Israeli academics, teachers and parents sign petitions for return of hostages

More than 6,500 Israeli academics and teachers, along with about 1,000 parents, signed petitions on Monday evening demanding that the Israeli government should ensure the return of the hostages in Gaza, even if it means ending the war against the Palestinians in the enclave.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that about 3,500 academics in Israel signed a petition supporting a previous letter from Israeli Air Force reservists demanding the return of the captives and the end of the war.

“We, members of the academic staff in higher education institutions, join the call of the Air Force soldiers and demand the immediate return of the hostages, even if it requires halting the war at once”, said the latest signatories of such petitions. “The war primarily serves political and personal interests. Its continuation will lead to the deaths of hostages, soldiers, and innocent civilians and will drain the reserve forces.” As shown in the past, they added, only a negotiated agreement can ensure the safe return of the abducted to Israel.”

In the same context, more than 3,000 teachers signed a similar petition, emphasising that “this is not a call to refuse military service, but a plea to save lives.” Nearly 1,000 parents signed a letter stating, “For the sake of our children’s future, we refuse to raise them in an endless war, and we will not turn a blind eye to the killing of children.” They pointed out that the reject the dangerous idea that there are no innocents in Gaza. “We refuse to abandon the hostages or dehumanise others.”

Earlier on Monday, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz signed a petition urging the release of the captives, even if it meant ending the war. The petition was signed by 1,525 Armoured Corps soldiers.

Moreover, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported yesterday that more than 1,600 veterans of the Paratroopers and Infantry Brigades signed a letter calling for the return of all captives, even if it means ending the war, as did 170 graduates of the Talpiot military intelligence programme, who stressed that they are not calling on reservists to refuse duty.

According to Israeli Army Radio, the letter stated, “The call to rescue civilian and military hostages is a fundamental moral duty within the system of values upon which we were raised and by which we serve.”

The graduates added that they condemn attempts to silence the voices and opinions of our colleagues, who contribute and serve in the army. “At this time, war primarily serves political and personal interests rather than security needs,” a point noted by signatories of similar letters.

This comes as calls for the return of Israeli captives in Gaza, even at the expense of ending the war, are gaining momentum among the ranks of the Israeli army’s reserves, posing a challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

The signing of such petitions and letters is gaining momentum in Israel. On 11 April, 1,000 reservists and retirees from the Israeli Air Force signed a letter calling for an end to the war to free the captives, followed by one signed by 150 former naval officers and dozens of armoured corps personnel. A day later, they were joined by approximately 100 army doctors from the Israeli reserve forces, hundreds of reservists from the Israeli intelligence Unit 8200, and 2,000 faculty members from Israeli institutions of higher education.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to label this move as a “refusal” to serve in the Israeli army, but the signatories were quick to deny this. Israel has deployed approximately 360,000 reservists to participate in the war since it began in early October, 2023.

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