The Association for Civil Rights in Israel surprisingly expressed support for Dr. Mordechai Kedar on Wednesday evening and urges Bar Ilan University to refrain from taking steps against him following his claim that Yigal Amir was no the assassin who murdered former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
In a letter sent to the university's management, the association wrote that Dr. Kedar's remarks about the late Prime Minister Rabin's murder were stated outside the walls of the academic institution and that the lecturer did not purport to represent the university.
"We were very concerned about the University's decision to invite Dr. Mordechai Kedar to a disciplinary committee, to suspend him from representing the University at conferences abroad and preventing his participation in a conference in South Africa as a University Representative.. Dr. Mordechai Kedar is a Ph.D. and a faculty member in the Department of Arabic at the University. Yesterday he took part in a rally in Goren Square in Petah Tikva, organized by those who support the prime minister and oppose his prosecution," wrote Attorney Dan Yakir of the Association for Civil Rights.
"Dr. Kedar spoke during the demonstration and said, among other things: 'The person who murdered Rabin was a man whose initials are YR. The person behind this issue was probably a leading politician who wanted to eliminate Yitzhak Rabin because he wanted to get ditch the Oslo Accords."
In his letter to the university, Attorney Yakir argued that Kedar's decision to disseminate s "puzzling and invalid" theory outside of the university should not lead to disciplinary action. He stated that if these things were said in an academic setting, the lecturer's suitability for a teaching position should be examined, but because this is not the case, disciplinary sanctions should not be imposed on him. Even the cancellation of Kedar's participation in a conference in South Africa was not appropriate, the association argued.
"These steps constitute an improper violation of freedom of expression and academic freedom. Therefore, we would like to see to it that the disciplinary discussion to which Dr. Kedar is summoned and the suspension of his participation in overseas conferences be canceled."
Earlier, Rector of Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Miriam Faust, summoned Dr. Kedar to the school's disciplinary committee following his remarks about Rabin's assassination.
Kedar threatened to resign if he was summoned to the disciplinary committee.
"If the university invites me to a disciplinary committee - I will file a resignation letter that instant," he told Reshet Bet.