The 'Dror' student movement of the Religious Zionist Party at the Open University approached the university president, the rector and the CEO today (Wednesday), demanding the cancellation of the conference "Revenge and the War in Gaza - Historical and Political Perspectives", scheduled to take place in about a month.
According to them, the conference attacks IDF soldiers and portrays the State of Israel as acting from motives of revenge, while completely ignoring the context of the fighting against Hamas.
In a l6etter sent to the university management they wrote, "While our soldiers are risking their lives in Gaza, the Open University chose to hold a conference that attacks the actions of the IDF - and portrays Israel as a country pursuing revenge instead of a state defending its citizens from a murderous terrorist organization. This study day is entirely dedicated to criticism of the activity of IDF soldiers in the war against the terrorist organization Hamas."
The students added that the conference program includes a series of lectures presenting a one-sided narrative. Among the lectures they mentioned are: Prof. Sarah Hellman, "Between denial and revenge: between Gaza as a 'black hole' and 'we must flatten Gaza'"; Prof. Orit Rozin, "The avenger's passion, law and the death penalty for terrorists"; and Prof. Yagil Levi, "What did the discourse of revenge articulate in the Gaza war?"
"Most of the lectures in the conference program focus on a narrative according to which Israel is driven by motives of revenge, with almost no representation of positions that emphasize the war against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas," they wrote. "This conference paints Israel as a country pursuing revenge, rather than a state defending its citizens, thereby attacking the justified conduct of the war in history. We demand that the university act immediately to cancel this reprehensible study day."
"The Open University chooses to serve the narrative of the murderous terrorist organization Hamas, which it has been working to develop throughout the war, and to try to portray a distorted image as if the war stems from a 'lust for revenge', and not from a necessary and required need to defeat terror and provide security to the residents of the State of Israel. Unfortunately, the university spits in the faces of IDF soldiers, and we call on it to retract immediately."
