{
  "id": 2831730,
  "title": "Half of faculty at Israeli universities signed petitions accusing IDF of Gaza war crimes - study",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/half-of-faculty-at-israeli-universities-signed-petitions-accusing-idf",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-23T17:42:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-906348"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study by The Olam reveals that half of the faculty at eight prominent Israeli universities signed petitions accusing the IDF of committing war crimes during the Gaza campaign following the October 7 massacre. Out of the 2,844 faculty members studied, 1,434 or 50.4% signed at least one petition, with the majority signing only once. The petitions, issued by the Black Flag initiative in May 2025, labeled the military campaign as a \"horrifying litany of war crimes and even crimes against humanity.\" The study found a stark divide between humanities and STEM fields, with humanities professors being three to five times more likely to sign the petitions compared to their colleagues in science fields. The findings have raised concerns about the direction of academic institutions in Israel, with the study's publisher, Ronn Torossian, questioning whether these universities have become places where radical anti-Israel views have become mainstream.",
  "summary": "According to the report, 96.9% of the identified signatures traced back to a single document issued by the Black Flag initiative in May 2025.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Middle East Eye",
        "title": "Israeli attack in central Gaza kills two, wounds seven",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/israeli-attack-in-central-gaza-kills-two-wounds-seven",
        "published": "2026-08-23T12:23:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Heavy Israeli air strike hits warehouse in central Gaza",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/heavy-israeli-air-strike-hits-warehouse-in-central-gaza",
        "published": "2026-08-23T13:20:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News",
        "title": "Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill two people, including 4-year-old boy, medics say",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/israeli-airstrikes-in-gaza-kill-two-people-including-4-year-old-boy",
        "published": "2026-08-23T14:11:15.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}