JERUSALEM, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Israel's High Court of Justice on Tuesday annulled the Israeli education minister's decision to deny awarding the national Israel Prize to a renowned computer scientist.
In November last year, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton decided to deny the prestigious prize to Oded Goldreich from the Weizmann Institute of Science for signing a petition calling on the European Union to boycott Ariel University, an Israeli university located in the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank.
The Israel Prize is awarded annually on the state's Independence Day for special excellence, breakthrough, or contribution to Israeli society in a wide range of fields.
Goldreich was supposed to receive the award back in May 2021, but then former Education Minister Yoav Galant overturned the prize committee's decision, claiming that the scientist supports the pro-Palestinian boycott movement against Israel, including a boycott against Ariel University.
In August, two months after Galant was replaced, the Israeli court overturned his decision and passed the issue to the new education minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who made the same denial decision in November before the prize committee appealed to the court again.
"The Israel Prize over the years has been awarded on the basis of excellence and significant professional contribution and not on the basis of social-value considerations," the latest court ruling said.
"I am sorry about the high court's decision, but I will respect it," Shasha-Biton responded. ■
