Israeli professor: Estonian Academy of Arts did not announce its decision

TALLINN - Jonathan Ventura, a professor at Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Israel, said in an interview with Estonian public broadcaster ERR that the decision of the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) to end cooperation with Israeli universities came as a surprise to him because EKA did not inform him of its decision, Vikerraadio reports.

According to Ventura, EKA has not given him a reason for its decision and has not sent an official letter.

"A friend of mine who works at EKA simply said that such a decision was made," he said. "But I was still surprised by both the decision and how they handled things."

"And after that, I told the president of Shenkar College about it, he contacted EKA, and they said that they had postponed all activities for next year and would see what would happen later. Or something like that," he added.

Ventura speculated that perhaps it is a regional thing, as there seems to be an anti-Israeli attitude in other Baltic states and Finland, perhaps also in Sweden and Norway.

According to Ventura, it's no secret that the academic world tends to be heading in a certain direction.

"And in some countries it's worse than in others," Ventura added.

EKA's decision to sever contacts with Israeli higher education institutions has received widespread criticism, with the Ministry of Education and Research, among others, recommending a review of the decision, the daily Postimees writes.

EKA announced on Tuesday that it had decided to suspend the last ERASMUS+ agreement with Israel in light of complex international and internal sentiments.