Israeli universities and security officials are confronting what they describe as an unprecedented threat after an anonymous website published explicit calls to kill dozens of senior Israeli academics and offered cash rewards for attacks.
The site, The Punishment For Justice Movement, portrays the researchers as “criminals,” “collaborators with the Israeli military” and individuals involved in “the killing of Palestinian children.” It urges violence, promises financial incentives and names supposed regional representatives. Israeli officials say no similar campaign has previously targeted scholars with this level of detail or direct incitement.
The website appears to operate from the United States or another Western country. Israeli security sources fear Iran may be behind it.
A section titled Special Targets lists dozens of prominent Israeli scientists in physics, chemistry, engineering and medicine, including individuals with known ties to Israel’s defense industries. Alongside their names are photos and personal information such as home addresses, phone numbers and ID numbers. In several cases the site displays images that appear to be Israeli passports or U.S. visas. The source of the documents is unknown. Israeli officials warn the exposure creates a concrete risk, particularly for those traveling abroad.
The list includes:
• Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and chair of the Committee of University Presidents
• Prof. Daniel Zajfman, chair of the Israel Science Foundation
• Prof. Eliezer Rabinovici, a senior Hebrew University physicist and former Israeli representative to CERN
• Prof. Eliezer (Eli) Sheriz, scientist at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center
• Prof. Erez Etzion, head of Tel Aviv University’s particle and astroparticle physics institute and Israel’s lead at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider
The site also targets Shikma Bressler, a physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and one of the leaders of protests against the government’s judicial overhaul. It offers $2,000 for placing signs outside her home, $20,000 “negotiable” for burning her home and car and $100,000 for killing her.
Beyond the 40 “special targets,” the site publishes hundreds of additional names of academics and students and claims to offer $50,000 for killing any one of them. Some entries include personal details similar to those in the main list.
The operators use VPNs, encrypted communication systems and aliases. They also list individuals identified as “regional department heads.” The Shin Bet, Mossad and the National Cyber Directorate have been alerted. Several universities have instructed senior faculty to increase security awareness, avoid publishing travel itineraries and report suspicious incidents.
“This is a severe escalation in threats against Israeli civilians,” said a source familiar with the investigation. “Even if this is a virtual organization, the explicit call for violence and the offer of financial rewards pose a real and immediate danger.”
Chamovitz, who appears on the site, said he is most concerned about “extreme rhetoric encouraging violence” and expressed confidence that Israeli and foreign security agencies will address the threat.
The Committee of University Presidents called the campaign a “dangerous and horrifying escalation” and said the site “marks academics and permits their blood” by publishing a price list for attacks. The committee said all information was transferred immediately to the Shin Bet, Israel Police and the National Cyber Directorate.
“The current reality, in which domestic incitement joins a wave of antisemitism and hostility from abroad, creates a toxic and deadly mix that could end in loss of life,” the committee said. It urged security agencies to shut down the site and called on Israel’s leadership to halt inflammatory rhetoric toward the country’s academic community “before it is too late.”