Israel Matzav

Educate an 'Israeli Arab,' get a 'Palestinian' a Palestinian Islamist

Israel's university campuses are known as hotbeds of leftist, pro-'Palestinian' activism, even among their Jewish students. But at the University of Haifa, things have gone much further. Haifa has become a hotbed of 'Palestinian' and Islamist activism.

YNet is reporting this morning that a journal was distributed to the Arab student population by the Islamic Movement's northern front, the group led by Sheikh Raed Salah. The journal displays pictures of Osama bin Laden, former Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, and Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, with attached pages describing their terror activities and details of their lives. YNet reports that the journal was funded by a branch of the Islamic Movement that is located in Um-el-Fahm, which is within the green line.

The person responsible for distribution of the journals on campus was Islamic movement member and Haifa University student Mouad Hatib. [Hatib is likely an Israeli citizen. CiJ]

"I don't understand the fuss," he said. "It's a journal for Arab students at the university. The student body of the Islamic movement stands behind the distribution of these journals."

"It's important for us to note important dates for the Arab nation. Nasrallah and Arafat are both leaders of the Arab people. We mention Nasrallah and the date of the kidnapping of the two soldiers and the killing of eight others as a brave operation that led to the Lebanon war ," he explained.

"We mention Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount, which started the intifada. We mention Sept. 11th and al-Qaeda. These things, and leaders like our leader Marwan Barghouti who is imprisoned in one of your jails, and the date of Arafat's death are very important."

"It's important for the Arab public to remember its leaders, the people who are paving the way for its independence, so why can't we mention bin Laden or Nasrallah?" he asked.

And why are such activities going on in an Israeli government-funded state university? Why just look at the administration's reaction:

The university administration said that the journals don't contain problematic information. When it was brought to the dean's attention that it contained lauding depictions of terror leaders such as Nasrallah and of Sept. 11, the statement was not renewed.

"We've learned our lesson and will pay full attention in the future to pictures within the material approved for university distribution," a statement said.

Does the University of Haifa administration really believe that only the pictures were problematic?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:21 AM