR). Their method allows researchers to distinguish meaningful findings from false discoveries when evaluating large datasets from experiments, helping scientists discover genuine findings.
In his acceptance speech, Benjamini called for the preservation of scientific collaborations between Israel and other countries, the avoidance of boycotts, and the protection of science from political interference.
Academic boycotts of Israel have been adopted by several Belgian universities. The University of Antwerp, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Ugent, KU Leuven, the University of Ghent and the University of Liège.
-www.israel21c.org, 18 December 2024
Arno's Commentary
Here again the question, why Israel? Is an academic boycott legal? A statement published by the American Association of University Professors (aaup.org) states: “They can be considered legitimate tactical responses to conditions that are fundamentally incompatible with the mission of higher education.” A George Washington University “Primer on Academic Freedom” asks, “What Is the Purpose of Academic Freedom?” It gives two summaries: 1. Advancing knowledge through research and creativity; and, 2. Educating students to develop their own independence of mind. This, of course, relates to United States law, but there are over 25,000 universities worldwide. Although difficult to precisely determine, the majority would teach an unfavorable inclination toward the issue of the State of Israel.
In the end, however, righteous law will be established. The prophet Isaiah proclaims, “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:1-2).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
