Ben Basson, student at the College of Management in Rishon Letzion and brother of Staff Sergeant Gal Basson, who was killed in Operation Protective Edge, will demonstrate today at a lecture by the Breaking the Silence organization at his college.
Breaking the Silence purports to tell stories of atrocities committed by IDF soldiers, intent on maligning the IDF internationally, although there is no evidence that any of the stories are true.
Basson and other students invited the My Truth organization, which works to present a fair and balanced picture of the IDF, to the college to lecture outside the classroom where Breaking the Silence is scheduled to appear.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Basson says that the college made it a point of honor to keep politics outside of school hours. "The College of Management is really excellent and on a very high level, but it makes sure that there are no political events at the college. There are no student cells because it's the college's attitude to prevent politics there. But in this act of inviting Breaking the Silence the college hurts us and me personally as a bereaved brother. If we were to bring a second organization to debate them, then that would be acceptable, but that's not what's happening," he said. "As a protest we invited the My Truth organization to speak outside the classroom, and we'll also demonstrate outside."
Photo: Ben Basson and his late brother.
He says that an organization that slanders the State of Israel should not enter academics. "Breaking the Silence receives funding from foreign entities and from BDS organizations. They slander IDF soldiers around the world and slander the State of Israel; why force students to listen to them? As a bereaved brother, I feel more hurt by this issue because people around the world are being incited against Israel because of Breaking the Silence testimonies. My little brother was killed defending the citizens of Israel in Protective Edge and he is not a war criminal."
Right-wing activist Shai Glick, Executive Director of the B'Tzalmo association for balance in human rights, appealed to the Education Minister and Chairman of the Council for Higher Education to prevent introduction of extremist left-wing organizations into the higher education system. Breaking the Silence is banned from high schools by the ministry.
The College of Management said in response that it "attaches great importance to the existence of open, diverse, free, and fearless academic discussion of communication tactics for social change, pros and cons. In addition to a discussion with a Breaking the Silence representative, there will be a discussion with the representative of the organization My Truth with the students being allowed to choose between the alternatives."