'Don't fall for Hamas propaganda,' 150 academics to Bar-Ilan University's President
Around 150 professors and senior faculty members at Bar-Ilan University criticized a letter from university leadership to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on him to "solve the hunger problem in Gaza," Channel 12 News reported on Tuesday morning.
In a statement issued yesterday, the academics condemned the claims made in that letter, including accusations that Israel is starving Gaza's residents, which they described as a "cynical campaign." They accused the other faculty members of "falling into Hamas's propaganda trap.
"While Hamas deliberately starves the hostages to exert pressure, it is exploiting the severe humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip—a situation it itself caused and continues to cause—to run a cynical campaign blaming the State of Israel and IDF soldiers for intentional starvation," the statement read.
"We call on our colleagues and the public not to fall into Hamas's propaganda trap, which is based on information proven to be biased and partially false," it added.
"We also urge avoiding populist and irresponsible calls, which only harden Hamas's positions and reduce the chances of returning the hostages safely."
University Presidents's letter to Netanyahu
The situation began on July 28, when the presidents of five Israeli universities sent a letter to Netanyahu, calling for urgent action to resolve the "severe hunger crisis in Gaza."
The crisis is "causing immense harm to non-combatants, including children and infants," the letter reads.
In their letter, the university heads of Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, the Open University, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the Technion urged the IDF to intensify efforts to resolve the humanitarian crisis.
They emphasized the need to minimize harm to non-combatants, "regardless of the heavy responsibility of Hamas and other parties."
"Along with a growing number of the country's residents, we are shocked by the scenes coming from Gaza, particularly infants who are dying daily from hunger and illness," the letter states.
Uri Sela contributed to this report.
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