Tel Aviv University to Lecturers: Do not Arrive with a Dog Tag Regarding the Abductees

The School of Computer Science at Tel Aviv University issued a notice to lecturers asking them to refrain from coming to classes with a dog tag about the hostages or the inscription "Together we will win", because this could cause discussion about the war and harsh reactions, journalist Amit Segal published this morning (Tuesday).

The head of the school, Professor Sivan Toledo, wrote the words in a letter to lecturers on the eve of the beginning of the school year. According to him, a dog tag or "Together we will win" "are a kind of slogan about the war" and may cause students distractions and harassment.

Tel Aviv University stated: "Prof. Sivan Toledo expressed his personal opinion and recommended to his faculty members how to behave, out of a desire to isolate the students from distractions and make it easier for them to concentrate on their studies."

The angry reactions on the Internet were not long in coming, and many of the Internet users attacked him for the fact that during the demonstrations that took place in the country and were brought into the classrooms, he did not claim that they were distracting the students.

Prof. Sivan Toledo sought to clarify his intentions by publishing the letter and said that he was sorry if any of the abductees' families were hurt by his words: "Since the events of October 7th, my heart goes out to the abductees, to the IDF soldiers who fight valiantly for the country, to those who were injured and evacuated, and to the families. I have acted to the best of my ability since then as part of my role to assist, facilitate, and support them.

"The war and the trauma of October 7 make it difficult to concentrate on teaching and studies. My letter to the teaching staff was intended to create an environment that allows concentration in studies, using tools that I believe are not harmful to anyone, certainly not to abductees. If the letter was not understood correctly and hurt any of the families of the abductees, I am very sorry for that. I join the call of the families to return the abductees, and I share the anxiety for their fate," he wrote.