Following the announcement of the expected arrival of convicted terrorist Muhammad Kana'ana for a lecture at Tel Aviv University, MKs, activists, and like-minded families came out to protest and condemn the initiative, until it was prevented.
Kana'ana is a terrorist activist who was arrested in 2004 along with his brother, and was accused by the security establishment of receiving funds and training materials for the preparation of weapons, including complex charges and rockets, which he transferred to operatives of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and Hezbollah. He was convicted and served four and a half years in prison.
MK Eli Yishai of the Shas party issued a sharp response this morning, saying: "Academic freedom cannot be an excuse for encouraging terrorism. This is not a matter of left and right, but of common sense and basic thinking that should have been present and prevented the incident. This is an irresponsible and anti-Israeli action that sends a dangerous message, because being a convicted terrorist is not something that harms a person's ability to be a welcome figure in Israeli academia.".
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Other right-wing MKs joined in and expressed their position against the planned visit. MK Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home faction wrote on her Facebook page that "Mohammed Kana'ana, a terrorist who was convicted of passing information to Hezbollah and collaborating with terrorist elements in Jenin during the Second Intifada, and spent 30 months in prison, was invited to lecture at Tel Aviv University at a conference on Land Day - thus the delusional left in Israel is building another layer in the mask of self-hatred and encouragement of violence.".
Deputy Education Minister Avi Wortzman of the Jewish Home faction called on the university president to exercise his authority and cancel the lecture. He said, "A terrorist entering the gates of an Israeli and Zionist university is a sign of poverty for the university administration. Such a move constitutes a serious injury to the bereaved families and serves as a reward for the terrorists in that those who seek to harm the State of Israel and its citizens now also receive an opportunity to speak out about their wrongdoing.".
In light of the comments, and following the hundreds who came to protest today, including concerned families, the university administration canceled Muhammad Kana'ena's arrival on campus. An official statement issued by the university stated that "in light of concerns about a breach of public order, and since the request to approve Muhammad Kana'ena's explicit participation was only recently received, without giving him the opportunity to prepare, the university does not approve his participation in the event.".
At the end of the announcement, it was noted that despite the cancellation of Kanaana's arrival, "Tel Aviv University adhered to the approval it gave to hold an event on campus tomorrow to mark Land Day.".
