18.05.22
Editorial Note
A few days ago, Arab students and staff demonstrated at Tel Aviv University’s Antin Square, marking Nakba Day. Nakba Day is set to express anger at the foundation of the State of Israel, describing it as a “catastrophe.” Protesters demand Palestinians’ right to return to their former homes in what is now known as Israel. In the demonstration, the large crowd waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans. Jewish right-wing activists held a small counter-demonstration. The event turned violent when the protesters scuffled; three people were arrested for attacking protesters and police officers and rioting on the campus.
Academia for Equality (A4E), a political-academic group based at Tel Aviv University, wrote on their Facebook page on May 12: “This coming Sunday, May 15, at 11:30 in Antin Square, we will join the Nakba Day ceremony at Tel Aviv University, and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian faculty and students. Feel free to join us.”
Three days later, they posted on Facebook in Arabic, Hebrew, and English: “Academia for Equality strongly condemns the grave incidents that took place on Sunday, May 15 at Tel Aviv University, and on Friday, May 13 at Ben Gurion University, in which police and GSS forces attacked students demonstrating on university grounds, arresting some, with the sole purpose of sowing fear and undermining student organizing. These incidents further deepen the worrying trend of curtailing the academic and political freedom of Palestinian students, of violence and incitement against Palestinian students on campuses and on social media by right-wing organizations; and further evidence of the lax and negligent response of higher education institutions towards such events. We call on university administrations to ensure the safety and security of Palestinian students, to protect their freedom of expression, to act immediately to restore the peace and to prohibit arrests on their grounds.”
As can be expected, A4E provided a one-sided view of the event, putting the blame entirely on the Israeli police.
To a casual observer, A4E may seem like a tiny fringe group. In reality, A4E has been receiving the backing of mainstream academics, as can be seen by their posts on Facebook. On the 25th of April, A4E wrote, “We were happy to attend the Sociological Association’s conference held in early March – and we were also happy to read the positive reviews of the sessions attended by members of the Academy for Equality.” The list of speakers included Orly Benjamin, Areej Sabagh Khoury, Lev Grinberg, Dani Maman, and Zvi Ben-Dor Banit.
IAM reported on A4E before, when on January 23, 2021, Academia for Equality voiced its reservations about a collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and the academic institute in Ariel. In a public declaration, A4E wrote a letter to the TAU administration claiming that “this institutional cooperation, obtained without open debate in the University Senate, is alarming for a variety of moral, legal, professional and technical reasons. First and foremost, the very existence of this institution, which stands on occupied land and serves the population of the occupying nation exclusively, is a war crime and a clear example of apartheid. The recognition of this institution by far-right forces around the world which overlook its inhuman aspect is neither a victory nor an achievement for Israeli society but the opposite. We keep working against this cooperation and call upon our colleagues worldwide to join us.”
As IAM repeatedly argued, boycotting Ariel University has been illegal in Israel since the anti-Boycott Law was enacted in 2011.
Academia for Equality is an anti-Israel group composed of primarily Jewish Israeli followers of the neo-Marxist critical paradigm. They fuel violence against Israeli Jews by depicting Israel negatively. They serve their peers on western campuses – the Palestinian diaspora activists.
A lot has been written about the anti-Israel agitation on campuses. Those who call for a vigorous effort to fight this phenomenon need to look at the contribution of radical Israeli academics like A4E, whose writings legitimize the BDS movement.
For future Nakba Days, Tel Aviv University should hold lectures in Antin Square by Tel Aviv University experts who teach the evidence-based history of the Nakba. For those unfamiliar with the topic, the self-inflicted catastrophe was the responsibility of the Palestinian leaders with their allied Arab states to crush nascent Israel.
References
https://jpost.com/israel-news/article-706728/amp
Jerusalem Post
Clashes between Arabs, right-wing activists at TAU Nakba Day rally
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF Published: MAY 15, 2022 13:25
Three people were arrested at the rally after they attacked protesters and police.
Clashes broke out between Arabs and right-wing activists at a Nakba Day rally at Tel Aviv University on Sunday, with police arresting a number of suspects amid the violence.
A large crowd of Arab students and supporters rallied at Tel Aviv University to mark Nakba Day, when Palestinians mark the establishment of the State of Israel as a “catastrophe” and demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Demonstrators at the university waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans. A portrait of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was recently killed during clashes in Jenin was set up at the site as well.
Three people were arrested at the rally after they attacked protesters and police officers and rioted at the site, according to Israel Police.
The right-wing Im Tirtzu organization reported that the three were Arab students who had physically assaulted Jewish activists who were holding a counter-demonstration nearby. The Jewish activists waved Israeli flags, chanted pro-Israel slogans and distributed T-shirts displaying a key with a Star of David alongside the verse “And the children [of Israel] shall return to their borders.”
Im Tirtzu activists also put up banners reading “Nakba Nonsense.” According to the organization, a number of activists suffered head injuries after being attacked by Arab students.
“We cannot afford the luxury of allowing this anti-Israel propaganda to go unchallenged,” said Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg. “We are here sending a clear message that we will not be silent in the face of this deceitful attempt to rewrite history. If the Jewish community in Israel would’ve lost the war, the Holocaust would have been continued via Haj Amin al-Husseini and his antisemitic thugs. It is important to unapologetically call the Nakba what it is: nonsense.”
Joint List MK Ayman Odeh responded to the arrests on Sunday, saying “students are marking Nakba Day and not submitting to the arrests and police brutality.”
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אקדמיה לשוויון Academia for Equality أكاديميون من أجل ألمساواة
12 May at 18:43·
ביום ראשון הקרוב, ה-15 למאי, ב11:30 בכיכר אנטין, נצטרף לטקס יום הנכבה באוניברסיטת תל אביב, ונעמוד בסולידריות עם אנשי הסגל, הסטודנטים והסטודנטיות הפלסטינים. מוזמנים להצטרף אלינו
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אקדמיה לשוויון Academia for Equality أكاديميون من أجل ألمساواة
15 May at 23:20
تستنكر منظمة اكاديميون من اجل المساواة بشدة الأحداث الخطيرة التي وقعت اليوم في جامعة تل أبيب ويوم الجمعة الماضي في جامعة بن غوريون، حيث هاجمت قوات الشرطة والشاباك الطلاب والطالبات الجامعيين الذين تظاهروا في محيط الجامعة، واعتقل عدد منهم بهدف دبّ الخوف والترهيب واعاقة تنظيم الطلاب/ الطالبات.
تنضم هذه الحالات الى نمط مُقلق من المسّ بحرية الطلاب/ الطالبات الفلسطينيين/ات الأكاديمية والسياسية في الجامعات، واللجوء الى العنف والتحريض على الطلاب/الطالبات الفلسطينيين/ات في الحُرم الجامعية وفي شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي من قبل اليمين، مقابل رد متهاون واستهتاري من قبل المؤسسات التعليمية على هذه الحالات.
ندعو إدارات الجامعات لأن تضمن سلامة الطلاب والطالبات الجامعيين/ات الفلسطينيين/ات، حماية وضمان حريتهم/ن بالتعبير، والعمل بشكل فوريّ على تهدئة الخواطر وعلى منع اجراء اعتقالات في محيط الجامعات وعلى مداخلها.
Academics Organization for Equality strongly condemns the dangerous events that took place today at Tel Aviv University and last Friday at Bin Gurion University, where police forces and nets attacked university students who demonstrated in the surroundings of the university, and arrested a number of them aiming to bear Kho Q, Intimidation and Disability of Student Organization.
These cases join a disturbing pattern of touching the academic and political freedom of Palestinian students in universities, resorting to violence and incitement against Palestinian students on campus and social media by the right-wing, in response to a defiant response. N and reckless by educational institutions on these cases.
We call on university administrations to ensure the safety of Palestinian university students, protect and guarantee their freedom of expression, and act immediately to calm down and prevent arrests in the surroundings and their entrances.
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אקדמיה לשוויון Academia for Equality أكاديميون من أجل ألمساواة
15 May at 19:30
אקדמיה לשוויון מגנה בחריפות את האירועים החמורים שהתרחשו היום באוניברסיטת תל אביב וביום שישי באוניברסיטת בן-גוריון – בהם התנפלו כוחות משטרה ושב״כ על סטודנטי.ות שהפגינו בתחומי האוניברסיטה, ועצרו אחדים מהם במטרה לזרוע פחד ולשבש את התארגנות הסטודנטים.ות.
מקרים אלה מצטרפים למגמה המדאיגה של פגיעה בחופש האקדמי והפוליטי של סטודנטים.ות פלסטינים.ות באוניברסיטאות, של אלימות והסתה כנגד סטודנטים.ות פלסטינים.ות בקמפוסים וברשתות החברתיות מטעם גורמי ימין, ושל תגובה רפה ורשלנית של מוסדות הלימוד כלפי מקרים אלה.
אנו קוראים להנהלות האוניברסיטאות להבטיח את שלומם של הסטודנטים והסטודנטיות הפלסטינים.ות, להגן על חופש הביטוי שלהם.ן, לפעול באופן מידי להרגעת הרוחות ולמנוע מעצרים בתחומיה ובשעריה.
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אקדמיה לשוויון Academia for Equality أكاديميون من أجل ألمساواة
16 May at 11:30 ·
Academia for Equality strongly condemns the grave incidents that took place on Sunday, May 15 at Tel Aviv University, and on Friday, May 13 at Ben Gurion University, in which police and GSS forces attacked students demonstrating on university grounds, arresting some, with the sole purpose of sowing fear and undermining student organizing.
These incidents further deepen the worrying trend of curtailing the academic and political freedom of Palestinian students, of violence and incitement against Palestinian students on campuses and on social media by Right-wing organizations; and further evidence of the lax and negligent response of higher education institutions towards such events.
We call on university administrations to ensure the safety and security of Palestinian students, to protect their freedom of expression, to act immediately to restore the peace and to prohibit arrests on their grounds.
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https://www.b7net.co.il/%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%9E%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A1/3751
היום: ההפגנה השנתית לציון יום הנכבה באוניברסיטת בן גוריון
מנהל האתר
16.05.17 / 20:22
כמדי שנה, התארגנו היום הסטודנטים הערבים באוניברסיטת בן גוריון להפגנה לציון יום הנכבה. במקום לא נרשמו אירועי אלימות או התפרעויות.
יום גדוש במחאות באוניברסיטת בן גוריון: בצהריי היום התארגנו עשרות סטודנטים ערבים מאוניברסיטת בן גוריון והפגינו לציון יום הנכבה מול שער סורוקה כמדי שנה. במקום לא נרשמו הפרעות ולא נצפו גילויי אלימות, זאת בניגוד להפגנה בשנה שעברה, אותה קיימו הסטודנטים הערבים בערב יום הזיכרון לחללי צה”ל, אירוע שהביא לחילופי קללות וצעקות בין הצדדים.
בהפגנה קראו המוחים לסיום 69 שנות הכיבוש ולשחרור פלסטין. ” יש את יום הנכבה, שאנחנו מאמינים בו ומאמינים שנעשה עוול לאוכלוסייה שלמה” אומר מחמוד אבו סלאח, אחד המשתתפים בהפגנה. “כמו בכל שנה אנחנו בהפגנה אומרים אמירה קולקטיבית, אשר השנה היא חשובה במיוחד, לאור הריסת הבתים באום אל חיראן ולאור כך שמאשימים את הערבים על ימין ועל שמאל ברצח. עכשיו זה המקום והזמן לצאת ולהגיד את האמירה שלנו כמיעוט במדינה הזאת”.
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אקדמיה לשוויון Academia for Equality أكاديميون من أجل ألمساواة
25 April at 11:02
שמחנו להשתתף בכנס האגודה הסוציולוגית שנערך בתחילת חודש מרץ – ושמחנו גם לקרוא את הביקורות החיוביות על המושבים בהם השתתפו חברי אקדמיה לשוויון 
israel-academia-monitor.com 