Hebrew University under fire after Arab TA praises call to kill Jews

By World Israel News Staff

The watchdog group Im Tirtzu said Thursday it filed a police complaint against a teaching assistance at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who shared a post on her Facebook page calling for death to Jews.

The group said its Arabic language desk discovered the post by Areej Khateeb, a teaching assistant and PhD student at Hebrew University, who posted it on her Facebook page during riots earlier this month in the Israeli capital at a time when Arabs promoted anti-Semitic attacks against Jews in Israel on social media.

A video shared with the post showed clashes between police and Arabs on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City under which it had the caption: “Kill them early and do not leave any of them” – and Khateeb responded: “Amen, please God.”

“We were shocked to find that a teaching assistant in Hebrew University expressed a desire to murder innocent people simply for being Jewish,” wrote Im Tirtzu’s Hebrew University student branch to the university administration. “It is inconceivable that an honorable institution like Hebrew University would employ racist employees that wish death to Jews.”

Informed of the case, Education Minister Yoav Galant had initially called on the university to handle the incident.

“Incitement and calls for violence are serious phenomena in a democratic society, especially when they drift into the education system and are stated by academics,” Gallant said.

Im Tirtzu called on Hebrew University to fire Khateeb, but the university issued a statement saying it was not their responsibility.

“The Hebrew University works to ensure mutual respect and tolerance and takes abusive statements made as part of the academic activities of students or faculty members seriously,” the university said.

“The statement attributed to the student … was made outside the framework of the university and is not related to her status as a student or as a teaching assistant,” the university claimed. “In this situation, insofar as there is a violation of state laws in this statement, it is not within the authority of the university but in the hands of law enforcement authorities.”

Following the university’s refusal to take action to discipline Khateeb, Im Tirtzu said its Hebrew University branch filed a police complaint against Khateeb.