‘Don’t fall for Hamas propaganda,’ 150 academics to Bar-Ilan University’s President
In a statement published yesterday, the 150 academics condemned the complaints made in this letter, including the accusations that Israel is the result of the residents of Gaza.
About 150 teachers and members of the faculty at Bar-Ulan University criticized a university management letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him to “solve the problem of hunger in Gaza,” Channel News reported on Tuesday morning.
In a statement published yesterday, academics condemned the affirmations made in this letter, including accusations that Israel is the affair residents of Gaza, which they described as a “cynical campaign”. They accused the other members of the faculty of “falling into the propaganda trap of Hamas.
“While Hamas deliberately faces the hostages to exert pressure, it exploits the severe humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip – a situation which it itself caused and continues to cause – to carry out a cynical campaign blaming the state of Israel and TDI soldiers for intentional famine,” the statement said.
“We call on our colleagues and the public not to fall into the propaganda trap of Hamas, which is based on proven biased and partially false information,” he added.
“We also urge to avoid populist and irresponsible calls, which only hardens the positions of Hamas and reduce the chances of returning the hostages safely.”
A copy of the declaration of independence is suspended from the brain research building on the Bar-Ilan University campus. (Credit: Ari Zivotofsky)
Letter from University Presidents to Netanyahu
The situation began on July 28, when presidents of five Israeli universities sent a letter to Netanyahu, calling for urgent action to resolve the “serious hunger crisis in Gaza”.
The crisis “causes immense damage to non-combatants, including children and infants,” said the letter.
In their letter, the university leaders of the University of Tel Aviv, the Hebrew University, the open university, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the Technion have urged FDI to intensify efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis.
They underlined the need to minimize damage to non-combatants, “whatever the heavy responsibility of Hamas and other parties”.
“In addition to an increasing number of residents of the country, we are shocked by the scenes from Gaza, in particular infants who die daily from hunger and disease,” said the letter.
Uri Sela contributed to this report.
