An Israeli professor who has been repeatedly targeted by pro-Palestine students on campus has revealed masked activists stormed his lecture today and allegedly threatened to chop his head off.
Michael Ben-Gad, an economics lecturer at City University in London, has been branded a ‘terrorist’ and has faced calls to be sacked because he served in the Israel Defence Forces from 1982 to 1985.
However, the defiant professor, who describes himself as an ‘unapologetic Israeli patriot’, has refused to stop teaching, saying ‘no one is going to intimidate me’.
Speaking to Sky News, Professor Ben-Gad said one of his lectures this afternoon was ‘invaded’ by masked activists, who came right up to his face and threatened him.
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.’
The storming of Professor Ben-Gad’s lecture today comes despite efforts to ramp up his security after leaflets branding him a ‘terrorist’ were scattered around campus.
He has maintained, however, that his ‘only crime’ is being a Jew who has lived in the Middle East.
Speaking to Sky News, Professor Ben-Gad said one of his lectures this afternoon was ‘invaded’ by masked activists, who came right up to his face and threatened him
Footage from last week shows protesters take over the university’s hallways chanting ‘sack him now’
‘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,’ Professor Ben-Gad continued.
‘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.’
Last week, a petition by City Action for Palestine was launched calling for Professor Ben-Gad, who teaches economics, to be fired ‘immediately’.
The group also demanded an apology and for 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 despite being an active participant in murdering their people.’
Professor Ben-Gad told the Daily Mail: ‘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.
Distributed leaflets plaster the economics professor’s face beneath the capitalised word ‘terrorist’ on a blood-stained background alongside the slogan ‘shame on City University’
One poster distributed by protesters recounted the professor’s employment history – with his ‘six years working in a genocidal society’ as a lecturer at the University of Haifa
‘I lectured this week as usual while all this was beginning and plan to do so next week as well. I am indeed as they claim an IDF veteran and I plan to act like one – these modern brown shirts are not going to send me into hiding.’
‘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.
Professor Ben-Gad has worked at City University since 2008, serving as head of department from 2010 to 2013.
One poster distributed by protesters recounted his employment history – with his ‘six years working in a genocidal society’ as a lecturer at the University of Haifa and his three years service in the Israel Defense Forces proving particular points of concern.
The group also highlighted his role working as an economist at the Bank of Israel between 1987 and 1989.
The State of Israel requires every Jewish, Druze or Circassian male citizen over the age of 18 to serve a minimum of 32 months in its armed forces – with women expected to serve for a minimum of 24 months.
Footage from last week showed protesters take over the hallways chanting ‘sack him now’ as they don keffiyehs – traditional Arab attire that has come to be associated with the Palestinian cause.
In other videos, the mask-wearing students marched through the corridors with megaphones calling for his contract to be terminated.
Professor Ben-Gad continued: ‘My only concern and the concern of the university management is that others, potentially more vulnerable than me, i.e. Jewish students are protected.
‘I have enjoyed the full support of the President, Prof Sir Anthony Finkelstein and the entire senior management team of the university. Anthony and I are both the sons of Holocaust survivors and understand completely the true nature of this campaign.
‘I should add that I have also received plenty of support from dear colleagues of all faiths and backgrounds.
‘They picked the wrong professor at the wrong university.
The group says: ‘In Palestine, Zionists expanded illegal settlements, imposed curfews, and arrested activists’
The group concludes ‘shame’ on City for: ‘Allowing a terrorist to be near & teach Arab & Muslim students, despite being an active participant in murdering their people’
‘The launch of the campaign coincided with the start of the ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
‘Clearly these hate groups need a new cause. I may have been specifically targeted because of my role in campaigning for academic freedom which seems to trigger a rather disparate variety of extremists.
‘I am an unapologetic Israeli patriot and no one is going to intimidate me.
‘At the same time, I am deeply grateful to this wonderful country for all the opportunities it has afforded me.
‘Remember these people hate Britain, for its unique tradition of civility, its freedom and its tolerance, as much as they hate Israel and Jews.’
A petition circulated by City Action for Palestine online reads: ‘The war crimes the Zionist Occupation’s army have committed are not secret, they have been broadcasted during the escalation in the Genocide in the last 2 years.
‘The IOF (a term used by some activists in place of IDF, meaning ‘Israel Occupying Forces’) has been terrorising the Palestinians and Lebanese for over 77 years now.
‘Therefore, our students will not rest as long as this terrorist, complicit in war crimes and the murder of our brothers and sisters in Lebanon and Palestine walk freely in our institution.’
The campaign against Professor Ben-Gad is said to have been launched after the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Hundreds of academics have since come to the defence of him online against ‘what appears to be a small, if very vocal, group’.
A statement signed by professors and tutors from institutions ranging from Imperial College London to the University of Oxford reads: ‘We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned by a targeted harassment campaign against Michael Ben-Gad, Professor of Economics at City St George’s, University of London.
‘Regardless of diverse views on the recent 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.
‘We are immensely grateful to hear of the strong support given by the President and Senior Leadership Team to the Professor in question, and we wish to register our equal support.
‘Academics and students have a right to go about their work at any university without facing harassment.
‘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.’
Some academics have taken to X to voice their opposition to the hounding of Professor Ben-Gad.
Professor Alice Sullivan, who teaches Sociology at UCL, said: ‘Solidarity with Michael Ben-Gad, Professor of Economics at City University.
‘Students are demanding his sacking simply because he is an Israeli Jew who has done (mandatory) military service.
‘The anti-Semitic harassment he is being subjected to is horrifying. I hesitate to amplify it, but British academics need to understand what is happening.’
Abhishek Saha, a professor of Maths at Queen Mary’s University London said: ‘This is vile, targeted harassment on the basis of national origin and religion.’
And the historian Niall Ferguson said: ‘Professor Michael Ben-Gad is being treated disgracefully. Students who behave in this repulsively intolerant fashion need to face discipline.’
A spokesman for City St George’s University said: ‘City St George’s 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.
‘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, as well as colleagues of all faiths and backgrounds.’
