In preparation for the return to campus, we sent a letter to the Technion management regarding the handling of complaints against students.
A number of cases in which Palestinian students were accused of publishing expressions of incitement and support for terrorism on social networks, resulted in suspension, complaints to the police and detention for extended periods. Throughout the period, social networks were also flooded with publications and shares, by Jewish students at the Technion, specifically calling for the murder of Palestinians, Nakba 2, deportation of residents, erasure of cities, and more. As far as we know, these cases were not treated in a similar manner and with the same degree of severity.
A reality in which the persecution of students is directed only towards one side and dictates the way the phenomenon is handled,
is unbearable. Unfortunately, this type of selective treatment has serious consequences for the sense of security and belonging of the Palestinian students at the Technion, and will have a great impact on the return to campus, which is getting closer. At a time like this, of intense tensions between different groups on campus, it is important to act to reduce conflicts in the academic space and not to encourage the persecution of students, but to create a safe, inclusive, stable and supportive environment as much as possible, for all who come and go through the gates of the academic institution. In light of AST's statements, in a letter dated 7/12/23, according to which the student organization intends to continue to persecute Arab students at the Technion in various ways, it is of great importance that the Technion management clearly and emphatically denounces persecution of any kind.
It is important for us to emphasize that we do not seek to increase the supervision and persecution on campus, towards any of the students, but to insist on the importance of a clear and explicit reference to any expression of incitement, regardless of its origin and towards whom it is directed, for the sake of ensuring the safety and sense of belonging of every student The Technion.
