Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University - PM's Office Holds Academic Rivka
Feldhay (Dept of History) Responsible for her Extremist Views
Feldhay banned from Scientific Symposium in
which PM Netanyahu was to participate
An official traveling with Netanyahu said professor and human
rights expert Rivka Feldhay was banned from a meeting of Israeli and
German scientists because the prime minister did not want to allow
the participation of an Israeli “who tarnishes the name of Israeli
soldiers and pilots.”
Feldhay signed a petition in 2008 [link to
petition (and
in Hebrew) – IsraCampus] that supported Israeli soldiers who
refused to serve in Palestinian territories, the official said. He
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
talk to the media.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/left-wing-academic-banned-from-joining-pms-science-symposium-in-berlin/
Left-wing academic banned from joining PM’s
science symposium in Berlin
Official says Netanyahu refused to allow participation of
Israeli ‘who tarnishes the name of Israeli soldiers and pilots’
The Associated Press
December 6, 2012,
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel barred a dovish Israeli academic from
taking part in a science symposium in Berlin on Thursday that was
part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Germany,
drawing renewed charges that his government has little tolerance for
dissent.
An official traveling with Netanyahu said
professor and human rights expert Rivka Feldhay was banned from a
meeting of Israeli and German scientists because the prime minister
did not want to allow the participation of an Israeli “who tarnishes
the name of Israeli soldiers and pilots.”
Feldhay signed a petition in 2008 that
supported Israeli soldiers who refused to serve in Palestinian
territories, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Feldhay told The Associated Press in an
email that she had traveled to Berlin at the invitation of the
Israeli embassy in Germany.
After her arrival, the embassy notified
Feldhay that National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror “refused
to confirm my participation since I am a critical of the government
of Israel.”
In her subsequent communications with
government officials, Feldhay said she was attacked as “an enemy of
the state.”
“I am amazed that the Council of National
Security has found nothing more important in terms of Israeli
security than myself,” she said. “It fits other types of regimes
than democracy, a regime (where) there is no distinction between
opposition to the government and enemies of the state.”
Opposition figures have accused Netanyahu
and his political allies of trying to stifle dissent and pluralism
through a string of bills brought before parliament.
One of the measures, assailed by Israel’s
attorney general and put on hold, would sharply restrict funding for
dovish groups.
Others, passed into law, require
non-Jewish new citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to a “Jewish and
democratic state.” They also deny state funding to groups that mourn
what Palestinians call “the catastrophe” of Israel’s 1948 creation
and punish Israelis who advocate boycotting Jewish settlements.
The government rejects claims that dissent
is being quieted, citing Israel’s raucous press and independent
courts.
Critics counter that the government has
tried to muzzle those institutions as well, saying proposed
legislation would undermine the independence of the Supreme Court,
the sole check on the Israeli legislature.
Journalists have warned of an anti-media
blitz through political appointments to the country’s public
broadcasting system, sidelining prominent critics and an amended
libel law that could put a chill on investigative reports.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
========================================
Articles appearing on IsraCampus.Org.il are those of the writer and
do not necessarily represent the opinion of IsraCampus.Org.il
|