State: Probe lecturer's inciting post
Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan asks police to investigate Dr. Eyal Nir, who called 'to break rightists' necks,' on suspicion of incitement
Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan has asked the police on Thursday to investigate a Ben Gurion University professor due complaints that have been made over an inciting web post.
The complainants claimed that Dr. Eyal Nir posted a statement on his Facebook page that called for violence against right-wing activists who marched through the capital with flags on Jerusalem Day.
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"I call on the world to come help break these scoundrels' necks," the lecturer wrote. The post was accompanied by a video clip that showed some of the marchers chanting anti-Arab slogans.
Nir's Facebook post
According to a Justice Ministry statement, Nitzan said that the post warranted an investigation on suspicion of incitement to violence.
Ben Gurion University responded by saying that "Dr. Eyal Nir published the post on his Facebook page as a private citizen. The university has nothing to do with the issue, which is why the issue must be discussed in the appropriate forum."
Nir wasn't available for comment.
'Post was reasonable'
MK Ofir Akunis, who demanded the Attorney General launch an inquiry into the case, said: "Justice in Israel must apply to everyone, and this phenomenon, in which the Left's incitement to violence against the Right has gone unaddressed and ignored for years, must stop and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
In his post, Nir described the right-wing activists as "a gang of bandits that swarms our country." The status drew a flurry of criticism.
One Facebook user commented on the thread saying that a right-wing professor would be fired "even before he could hit 'send'" if he made the same comment; another commentator claimed that the post constitutes a criminal offense.
Nir said in June that he thought that his post was reasonable considering the circumstances.
"During the Jerusalem Day march a gang of a few dozen bullies walked through the city's Arab streets shouting 'death to Arabs, death to leftists, burn their villages,'" he wrote.
"I believe that the response of any reasonable, peaceful and just individual should be that they must be prevented from acting out their threats such as in terrorist activities dubbed 'price tag'. I believe my cry to stop them is reasonable, and actually the silence from society and the Israeli system in the face of this incitement to terrorism and terror itself is what should be written about in the papers."
Ilana Curiel contributed to the report
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