When Mathematicians Fail: A Moral Lapse or Bias?

Man walking by the the vandalized mural “October 7th, Escape” by Alexsandro Palombo in Milan, Italy. Image via Associated Press, “Defaced mural of Oct. 7 survivor another example of rising antisemitism in Italy”

A recent petition titled “Mathematicians Against the Genocide in Gaza” (the Petition), published subsequently by Al-Jazeera, garnered signatures from over 1,000 mathematicians, including some prominent figures. It advocated for the cessation of institutional collaborations with Israeli universities, while nominally allowing individual collaborations to continue. The Petition’s rationale was twofold: (1) the assertion of genocide committed by Israel in Gaza, and (2) a plea by a group of Israeli citizens urging the West to boycott Israel.

In response, about 500 mathematicians signed a counterstatement (the Statement) arguing that (1) the Petition is biased and factually questionable; (2) separating individuals from institutions is infeasible; and (3) academic boycotts are inherently incompatible with scientific principles. Additionally, Alexander Givental and Misha Gromov published personal responses to the Petition, each offering a historical account of events, which contrasts with the Petition’s narrative.

Here, we would like to offer our personal experience and perspectives on the affair, in our capacity of those who drafted the Statement and promoted its signing.

To us, who were born and grew up in the former Soviet Union, the Petition evoked a sense of déjà vu. Consider, for example, E. Evseev’s 1967 article “Лакеи на побегушках” (“Lackeys on Errands”), published in Komsomol’skaya Pravda, one of the Soviet regime’s notorious ideological outlets where anti-Zionist propaganda was the norm. The article employed propagandistic techniques to delegitimize Israel and Zionism, framing Zionism as a global imperialist threat aligned with fascism, and relied on exaggerated claims, Nazi analogies, and moral outrage. The parallels with the 2024 Petition are striking. It, too, invokes Holocaust imagery, selectively focuses on Israeli actions while ignoring Hamas’s role, and calls for collective punishment through academic boycotts. Both texts rely on emotional appeals and moral condemnation to shape perceptions of complex conflicts, demonstrating a continuity in anti-Zionist rhetoric that frequently blurs into anti-Semitism. The analogy between Soviet-era anti-Semitism and post-October 7th anti-Israeli propaganda has been earlier observed by Izabella Tabarovsky, as elaborated in her 2024 Tablet article “Zombie Anti-Zionism.”

These historical echoes compel us to confront difficult questions. Why did so many mathematicians, who typically value precision and evidence, endorse the Petition? How could rigorously trained individuals set aside their usual analytical caution? As Givental put it, “mathematicians know that the correct use of terminology matters.” Signing the Petition was not merely an act of concerned citizens; it was an action aimed at explicitly harming the flourishing field of Israeli mathematics, carried out by over 1,000 professionals, some of whom hold positions of significant influence, such as editors of mathematical journals and chairs of scientific committees. Not only is this ethically questionable, but it also causes collateral damage to mathematics.

Even more paradoxically, in conversations with some mathematicians who declined to sign the Statement, as well as others who supported the Petition, we noticed a recurring theme. Many expressed opposition to academic boycotts in principle, yet viewed the Petition as a symbolic act of opposition to the war. While emotionally compelling, this reasoning reveals a contradiction—particularly among mathematicians, who are typically meticulous about the implications of what they endorse in the professional sphere. Is this recklessness or a bias against Israel—a modern form of anti-Semitism masked as anti-Zionism? The answer is not straightforward, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions. What is clear, however, is the need for intellectual vigilance. Emotional appeals and selective narratives risk undermining the principles of fairness and critical inquiry upon which both science and society rely.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are strictly our own and do not necessarily represent those who supported the Statement, to whom we are deeply grateful.

About the authors: Michael Krivelevich and Leonid Polterovich are professors of mathematics at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Editors’ note: We touched upon the issue of academic boycotts here and here.

A Soviet-era anti-Zionism cartoon ‘In His image and likeness,’ A. Zenin, Sovietskaya Moldavia, Jan. 22, 1972. Image source: Izabella Tabarovsky via Tablet, “Understanding the Real Origin of that New York Times Cartoon”

Cartoon by Carlos Latuff, a Brazilian political activist, on DC Indymedia, 2009. The cartoon makes it clear that the Jewish state has morphed into the new Nazi Germany by showing the tracks of the Israeli tank shaped like swastikas. Image source: Adam Levick, “Anti-Semitic Cartoons on Progressive Blogs”