Sociology professor becomes first Arab dean of Israeli university

The University of Haifa has appointed sociology Professor Majid al-Haj dean of research, making him the first Arab dean at an Israeli university.

Al-Haj recognizes the appoint as "historic", but says, "if it took the state and its academic institutions 57 years before it appointed the first Arab as dean, then it also shows the depth of discrimination."

Nevertheless, Al-Haj adds, "from my point of view it shows the potential, and that nothing is impossible, in spite of the glass ceiling for minorities."

Al-Haj has an international reputation in his area of expertise, which spans education and multiculturalism, the Palestinian minority in Israel and comparative research into minorities in Israel and in other countries. A founder of the Maof Fund for the Absorption of Arab Lecturers in Institutions of Higher Learning in Israel, he points out that while there were only 18 Arab lecturers at Israeli universities in 1995, from four to eight Arab lecturers are now hired every year, with Arab lecturers now constituting one percent of all lecturers at universities and colleges in Israel.

The gap between reality and the ideal, Al-Haj says, "is still great, and the issue is just at the beginning of the road."