Hebrew University lecturer: Ayelet Shaked is 'Neo-Nazi scum'
In light of ministerial approval of Shaked's bill demanding NGO's reveal funding sources, professor accuses Justice Minister of receiving funds from arms dealer to African conflict zones.
By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZIUpdated: DECEMBER 29, 2015 02:24Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked(photo credit: REUTERS)
Two lecturers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Amiram Goldblum and Ofer Cassif – have come out against Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked on Facebook with one calling her “neo-Nazi scum” and “filth” while accusing her of taking part in genocide.Goldblum, a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the university’s School of Pharmacy, was first to write a post on his Facebook page critical of Shaked and the source of financial support for her political campaign.“On clarity: Ayelet Shaked demands clarity. I demand clarity by Ayelet Shaked. So here’s the clarification that you will not get from her: “The following photo is a clarity figure of that minister of justice’s own financial resources, at least some of them.“Shaked’s election campaign was based, among other things, on money collected in exchange for arms sold to killers in Sierra Leone and in South America by Shaked’s financial supporter who is now in jail in Belgium after being detained by Interpol for eight months in Montenegro since March 2015.“An Orthodox Jew, Serge Muller is a despicable supplier of arms to some of the worst killers in this world. But Ayelet Shaked needed the money. She demands clarity, so we clarify who she is,” Goldblum wrote.Included in the post is a picture of Shaked whose body is comprised of a picture of a skeleton with two guns and a picture of numerous dead bodies while her hands drip with drops of blood.His colleague, Cassif, of the Department of Political Science shared the post to his Facebook page adding a post calling Shaked “neo-Nazi scum.”“In Israel, my shame screams out for Shaked. This neo-Nazi scum is not only a responsible partner of the fascism of Israel but also an indirect partner to African genocide and crimes against humanity. There are no words in the dictionary that may be used to define this filth,” he wrote.Shaked, who is expected to file an official complaint against the two lecturers with the police, issued a brief statement Monday in response.“Today, the fine line between freedom of expression and freedom of incitement was blatantly crossed and polluted the public discourse. I’m sure that law enforcement authorities will handle the case in the proper manner,” she said.
MKs from across the political spectrum were quick to condemn the statements by the lecturers.“This is the most serious incitement against a justice minister since the establishment of the state,” said Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett.“Maybe I am supposed to blame the Left,” he said. “But they grew up in Israel like the people in the wedding video,” he said referring to the video of right-wing extremists caught on tape celebrating the murder of a Palestinian family in Duma.“We need to stop blaming and bring calm. We have no other country,” he said. “We only have Israel, and Left and Right need to do what we can to protect it.”Bennett said he had spoken to the president of the Hebrew University, Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson, and said he expected him to immediately address the issue and present his plan to “uproot the phenomenon.”Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog said the lecturers’ statements were “miserable, wretched and inherently wrong.”Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid also condemned the statements calling the lecturer a “talkbacker of the lowest kind,” and he called on the university to address the issue saying, “The university cannot stand by while one of its lecturers speaks like this.”The Hebrew University released a statement saying: “The university is not responsible for the statements made by its lecturers and it is not its job to discipline them so long as it does not involve the exploitation of the academic platform for dissemination.As long as someone believes there is incitement in this or that statement or a violation of state law, they should turn to law enforcement agencies.”Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.