Masked students stormed a lecture by Professor Michael Ben-Gad at City University of London on Wednesday and threatened to behead him, according to the professor and British media reports.
The students arrived with their faces covered by keffiyehs, head coverings or medical masks. Ben-Gad, who describes himself as “an unapologetic Israeli patriot,” has refused to stop teaching at the university. He said he has repeatedly faced harassment from pro-Palestinian students but declared, “No one is going to intimidate me.”
Masked students threaten 'to behead' Israeli professor during lecture at London university
Ben-Gad, a professor of economics, was branded a “terrorist” by the students, who organized a campaign calling for his dismissal because he served in the IDF from 1982 to 1985.
In an interview with Sky News, Ben-Gad said that during one of his lectures, “masked activists burst in, came right up to my face and threatened me.” He said, “I can update on the situation as of about an hour ago. I finished my lecture and it was invaded by protesters who came right up to my face and called me a war criminal and a Nazi. They refused to leave, they were masked. One of them made a threat about having my head chopped off.”
Footage from the incident shows one protester shouting at him, “You have blood on your hands.” The Daily Mail reported that the intrusion took place despite efforts to increase security after flyers with his picture and the label “terrorist” were distributed around the campus.
He said his “only crime” was “being a Jew who has lived in the Middle East.”
“My main concern is for people who are far more vulnerable than I am and I mean particularly Jewish students who have been targeted all over the country,” Ben-Gad said. “There is much more going on as far as I’m concerned than what is being reported. I feel like if I give in to these people... the university has been fantastic, they have been supportive of me from the very start. There was an offer of paid leave, I could sit at home and work on my research. It was tempting but under the circumstances, I am carrying on with my duties. The students should expect nothing less from me.”
The protesters demanded an apology and urged the university “to consider such fundamental matters when hiring in the future.” They added, “Shame on City for allowing a terrorist to be near and teach Arab and Muslim students.”
“If the objective of the demonstration was to frighten or intimidate me, frankly they will have to try a lot harder than printing up a flyer, launching an Instagram campaign or a small demonstration,” Ben-Gad told the Daily Mail. “I am a classical liberal. Students have a right to express their opinions even if personally, I find those views abhorrent. That even includes the production of inflammatory pamphlets about me. However, they do not have a right to disrupt, harass, threaten or physically intimidate, and today they crossed a very bright red line.”
Ben-Gad, who has worked at City University of London since 2008 and served as head of the economics department from 2010 to 2013, said, “I have received plenty of support from dear colleagues of all faiths and backgrounds. They picked the wrong professor at the wrong university.”
A petition circulated by the same group of students stated that they “will not rest as long as this terrorist, complicit in war crimes and the murder of our brothers and sisters in Lebanon and Palestine, walks freely in our institution.”
Hundreds of academics have since come to Ben-Gad’s defense online, denouncing what they described as “a small, if very vocal, group.”
In a statement signed by professors and lecturers from various institutions, including Oxford University, the signatories wrote: “We are deeply concerned about a targeted harassment campaign against Ben-Gad. Regardless of diverse views on the Gaza war and the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we deplore any campaign that seeks to intimidate and drive out lecturers because they are Israeli, Jewish, or members of any other group.”
They added, “Attacks of this kind are intimidating, particularly to Jewish students, and set a precedent under which others could be targeted in future. We wish to make clear to what appears to be a small, if very vocal, group that their mobbing tactics will not succeed. We stand together in support of Professor Ben-Gad and his personal and intellectual freedom as an academic.”
A university spokesperson said City University of London “fully supports and upholds freedom of expression within the law and is willing to engage in lawful discussion and debate across the full range of topics. However, unlawful and repugnant attempts to obstruct and interfere with our academic operations are another thing entirely, and the university will not tolerate the harassment of its staff and students.”
“We reject the unlawful actions of this small group of individuals that is neither affiliated with the university nor its students’ union,” the spokesperson added. “We will continue to support and protect our staff and students, including Michael, who has the full support of the university and its senior management team.”