The scandal surrounding the Israel Prize for Literature reached its peak on Thursday as Prof. Ephraim Hazan, the last remaining member of the judging committee, resigned from his position.
Earlier this week it was revealed that the Office of the Prime Minister rejected the candidacy of Professors Avner Holtzman and Ariel Hirschfeld, two members of the judges’ panel of the Israel Prize for Literature and renowned Israeli filmmaker Chaim Sharir, a judge for the Israel Prize in Film.
This move prompted severe criticism and backlash, resulting in six noted Israeli authors and academics resigning from the judges’ panel for the Israel Prize in Literature, stating "the clear politicization of the prize" and casting doubt on whether the prize will even be awarded this year.
Further to the resignations, several noted Israeli authors and cultural icons, including Ruth Dayan, Haim Be'er and Sami Michael, withdrew their candidacy for the Israel Prize in protest.
“Today, I feel that not to receive the Israel Prize is a greater honor than to receive it,” Be’er said in an interview with Army Radio on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the criticism in a second Facebook post on the issue Thursday, reiterating his assertion that the judging committees for the Israel Prize have become a “private playground of the radical left, the anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian, that preaches refusal to serve in the IDF.”
According to Netanyahu, the dismissal of the judges was spurred by the "extremist" makeup of the committee members who distribute prizes to their friends, whoever shares their same leftist viewpoints.
The prime minister currently holds the Education Ministry portfolio responsible for overseeing the Israel Prize and in the absence of an Education Minister was asked to approve the judges’ panel, usually a formality.
The Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities also released a statement Thursday evening expressing its concern over the recent events.
“The Israel Prize as an institution glorifies the scientific and cultural creativity of Israeli society, and academia is proud of this. The current affair casts a dark shadow on one of the most beautiful faces of the State of Israel, a prize that is highly appraised by the entire country's population,” the statement read.
According to the statement, the Academy members said that though they are not affiliated with the Prize, which is awarded for excellence in the sciences and humanities, they “felt it was right to respond to the current affair that harms the stature of the prize.”
The Academy members called on the government to reconsider placing the authority for the prize, which currently falls under the authority of the Education Minister, to an official and a-political government party.
“As part of the role of the Academy to advise the government on these issues, and to prevent future political influences on the Israel Prize, we hereby offer to consider subjugating the prize to a state party, for example - to the President's office,” the Academy members wrote.
“Such a reputable institution in charge of the makeup of the judging committees, will uphold the honor of the award and its prestige and will empower the high regard in which it is held by all Israeli citizens,” they wrote.