Thank you!

If (cinema) films are offered in the Internet (i.e. theauteurs.com) nobody questions that it is charged. Of course: people have to earn money, and there will be far more offers like this in very different fields. Still the best informations are in books, not in the internet. And we got used to get i.e. YouTube videos free of charge, but many of them are in questionable quality, mostly just good enough for historic documents or as appetizers.

The internet has already demolished a lot of jobs, and before there are no commercial recordings, films and books any more in only a few years it is essential that ways are found to earn money in the internet.

I am the other person you mentioned alongside Elisheva Rigbi’s, the one who reportedly did not acknowledge the problem. I have no idea why you chose not to mention my name, as if my post to you was anonymous or secretive, whereas it was, in fact, public and open. Was this to enhance the “feeling of secrecy” you talked about?

I will speak only about the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which I know the best. As for tenure-track positions - announcements are published not only in the newspapers, but also on the university’s web-site, and perhaps in other venues that I am not aware of. True, there are almost no such positions in Musicology in recent years, but when there are, they are announced fairly and squarely. Since you yourself claim to have applied for one, you surely got notice of it somehow (indeed, how?), so I am not sure what veil of secrecy you wish to get rid of. As for the review process itself - it may be shrouded in secrecy, but the time-table is always provided, and you get notifications if you made it to the next stage or not. Was this not the case with you? We all want to know more about such processes, but I don’t know a single place in the world that would share such information with applicants, really. You are trying to paint a picture of a horrified community of scholars too afraid of voicing its true complaints in public, preferring, instead, to call you. Without giving out their names, of course, I wonder if you can share some of the concerns and experience they shared with you, if you can.

As it pertains to non tenure-track positions, and to colleges and high-schools (about which I know virtually nothing), there may indeed be a problem. Does your musicologist source who told you about recent hirings in her department refer to tenure-track faculty members? I find this impossible to believe, to be honest. If, however, we are talking about adjunct positions, this may well be the case. Yet, I am not sure that there is an obligation to have an official search for an adjunct position at a university, for instance. We can all picture the following: a PhD candidate is asked to teach a course in the area of his/her expertise for a year or two, such a student asked to TA, and so forth and so on. Whereas there is a legal (or institutional decree) obligation to make an official search for a tenure-track position, I am not sure there is one when it comes to adjunct positions - is this where the problem lies? Maybe some one else can answer this question.

I do agree that we need to have a central place (maybe the Iggud’s web-site?) where all such positioned will be made public. I wonder if such a list can be obtained by the ministry of education? just a thought.

In sum, I do not subscribe to the attempt to conjure up conspiracy theories when it comes to universities in Israel. I have made my claims public and I stand behind what I wrote here disclosing my identity (contrary to what you implied in the opening of your blog, Byron). In order for the discussion to be serious and trust-worthy, those who believe otherwise should step forward using their true identities, and put their money where their mouth is.

Yossi

You can read Avior Byron’s response here: http://www.bymusic.org/blog/2009/08/Open-letter-to-Yossi-Maurey.html