Turkey has put dozens of academics on trial for terrorism charges — for signing a petition supporting peace with Kurdish citizens. A group of dissident Israeli academics traveled to Istanbul to attend their trials. It’s not uncommon to run into a political protest in Istanbul. What you probably won’t find every day is a group of Israelis invited to Turkey to join a demonstration outside one of Istanbul’s main criminal courts, particularly after nearly a decade of frayed relations between the two countries. [tmwinpost] The Israelis, four members of a group called “Academia for Equality," were there in a show…

Israeli universities have long been viewed as a bulwark against extremism. A new database, compiled by a group of Israeli dissident academics, reveals how the academy works in concert with the state. It's no secret that the Israeli government’s crackdown on freedom of expression in recent years has extended into the academy. Through far-right student groups such as Im Tirzu, proposed ethical codes that would bar professors from voicing political opinions in class, and attempts to shut down entire university departments deemed too left-wing, the government has in many ways framed the very idea of academic freedom as subversive. [tmwinpost] Nevertheless, Israeli academia…