Canada: University replaces lecturer accused of Paris temple bombing
Ottawa university hires Hassan Diab, suspected of involvement in deadly 1980 synagogue bombing that let four people dead, to lecture in sociology course. Pressure from Jewish B'nai Brith organization causes college to take back appointment
A Jewish group was enraged at Carleton University's decision to hire Hassan Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian currently under an extradition process to France for his alleged involvement in a terror attack on a Paris synagogue in 1980 that left four people dead, for a part-time teaching job this summer.
Diab, 55, a Canadian citizen of Palestinian origin, was arrested last year on suspicion of placing a bomb on a bicycle just a few meters away from a Copernic Street synagogue in Paris. The blast killed three French citizens and an Israeli woman. He has maintained his innocence.
The Ottawa university said it hired Diab to teach through mid-August due a sudden vacancy in a sociology course.
Scene of the 1980 Paris synagogue attack (Archive photo: AFP)
B'nai Brith Canada was outraged by the appointment, and issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was “deeply disturbed” that Mr. Diab was teaching “impressionable students” at Carleton.
“Canadians should be extremely concerned that an alleged terrorist, accused of committing ... heinous acts, will be teaching our youth at a leading Canadian university,” said Frank Dimant, B'nai Brith Canada's executive vice-president.
“This man, who is wanted in France and currently out on bail while the investigation continues, is accused of murdering four people in cold blood just because they were Jewish and decided to worship in a synagogue.
“We find it deplorable that university officials believe that there is nothing wrong with employing Diab. The safety and security of the community as a whole, and of the Carleton University campus in particular, are of great concern to us”.
The university in a statement, said it had replaced Diab with another professor, and would make no further comment on the issue.
“A full-time faculty member, with direct experience teaching introductory sociology, will immediately replace the current instructor, Hassan Diab,” the statement said.
The university said the action was being taken “in the interest of providing its students with a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning.” Diab had previously taught a similar course at the university.
The suspect is slated to face a hearing in January, where it will be decided whether he should be extradited to France to face the charges against him.
Diab is currently under house arrest and is not allowed to leave unless accompanied by one of five individuals who posted a combined $250,000 in bail bonds.
The bail conditions allow Mr. Diab to attend the university without being accompanied by one of his sureties.
