Some HIAS team members just returned from the annual meeting of NetIAS, the European Network of Institutes of Advanced Study at the University of Constance. Our colleagues from the IIAS in Jerusalem who sadly couldn’t take part in the meeting, sent us a letter, explaining the situation and their deepest worries. Below you will see our answer to them:

Dear Yitzhak,

We have just returned from the NetIAS meeting in Constance where Christina and Olivier read your e-mail to us.

We would like to express our deepest compassion and sympathy to you and the whole team of the IIAS. We are profoundly shocked by the news about the wave of unimaginable violence that has swept Israel after October 7. We are also deeply appalled by your description of the current situation and by the fact that all of your team members have personal connections to people who were affected.

We really hope that the terrible acts of violence will come to an end, and send you wholeheartedly all best wishes for a peaceful future. Aggression, hate, and war will never solve problems.

The HIAS team