(live here) – A public outcry has erupted in recent days following the publication of a statement by the Hadash cell at the University of Haifa, inviting the public to participate in two rallies to mark Nakba Day. One of them is expected to be held on the university campus and the other in the lower city. The events, scheduled for this coming Wednesday – May 15, the day the British Mandate ends, are taking place against a backdrop of ongoing security tensions and fighting in Gaza, and are encountering strong opposition from public figures, academics, and civic activists.
"In the Picture" CEO Demands Cancellation of Events: "Anti-Zionist Incitement at the Heart of the State of Israel"
Events aimed at inciting against the very existence of the State of Israel
The one who led the resistance to the planned events is the CEO of the "Tselmo" organization, Shai Glick, who today publicly appealed to the Israel Police, the administration of the University of Haifa, and the entire public, demanding that they prevent their existence. According to him, these are events whose purpose is nothing more than to incite against the very existence of the State of Israel: "These are events that mourn the very fact that we live here," he claims. "I demand that the organizers of this incitement be stopped.
On October 7th, we understood very well what would have happened if we had not won – we will not allow those ideas to continue to penetrate the heart of our campuses.” Glick called on students and residents of Haifa to “come out in their bodies” and protest legally against what he calls “hateful events in our space.”
The Nakba: The controversy over the historical narrative and its impact on the present
"Nakba" is the Arab term for what happened to the Palestinians in 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel and the outbreak of the War of Independence. Some 750 Arabs left their homes – some, according to some sources, fled voluntarily, others were expelled. It is important to remember and remind that the War of Independence was forced on the State of Israel by the Arabs who did not agree to accept the very existence of the state and began a war whose goal was to eliminate the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel (as it is now, on October 7, 2023…).
Since the 90s, Palestinians and Israeli Arabs have commemorated Nakba Day every year on May 15, the date of the end of the British Mandate, and call it the “right of return.” The concept has become particularly charged in the Israeli political arena, as it is perceived by many as a denial of the legitimacy of the State of Israel, while others see it as an expression of collective memory that has a place in public discourse in a democratic country.
Students at the University of Haifa are frustrated: "Academy has become a scene of conflict"
The planned events are fueling long-standing tensions on the Haifa University campus, where various political cells operate, including the Hadash cell, which is affiliated with the radical left. Some students at the university claim that political activity is taking up too much space on campus, at the expense of peace and studies.
"I keep looking at the Technion," says a humanities undergraduate student. "Both here and at the Technion there are Jewish and Arab students, which is a blessing. But at the Technion, we are engaged in learning, we hardly hear about protests. Only here there is always chaos, the university is in the headlines because of it. It hurts all of us. We came to study, not to be drawn into political struggles." According to her, "politics should stay outside the university gates. We are here for academia, not for ideology."
CEO in a letter to university leaders: "Discrimination must not be allowed in dealing with violations of procedures"
Shai Glick also addressed the university's president, Prof. Gur Alroy, and demanded that he take a tough stance against the events and the parties involved. "This conduct by the Hadash cell constitutes a blatant violation of university procedures and the law," Glick wrote. "It is unthinkable that extremist elements would act on campus as they please, while ignoring the rules. We remember well the precedent in which the 'Standing Together' organization held events on campus without permission, and steps were taken against them. It must not happen anywhere and everywhere - if Jews were punished, so too should Arabs be punished when they violate the same procedures."
Glick adds that a failure on the part of the university administration could send a dangerous message of injustice and discrimination: "Giving legitimacy to this behavior sends a message to Israeli society that 'the sinner is rewarded.' This undermines the rule of law and harms the fabric of shared life."
Council member Eli Ben Dayan joins the protest: "Moral and national harm during war"
The protest was also joined by Haifa City Council member from the Likud party, Eli Ben Dayan, who harshly criticized the event itself – and especially the timing. “The event is taking place in the midst of fighting against Hamas and Iran, with 59 of our people still being held captive in Gaza,” he said. “This is an event that goes beyond any moral, social and national norm. This is not the time, and this is not the stage.”
Ben Dayan claimed that using freedom of expression as an excuse for holding the events constitutes "cynical exploitation of the academic space to promote anti-Zionist messages." He also did not spare the university leadership his tongue: "The administration's silence in the face of content that harms the legitimacy of the State of Israel is a distortion of values. Especially now, in a time of war, clear boundaries must be set."
A poignant call to the mayor of Haifa: "We must not remain silent in the face of coalition partners"
Ben Dayan also pointed his arrows at Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, given the fact that the Hadash cell, which initiated the events, is politically identified with coalition partners in the municipality. "It is impossible for public representatives to enjoy the support of the municipal administration, while their factions take part in activities that harm national cohesion," said Ben Dayan. "I call on the mayor to invite the Hadash representatives to a clarification conversation and make it clear that there is no place for activities of this type in our city." According to him, if Yahav has canceled performances by artists in the past for political reasons, he does not have the privilege to ignore these events.
Response from Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav:
"Haifa is a city of coexistence and tolerance, and we will not allow a demonstration of this kind, led by extremist and agitating elements who are not welcome here at all, to undermine the reality of life here. We are stronger than any attempt to harm the fabric of life, and the justification of our path in the city and the country."
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Hadash Secretary Rim Hazan: The planned events are not related to Hadash
Hadash Secretary Rim Hazan: "We support freedom of expression and that everyone express their opinion, of course. At the same time, the events planned for this Thursday are not related to Hadash. The flyer that was distributed does not say who is behind the events."
Response from the University of Haifa
The university said that the issue is under investigation.
The police said in response:
No request was submitted to them to hold the planned events.
Tell the truth, my friend: How exactly are you related to that Shai Glick? There is proper incitement here. When every exaggerated provocation is met with a response from the aforementioned, as if he were the mayor of Haifa (whom you bother to mention at the end), the response to the demonstration should be: We respect your right to mourn your loss in the framework of the Nakba, but anyone who talks about the 'right of return' is an enemy and we will treat him as an enemy because anyone who wants to return to the Palestine of the past wants to eliminate the Israel of today.
Don't keep your mouths shut, but encourage respectful and open dialogue.
In my opinion, preventing this rally and that demonstration and waving that flag is an escape from the truth and reality.
And perhaps the time has come for courageous leaders and governments and for joint agreements on the separation of peoples by choice in separate territories. Enough with the hypocrisy and naivety of coexistence and partnership, which in my opinion means surrender and walking into the abyss of a binational state. How many of us can really return to the communities/neighborhoods/apartments that they own?
In my opinion, if there are no courageous governments here that will go for the separation of the peoples into separate territories/states (and let's put aside the potential security threat like the Guardian of the Wall events), the living options will become increasingly scarce in a country that is already very small here.
In my opinion, the police, the municipality, and the university should prevent this, because we are tired of bored hooligans in Haifa, most of whom are protesters from the villages and not from Haifa. As an Arab, I say this is stupid because the concept of the Nakba is a recent invention that instead of making gains for Arab society, they are engaged in useless things. But to show the public that they are doing something. In previous years, the Nakba was not mentioned at all, and you will find very few protesters who could tell you what the Nakba is. The crowd joins the demonstrations out of boredom and not out of awareness and identification. And to the leaders, I say, stop, you fools, do something good for Arab society, solve the many problems of Arab society. Shame on you, you are fed up and incompetent.
Disguising themselves as "democrats"... and revealing themselves as "anarchists"... = The Buzzzzz for you and yours... Demonstrating that they need to "arrest" + "ban" + "fine" + "sign" "loyalty to the State of Israel"...!@
And whoever violates this or that "order" of the "government" and the "administration" - must be "exiled" from the "Jewish state"...!!!!!@@@@@😭
"Traitors" among us in "institutions of higher education" disguise themselves as "democrats"... and turn out to be "anarchists...!!!@@@ We mustn't allow this anymore... We've had it! We've had it! No more...!!!@@@
We will not allow you to "sabotage" the beautiful "human fabric" of "coexistence" while "extinguishing 😭
"Anti-Zionist incitement against the "State of Israel" = "traitors" to the "Jewish State" in 😭
Forgetting and distorting history is a common practice among these enemies. What is not clear is how Jews who start the story from the end and ignore reality fall into their trap.
These legitimate protests are not causing any harm to the country, as the baboon government with its Qatari proxy is causing every day that they are still in power.
Forgetting and distorting history is a common practice among these enemies. What is not clear is how Jews who start the story from the end and ignore reality fall into their trap.
Another wise man commits suicide. You and your ilk are breathing life into the enemies.
I wouldn't be surprised if the municipality prepared a stage and refreshments for them.
Lag BaOmer events were canceled instead of preparing safe areas as requested.
Fifth Corps to expel!
Demonstrations under the guise of freedom of expression. The university has long since become a place where you can demonstrate instead of buying an education.
At least they should lower the property taxes in Haifa when the standard of living is like a village.
What Nakba? They tried to kill us, they didn't succeed and they're crying. The most annoying thing is that they live in the country and behave like the enemy.
Oh oh oh the students who support terrorism are frustrated.
Come, let's bring them a sandbox, so they can build castles like they love imaginative games and hate.
The organizers of Nakba Day play the role of the victim while the Arabs were the aggressors in 48, in their attempt to eliminate the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel and with the help of Arab armies. In essence, this expresses their opposition to the existence of the State of Israel as a sovereign state of the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas's barbaric attack on October 7 brought an even more severe Nakba to the Palestinians in Gaza. The Palestinians continue to pay for repeated attempts to harm Israel.
Freedom of expression, democratic state (only for Jews), shame
Everyone can and must express their opinion!
Yona Yahav, why didn't he cancel these ceremonies after what we went through? 7/10 We're all in shock, I can't believe Yona Yahav didn't cancel. Because the event canceled the Shadow performance on Independence Day. Even though there were no shows in Haifa, they were in Kiryat Haim. He canceled their choice. I'm sad that this isn't the Yona Yahav I knew, I chose him. Really sad!
Nakba Day is the day when the Israeli Arabs, with the help of
Arab countries wanted to eliminate the newly established State of Israel
In that year 1948, the Israeli Arabs murdered, burned, and besieged
On Jerusalem and many places in our country, the Jordanian Legion
The Egyptian army also from Iraq and Syria tried to destroy the country
After we defeated the enemy, we gave citizenship to the Arabs who remained here.
Israeli with an identity card and equal rights
Today the enemy at home is trying to raise its head again, but the Jewish people
He who dwells in Zion will not sleep again and will be on guard.
Because we have no other country and those who don't want us here can leave.
For better or worse
Once the students cooperated with the university administration. After what we went through on 7/10, Hamas from Gaza, we realized that in Ganin and Basham we have woven a great deal of Hamas believers. And that means they hate us and the whole Merkava to point out that we hurt their son and are blaming them for the Holocaust and the fact that they are holding the event with them hurts us all. It has been proven that they believe in Hamas and fight like them against our soldiers. And we find all their books against Israel. We are hypocrites because they blame the army and all of us for the hypocrite who says that the grandson of the State of Israel. It is difficult for all the organizers who embrace them to leave us because they recognize their pain and their actions here. Hypocrites
You are a disgrace. Life with you is terrible because you embrace the Arabs and the scoundrels who shout against the State of Israel. What are you doing here, hypocrites?
This is an offshoot of "Bir Zeit". What did you expect?
Remove state funding from this institution and it would be nice one hour earlier!