Thursday, July 05, 2007
Haifa University's Ties with HAMAS
From Israel's Largest Daily
'Hamas link at Haifa U'
Fund run by Islamic Movement student group linked to Hamas, says terror
expert
Yaaokv Lappin
Standing in the midday Israeli sun on Wednesday, Jewish and Arab students
at the University of Haifa argued over a recent article which appeared in
Yedioth Haifa, headlined "Islam is spreading its influence at the
university."
"Jewish students and other elements at (Haifa) University are protesting
the rising Islamification on campus. They say Islamist rhetoric can be
found across the institution," Yedioth Haifa reported last Friday.
"All we want is a little bit of tolerance. We have no problem with
students who enter the campus to participate in its life, but it is
extreme to come with T-shirts of Azmi Bishara (the exiled Arab-Israeli
Knesset member accused of being a Hizbullah agent).
"There was also a diary handed out by the Islamic Movement here with
pictures of Bin Laden, the burning Trade Towers, and Hassan Nasrallah,"
Sa'ar Ziv, the student's union spokesperson, told Ynetnews.
He was heckled by activists from the left-wing Hadash party, who described
his comments as "racist" and "an attempt to silence voices."
Haifa U's Islamic movement
Journal of hatred / Eitan Glickman
Representatives of Islamic movement's northern faction distribute journal
to Arab students at Haifa University honoring 'great leaders of Arab
nation' Nasrallah, bin Laden
Full Story
Away from the ruckus though, a few floors up in a central campus building,
the Islamic Movement's stand was quietly staffed by a few Arab students,
most of them bearded, with green shirts. They did not agree to be
photographed, but showed a permit from the university's deacon allowing
them to spread materials on campus.
The students denied glorifying the 9/11 attacks or Bin Laden. "Hitler was
important too," said one activist. "But mentioning him doesn't mean you
support him," he added.
The group's chairman, Mouad Hefeb, has recently become head of the entire
Arab Student Committee at the university. Speaking to Ynetnews, Hefeb said
the Islamic Movement on campus limits its activities to operating a small
fund, known as IKRA.
"It's a limited fund to aid Muslim students," Hefeb said. "I pay towards
it from my own pocket, NIS 50 a week," he added.
But IKRA also happens to be the name of Hamas' civilian infrastructure
fund, designed to provide a cover for terror activity, according to the
Israeli security website, Intelligence. Could the two IKRAs be linked?
"Ikra is the first word in the Koran," said Hefeb, when asked whether the
fund was linked to Hamas. "It's a call to learn Islam from Allah to
Muhammad. It's a common term," he said.
But that explanation was dismissed by Colonel (Res.) Jonathan Fighel, a
senior researcher for the Institute of Counter-Terrorism, at the
Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
"Ikra isn't the first word in the Koran. The first words are: Bismillah al
raham al rahim (In the name of Allah the compassionate the merciful). That
explanation is nonsense, and it is an attempt to deceive," Fighel said.
"IKRA is linked to Hamas and to radical forces among Arab-Israelis, and
the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel," he said, adding
that the fund is part of a Da'wa effort (missionizing and spreading
radical Islam).
Fighel outlined a number of contexts in which IKRA operated, each one
linked to Hamas, Saudi Arabia, or even al-Qaeda. "IKRA is the name of a
Saudi charity, part of the International Islamic Relief Organization
(IIRO)," Fighel explained. "Some of this organization's branches around
the world have been suspected of aiding al-Qaeda, and have been shut
down," he added.
"In February 2004, the IDF searched the offices of an Islamic charity in
Hebron, positively identified as being a Hamas fund. Among the documents
recovered was a request for help from IKRA," Fighel added.
"In August 2005, Israeli police arrested Ya'coub Abu Asab. During a Shin
Bet interrogation, Abu Asab admitted to raising hundreds of thousands of
dollars for Hamas in Saudi Arabia, channeling the money though two funds,
one of those being IKRA," Fighel continued.
"It's totally clear we are talking about a charity which has a mission. It
is backed by a Saudi radical madrassah and is linked to Hamas," Fighel
said.
Asked whether the presence of such a fund in an Israeli university
represented a security threat, Fighel replied: "I can't say for sure. What
I can say is that these type of activities create a terror-supporting
atmosphere, and this has to raise questions among Israeli-Arabs."
He added that the reason police have not yet shut down the fund could be
because "not enough judicial material had been gathered to close it."
"We are an Islamic movement that provides funds and scholarships,"
insisted Hefeb. "Our budget is decided according to our capabilities, and
we don't have a lot of money," he said.
Journal of hatred
Representatives of Islamic movement's northern faction distribute journal
to Arab students at Haifa University honoring 'great leaders of Arab
nation' Nasrallah, bin Laden
Eitan Glickman
A student journal recently distributed among Arab students in Haifa
University displays picture of Osama bin Laden, former Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan
Nasrallah and Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, with attached pages
describing their terror activities and details of their lives.
The journal, distributed by student representatives of the Islamic
movement's northern faction in the university's Mount Carmel campus, is
causing a storm of fury among many students and professors at the
university.
"It is unacceptable," said David, a student. He raged against the
"first-rate incitement material" that included memorial dates such as
September 11, the date of the kidnapping of Israel Defense Forces soldiers
on the northern border, Nasrallah's birthday, and more.
Yedioth Aharonoth discovered that the journal was funded by a branch of
the Islamic movement located in the Arab town of Umm al-Fahem.
Two residents of the town distributing the journals said: "There's no
provocation. We mention Nasrallah and other great leaders of the Arab
people. If someone doesn't like it, it's his problem."
The person responsible for distribution of the journals on campus was
Islamic movement member and Haifa University student Mouad Hatib.
"I don't understand the fuss," he said. "It's a journal for Arab students
at the university. The student body of the Islamic movement stands behind
the distribution of these journals."
"It's important for us to note important dates for the Arab nation.
Nasrallah and Arafat are both leaders of the Arab people. We mention
Nasrallah and the date of the kidnapping of the two soldiers and the
killing of eight others as a brave operation that led to the Lebanon war,"
he explained.
"We mention Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount, which started the
intifada. We mention Sept. 11th and al-Qaeda. These things, and leaders
like our leader Marwan Barghouti who is imprisoned in one of your jails,
and the date of Arafat's death are very important."
"It's important for the Arab public to remember its leaders, the people
who are paving the way for its independence, so why can't we mention bin
Laden or Nasrallah?" he asked.
Students: This is incitement
Many angry students appealed to the student union to prevent the
distribution of the journals.
"We don't understand why they need to distribute journals honoring
murderous leaders with blood on their hands, with pictures of despicable
murderers and terror attacks that cost the lives of innocents," they
stated.
"We're in shock. This is incitement," they added.
The student union responded that "we are shocked and appalled by the fact
that journals were distributed on campus with such pictures of terrorists
who publicly called for the annihilation of the State of Israel."
The university administration said that the journals don't contain
problematic information. When it was brought to the dean's attention that
it contained lauding depictions of terror leaders such as Nasrallah and of
Sept. 11, the statement was not renewed.
"We've learned our lesson and will pay full attention in the future to
pictures within the material approved for university distribution," a
statement said.
Why is Hamas at Haifa University? Maybe because of faculty members like
this?
Yuval Yonay: Racism at U of Haifa
Message published by Yuval Yonay, a lecturer in sociology at the
University of Haifa and expert in "queer studies". The following
semi-literate statement is his response to two articles in the local
Hebrew newspaper about anti-Israel radicalism among Arab students at the
University of Haifa:
From: Yuval Yonay
To: (various lists)
June 30, 07
Subject: Racism at U of Haifa
Dear friends and colleagues,
Attached is a disturbing story from yesterday (sic) local newspaper. It
might serve a model in fascist classes how to use use (sic) half truths,
straight lies, fears and demagogy (sic) to foster polarization and hatred.
Arab
students (who, for the authors, are all muslims (sic), as all Hadah (sic)
supporters are) dare to be visible; they are threatening because they put
Che Gavara (sic) on their
shirts; they are politically active -- what a cynical exploit (sic) of
democracy. They can demonstrate everywhere and whenever they want (in
reality, they can demonstrate for 2 hours every week, on Mondays and
Wednesday, 11:45-12:15 and 13:45-14:15). It is also their fault that there
are no dukhanim of Jewish organization. In short, you don't have to learn
fascism to talk like Gobbles (sic).
I hope our spokeperson (sic) do (sic) something about it.
Yuval
Want to help? Write to the heads of the University of Haifa:
University of Haifa:
President:
https://marvel.haifa.ac.il/pls/Students/on_p_view_lec_heb.main?p_lec_id=802
Rector: Prof. Yossi Ben-Artsi , yossib@univ.haifa.ac.il
Other Officers:
http://www.haifa.ac.il/local.information.university_officers.htm
Friends Associations: http://multimedia.haifa.ac.il/friends/index.html
Public Affairs Officer:
Yael Metser, Vice President, Public Relations and Resource
Development.
