Na'ama Sheffi

If they don't get the proper budgetary support, recent efforts by Israeli universities to open their doors to students from the periphery will be for naught.

The question is whether Israelis seek to confront their complicated past or wrap themselves forever in a yellow Star of David, as if this had the power to protect them from a debate.

It would be appropriate for the leadership to ensure that the present system of shutting its eyes to what is happening does not bring us to a track characteristic of the rise to power of authoritarian regimes.

Expertise needed for success in the 21st century workplace must be cultivated along with exposure to general knowledge; narrowly focused, technocratic training is counterproductive.

The university deans accuse the colleges of lowering the admission standards, awarding inflated grades, permitting copying and, in general, tolerating a very low linguistic level.

Employment terms require junior academic faculty members to seek livelihood at two or three academic institutions or to combine academic instruction and other employment.

Years of patience and deposits of faith are necessary in order to benefit from the fruits of the change, not the crumbs that will be tossed to the hungry masses by politicians or committees.

Little by little, reports concerning the state of Israel's education system are coming in, evincing pathetic results on international examinations.

A pungent stench of mediocrity accompanies the worldview of Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar.

Merkel is apparently right; multiculturalism was never all that popular in the Western world.

Installing cameras in public locations may reduce crime in those areas. But what about when the camera isn't watching?

The ultra-Orthodox insistence on avoiding exposure to core studies in the Israeli education system entrenches a single truth: They are not interested in being part of the society around them.

21st century literacy takes for granted not only the ability to read and write but also the ability to distinguish between what is correct and what is erroneous, and between what is appropriate and what is spurious.

The noise generated by new technologies, such as television, radio and internet, has infiltrated every corner of society, from the bedroom to the street, cafes and public venues.

More than 10 years late, the people in charge of higher education have remembered to tackle the real problem. Not research budgets, not tuition fees, not lecturers' salaries - but education itself.

Public schools are heading towards the worst of learning methods, that of "memorize-recite-pass to next question." Education will become a dirty word, to be replaced with skill.

It's odd that a fine parliamentarian like Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar is choosing to harm the foundations of Israeli culture and civic responsibility.

If it's a lack of patriotism that is bothering Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, then it's best to start with firm foundations, such as proper Hebrew, learning to use common sense, and to bolster it by reading and studying.

The fear sown by the ideological gap between East and West is surprisingly similar to the apprehension about the prospect of a greater Palestinian presence among Israelis.

s budgeted bodies, higher-education leaders are loath to press the Finance Ministry or Knesset Finance Committee too hard.

Government ministries make do with threats against factories and drumming up fear among the public.

A specter is haunting the Israeli free market: How should the government respond to declining tax revenues and rising unemployment?