A female Arab student was disciplined on Sunday by Ben Gurion University for inciting violence. Following a complaint from Im Tirtzu’s branch at the University, Wotan Madi was reprimanded for disobeying the campus authorities by reciting an incendiary poem by Mahmoud Darwish in a demonstration on campus on May 23, commemorating Nakba Day.
Im Tirtzu activists claimed in their appeal to the university that Madi’s words constituted a violation of a precondition committed to by all the BGU student organizations in BGU, according to which chants supporting violence would not be heard during the demonstrations that day. Madi’s expected punishment for supporting terrorism ranges from a reprimand to the termination of her studies.
Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg said: “Wotan Madi should have been in prison a long time ago due to her expressing support for terrorists and martyrs on social media during Operation Guardian of the Walls. She was mistaken in thinking that she would be able to continue her incitement on the grounds of Ben Gurion University. Contrary to what she tried to claim, Darwish wrote his poem in direct reference to terrorists who carried out suicide attacks, 50 years after 1948.
“We are proud of our activists who acted courageously even in the face of threats and restored national honor to the university. We hope the university’s decision will be her immediate removal so that students will know that hostile acts won’t be tolerated on campus.”
