Prof.’s Dismissal Was Not Political, Says Tel Aviv U.

The administration of Tel Aviv University has denied that the dismissal of Reserves Col. Meir Payil, a senior lecturer on military history, had anything to do with his leftist views. Col. Payil was advised by letter that his contract with the university will not be renewed for the next academic year.

The military scholar was regarded as close to the “Movement for Peace and Security,” a group which its critics charge advocates peace at any price with the Arabs. Some lecturers claimed that Payil’s dismissal was connected with his political associations. But the Rector, Prof. Simonson, said, “We knew of his views before he started to lecture here four years ago.” He said the decision to terminate Col. Payil’s tenure was based on a confidential evaluation of his work and on the determination that military history studies did not warrant a full-time job.