Palestinian universities link reading and murder, honor terrorists

Palestinian education

and role modeling at universities:

Murder and reading linked

by Al-Quds University and Birzeit University

Students continue murderer's work,

form "chain of readers" in his and other terrorists' honor

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

A terrorist who participated in killing 3 Israelis in an attack on bus 78 in Jerusalem in October last year had once organized a "chain of readers" in Jerusalem. Now, the terrorist murderer is being honored at one Palestinian university after the other with the same kind of cultural activity. Palestinian Media Watch reported that a "human chain of readers" was organized at Hebron University to honor murderer Baha Alyan. Now, Al-Quds University and Birzeit University have followed suit.

For their event, Birzeit University invited the father of murderer Baha Alyan and the family of another murderer, Muhannad Halabi, who murdered 2 in the Old City of Jerusalem last year.

When 500 participating students had formed a chain, murderer Alyan's father walked along it and "blessed the participants one by one," the report in the official PA daily said. The father justified the many stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinians, saying that "the significance of this chain is that we are a people that loves life, which does not like to stab, but is forced to do so in order to live." He added that "commemorating the Martyrs must be done by following their path of culture, and by continuing to hold cultural activities." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 21, 2016]

Earlier this month, Al-Quds University had 2,500 students participate in a "human chain of readers" named the "Glory of the Martyrs." This event was also in honor of murderer Baha Alyan with the murderer's father participating. The students all wore shirts with a picture of the murderer and "wrote letters... to the souls of Martyr Baha Alyan and the other Martyrs." [Wattan (independent Palestinian news agency), Feb. 13, 2016]

Mentioning the other universities that organized chains of readers, the official PA daily stated that "today, Birzeit [University] fulfills its role in the advancement of reading and culture."

In addition to these three Palestinian universities, which have decided to play a role in promoting terrorist murderers as heroes to young Palestinians, Fatah's student movement Shabiba has also come up with an initiative serving the same purpose. At Hebron University, Fatah students have started a "campaign to write the Martyrs' names on the streets of Hebron in order to commemorate them." The campaign's goal is to rename the streets of Hebron "until all the streets in the city are named after the Martyrs."

Muhammad Abu Sbeih, one of the initiators, referred to the "Martyrs" of the "uprising" as "loyal and most honorable of all," stating that the renaming "is the minimum that the city's residents can do for them in order to commemorate them." The campaign also plans to erect "a monument of stone... with the name of the Martyr and the date on which he died as a Martyr, and a large sign with his picture" on every street. [Al-Quds, Feb. 14, 2016]

The Hebron Education Directorate has also taken part in the glorification of terrorists from the district. A "mourning vigil" was recently held and a tree was planted at the school of a young female terrorist who stabbed an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian bystander in Hebron earlier this month. At the memorial event, the Head of the Hebron Education Directorate Sami Marwah gave a speech "in which he conveyed the condolences of [PA] Minister of Education Sabri Saidam." [Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 15, 2016, and official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. Feb. 16, 2016]

The presentation of terrorists as role models in Palestinian society is not new, and has been documented by PMW for years, most recently in a report on PA Education - A Recipe for Hate and Terror and in From Terrorists to Role Models.

The cult-like emphasis on terrorists and the idolization of them as heroes were also evident at a Fatah event in Hebron to commemorate the many "Martyrs" that have come from the district. At the Loyalty to Martyrs Rally held for relatives of terrorists, District Governorof HebronKamel Hamid glorified them in the name of PA Chairman Abbas:

"I salute you and bless you in the name of our leadership and President Mahmoud Abbas. I salute the Martyrs who watered the ground with their pure blood."

[PNN, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 4, 2016]

Similarly, Secretary of Fatah's Hebron Center branch Imad Kharwat praised the terrorists:

"The Martyrs are the giants of history, and they are greater and more honorable than all of us together. They are a symbol for us in Palestine, and are 'the honor.'"

The following are longer excerpts of the reports on the cultural activities honoring the murderer Baha Alyan and other terrorists at Palestinian universities:

Headline: "Baha Alyan - the body is no longer, but the idea lives"

"At 10:00 a.m. reading and Martyr time, more than 500 students of Birzeit University gathered at the entrance to the humanities faculty and waited for Muhammad Alyan, father of Martyr Baha Alyan (i.e., terrorist who participated in attack where 3 Israelis were murdered) the first who had the idea of a chain of readers, and the family of Martyr Muhannad Halabi (i.e., terrorist who murdered 2), who all came in order to commemorate the idea of a chain of readers...

A few minutes after 10:00 am, the students arranged themselves in a row on the long sidewalk that connects the humanities faculty and the university's cafeteria. Ninety percent of them were women, and every participant held a book. Martyr Baha Alyan's father passed in front of the chain and blessed the participants one by one. He said: 'The significance of this chain is that we are a people that loves life, which does not like to stab, but is forced to do so in order to live. Commemorating the Martyrs must be done by following their path of culture, and by continuing to hold cultural activities.' Alyan spoke of the importance of culture in the ideology of the young people of resistance, as it is the first weapon capable of reorganizing society in a proper manner, for the purpose of liberation and revival, when the resistance member knows when and how to use it...

The coordinator of the reading campaign, Muhammad Jaradat said: 'The chain [of readers] at Birzeit today [Feb. 21, 2016] is a continuation of what Martyr Baha Alyan began at Damascus Gate [in Jerusalem], and its purpose is to strengthen the culture and express solidarity with the Martyrs' families.' ...

Tens of thousands of participants surrounded the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem... in the first chain [of readers], which Martyr Baha Alyan began in March 2015. Baha died as a Martyr in December of the same year, but the idea remains: Hundreds of students at Hebron University participated in a chain of readers on Feb. 1, [2016]. Al-Quds University followed in its footsteps with an additional chain [of readers] on Feb. 13, and today Birzeit [University] fulfills its role in the advancement of reading and culture. Hundreds and thousands gathered in an unusual sight... thanks to the idea of a Martyr whose body is still being held in the occupation's refrigerators after 130 days, while his idea floats freely over the land of Palestine."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 21, 2016]

Jerusalem line 78 bus terror attack - On Oct. 13, 2015, two Palestinian terrorists, Baha Alyan (22) and Bilal Ghanem (23) boarded a bus in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood with a gun and a knife and attacked passengers, killing Israelis Haviv Haim (78) and Alon Govberg (51), and Richard Lakin (76), and wounding 3 Israelis. Alyan was shot and killed by an Israeli security guard at the scene and Ghanem, a Hamas terrorist who served time in Israeli prison in 2013-2014, was wounded.

Jerusalem Old City stabbing attack - On Oct. 3, 2015, Palestinian terrorist Muhannad Halabi, 19, from the West Bank city of El-Bireh attacked Israeli citizen Aharon Bennet, 21, and his family, who were on their way back from prayer at the Western Wall. The terrorist killed Aharon and Israeli citizen Nehemia Lavi, who came to the family's aid, and injured Aharon's wife and 2-year-old son. Following the attack, the terrorist was shot and killed by Israeli security forces. Prior to his attack, in a post to his private Facebook page, the terrorist referred to recent terror attacks as part of a "third Intifada," and said that it was a response to Israel's actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and that the Palestinian people would not "succumb to humiliation." This is a reference to the PA libel that Israel is plotting to take over and destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to the PA's portrayal of Jews praying on the Temple Mount as "an invasion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

Headline: "2,500 students participated in the 'Glory of the Martyrs' chain'"

"Today, Saturday [Feb. 13, 2016], the students of Al-Quds University formed a human chain of readers called 'Glory of the Martyrs' on the Abu Dis campus as a continuation of Martyr (Shahid) Baha Alyan's (i.e., terrorist who murdered 3) idea to form 'the longest reading chain around the walls of Jerusalem,' which he did a number of years ago in Jerusalem.

More than 2,500 male and female students participated in the chain, and it included the reading of books and letter writing by the participants, all of this in the presence of the Martyr's father, the lawyer Muhammad Alyan.

At the end of the activity, which lasted two hours, the participants wrote letters that included sentences and excerpts to the souls of Martyr Baha Alyan and the other Martyrs and their relatives, along with their names, student numbers, and the book they read during the activity.

Participants in the activity wore shirts with a picture of Martyr Baha Alyan."

[Wattan (independent Palestinian channel), Feb. 13, 2016]

Headline: "Campaign to write the Martyrs' names on the streets of Hebron in order to commemorate them"

"In order to commemorate the city's Martyrs (Shahids) who have fallen during the ongoing popular uprising, the [Fatah] Shabiba student movement and the Hebron University Student Union launched the 'Changing Hebron Street Names to Names of City's Martyrs' campaign.

The campaign began on the street of Martyr Farouq Abd Al-Qader Sidr, in the Qaizoun area, in northeast Hebron, where the Hebron University law student lived, who died as a Martyr on the 29^th of last October [2015], shot by the Israeli army near Shuhada Street in the center of the city...

The campaign will continue until all the streets in the city are named after the Martyrs.

Muhammad Abu Sbeih, one of the campaign's initiators, said that in light of the daily crimes being perpetrated by the occupation against the land and man, and its ongoing efforts to falsify the facts and history, and as the Martyrs are loyal and most honorable of all, we have launched this campaign in order to change Hebron's street names, to which the Martyrs gave their names (i.e., upon their death).

Abu Sbeih emphasized that all of the streets in the city on which Martyrs lived, will carry their names, and that is the minimum that the city's residents can do for them in order to commemorate them. Likewise, he noted that the names of some streets where martyrs lived cannot be changed because they are under the Israeli occupation's rule, but the name of the closest street to those neighborhoods, to which there is access, will be changed.

Abu Sbeih explained that the campaign has two parts - first, the students will change the street names to names of the Hebron University's Martyrs, and then they will continue to the rest of the city's Martyrs. Likewise, a monument of stone will be placed on every street, with the name of the Martyr and the date on which he died as a Martyr, and a large sign with his picture will be hung at the end of the street."

[Al-Quds, Feb. 14, 2016]

Farouq Abd Al-Qader Sidr - 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist who attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at Beit Hadassah in Hebron on Oct. 29, 2015. Soldiers saw him coming toward them with a drawn knife and shot and killed him.

Headline: "Fatah movement honors the Jerusalem Intifada's Martyrs in an impressive ceremony in the Hebron district"

"Fatah's Hebron Center branch held a central ceremony yesterday [Feb. 3, 2016] in honor of the relatives of the Martyrs (Shahids) in the Hebron district who ascended to Heaven during the popular uprising, the 'Jerusalem Intifada,' called the 'Loyalty to Martyrs Rally.' The ceremony took place in the Is'ad Al-Tufula hall, which belongs to the Hebron municipality.

The ceremony began with the recital of verses from the Quran, the reading of the [Quranic] Al-Fatiha sura for the Martyrs' souls, and standing for the Palestinian national anthem, with an impressive presence of the Martyrs' relatives. Secretary [of Fatah's Hebron Center branch] Imad Kharwat and all the members of the branch's committee received the attendees, and [Fatah] Central Committee member and Commissioner for Mobilization and OrganizationMahmoud Al-Aloul and Hebron district GovernorKamel Hamid participated in the rally...

In the welcoming speech [Fatah branch] Secretary Imad Kharwat praised the Martyrs and their relatives and said: 'The Martyrs are the giants of history, and they are greater and more honorable than all of us together.They are a symbol for us in Palestine, and are "the honor."'

In the speech for the Fatah Movement, Commissioner for Mobilization and Organization Mahmoud Al-Aloul said: 'I salute you, Martyrs' relatives and our sisters here in Hebron. Everyone here is witness to your benevolence, and at this opportunity we stand as a sign of loyalty to those who have experienced difficult trials, trusted in Allah, and gone to defend their honor with great will power. They are the ones who were witness to the occupation's crimes, and many of them were executed in cold blood, and the occupation still continues to perpetrate its crimes on our land and to wreak havoc...'

Al-Aloul noted that the Palestinian people has been taught that this land is holy, and that the symbol Yasser Arafat died as a Martyr, defending Jerusalem, and for that they acted. They are the pride of this nation, and they have brought glory to the Arab and Islamic nation...

Hebron district GovernorKamel Hamid stated in his speech: 'I salute you and bless you in the name of our leadership and President Mahmoud Abbas. I salute the Martyrs who watered the ground with their pure blood, and bless this pleasant gathering, which has brought together the most honorable people in order to renew the promise and oath to the Martyrs and our prisoners...'

He also said: 'This intifada will continue until we realize our legitimate dreams, as this is what the Martyrs have died for, and because of this there are still injured who are recovering.'

In the Hebron municipality speech Muhammad Imran Al-Qawasmeh said: 'O those who are paying a price today for defending your children, your homeland, and its entire people, we salute you.' He added: 'No aggression will undermine our stability and vigor, and our determination is firm, and no one can budge it. Palestine's chronicles are being written by thousands of sacrifices of Martyrs, prisoners, children, women, young men and women,' and he said to the Martyrs' relatives: 'You will continue to be an example for the Palestinian people.'...

At the end, the attendees, the secretary and members of the Hebron Center [Fatah] branch, branch member and head of Martyrs and prisoners' affairs Najwa Amr, and branch member and head of women's affairs Sahr Al-Ja'abari, honored the families of all the Martyrs of the popular uprising in the district, including the families of Martyrs Muhannad Halabi, Baha Alyan... and Hassan Manasrah, and the relatives of child prisoner Ahmad Manasrah."

[PNN, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 4, 2016]

Headline: "Directorate of Education in Hebron organized a mourning vigil for the student Martyr Al-Uweiwi"

"The Hebron Education Directorate held a mourning vigil in memory of the student Martyr (Shahida) Kilzar Muhammad Abd Al-Halim Al-Uweiwi, one of the students at the Widad Nasser Al-Din High School for Girls, led by the Head of the Hebron Education Directorate Sami Marwah...

After the recitation of the [Quranic] sura Al-Fatiha for the Martyr's soul and the souls of all the Martyrs, Marwah gave a speech in which he conveyed the condolences of [PA] Minister of Education [and Higher Education] Sabri Saidam to the school, the Al-Uweiwi family, and the Martyr's relatives. Likewise, he emphasized the depth of the educational and national message conveyed by the students and the entire Education Directorate staff in the shadow of the harsh political and security conditions, which demonstrates the Palestinian people's will to achieve its freedom and independence, despite all the racist attempts and acts of the Israeli occupation army and its settlers...

Marwah and the participants planted an olive tree in the school's garden to commemorate her, and in order to emphasize the right of the Palestinian people to live in dignity and independence and defend its holy Islamic sites."

[Ma'an, independent Palestinian news agency, Feb. 15, 2016,

and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. Feb. 16, 2016]

Kilzar Al-Uweiwi - 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist who stabbed an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian bystander in Hebron on Feb. 13, 2016. Al-Uweiwi was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers.