Hebrew University suspends prominent Palestinian academic

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has suspended a prominent Palestinian academic, after she said that it was time to "abolish Zionism". 

In an interview on Monday with Israel's Channel 12, Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a law professor, said: "It’s time to abolish Zionism. It can’t continue, it’s criminal. Only by abolishing Zionism can we continue."

"They will use any lie. They started with babies, they continued with rape, and they will continue with a million other lies. We stopped believing them, I hope the world stops believing them," she added, in reference to Israeli allegations of crimes committed by Hamas on 7 October.  

In October, Shalhoub-Kevorkian signed a letter accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. At the time, the Hebrew University sent a formal letter to the academic suggesting that she should consider resigning. 

"As a proud Israeli, public, and Zionist institution, the Hebrew University strongly condemns Prof. Shalhoub-Kevorkian’s recent shocking and outrageous statements… To ensure a safe and conducive environment for our students on campus, the university has decided to suspend Prof. Shalhoub-Kevorkian from teaching activities, effective immediately,” the university said in a statement on Tuesday. 

Her suspension has been widely criticised online, with commentators accusing universities of cracking down on criticism of Israeli actions.