Strike one

In the “Academia on sale? Why public colleges are on strike” (November 4), Amit Gal makes an impassioned plea for higher salaries and resources for the academic colleges. Gal correctly describes the profound achievements of the colleges as a dominant cultural, social and employment center that has immensely aided in closing profound social gaps.

But then Gal takes a wrong turn. He wants the lecturers at the colleges to be treated like first-class academics. He claims that college lecturers are just like university faculty except for one thing, their salaries and employment terms.

Not quite! The universities have graduate faculties that grant M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Much of the research in the universities is centered around the training of these thousands of future scientists and academicians in post-graduate programs. These do not exist in the colleges. Israel does not have the resources to convert the colleges to centers of research. It barely has enough resources to maintain the universities at the highest international standards. So, Gal is “barking up the wrong tree.”

The salaries of the college lecturers should be determined by their other admirable and profound achievements. Their salaries and promotions should be judged on the basis of teaching skills. YIGAL HOROWITZ

Professor Emeritus of Radiation Physics Beersheba