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In reference to "Arab call for jobs in Israel's academia" (THES, August 18), we would like to inform you that steps have already been taken to increase the number of Arab tenured academic staff in the universities in Israel.

On July 19, 1995, the planning and budgeting committee of the Israel Council for Higher Education, the statutory body responsible for the budgeting of Israel's institutions of higher education, decided to establish a programme of fellowships for Arab lecturers. The fellowships, of which from four to six will be awarded each year for the next three years, will permit the universities to provide the fellows with initial full-time apppointments as lecturer or senior lecturer. The universities undertake to grant the fellow tenure upon the conclusion of the three years of the fellowship. Fellows will be selected on a competitive basis and the first fellowships will be awarded in time for the start of the coming academic year. This fellowship programme is modelled after the highly successful and prestigious Yigal Allon Fellowships for Outstanding Young Researchers and is funded in part by the Cahanoff Fund.

GURY ZIKHA

Council for Higher Education, Israel