The An-Najah National University in Nablus, is funding a special academic program that gives convicted Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails the opportunity to study "human rights" and apparently this is done with UNESCO's blessing and organizational assistance, although without UNESCO funds.
In August 2018, An-Najah published on its official website that a ceremony had taken place to grant certificates to 61 "star" prisoners serving time in Nafha prison in Israel, who passed a course on international law and human rights.
The ceremony was organized by the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy research center within An Najah University, together with the Fatah movement and the Palestinian Authority Prisoners Affairs Minister Qadri Abu Bakir.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
However, it appears that no actual lessons took place and that UNESCO was willing to partake in the program regardless.
One of the "star" students of the program, whose graduation certificate was published by the university, is Wael Hijazi Abu Shahadem, who according to the certificate completed the "15-hour course in Nafha prison." And why is this human rights "star" in prison? In 2002 he helped plan the suicide bombing at Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem, in which six people were murdered. He is serving no less than six life sentences for his crimes.
Another graduate of the course is a member of Shahadem's cell, Muataz Himouni of Hebron, who was convicted for his role in helping plan that attack. Beyond the human rights certification he received, throughout his incarceration, Himouni has reportedly graduated high school, completed an Arabic calligraphy course, a drawing course, and has penned three literary works.
But the absurdity doesn't end there: The teachers of the "course," according to the graduation certificate, are six incarcerated arch-terrorists, among them Yasser Abu Bakr, who was behind the 2002 terrorist attack in Netanya in which one civilian and a nine-month-old baby were murdered. He was sentenced in 2004 to 115 years behind bars.
Senior PA officials, meanwhile, spoke at the graduation ceremony. The program was launched in 1992 and includes over 700 institutions in 116 countries.
According to Jewish Voice correspondent Elhanan Gruner, who discovered the terrorist's graduation certificate, "the authorities in Israel and most of the media are ignoring the situation, and instead of employing a heavy hand against terrorists and responding in the international arena, we see how terrorists who murdered Jews are celebrating in the prisons."
Anne Herzberg, the legal adviser of NGO Monitor and the organization's representative in the UN, said: "There is nothing more absurd than terrorists who murdered Israeli civilians and never expressed remorse, receiving a 'human rights' certificate with the UN's official stamp of approval."
The Israel Prisons Service said in response that "UNESCO representatives don't enter the prisons, and the ISS doesn't allow security prisoners to take academic courses. The efforts by security prisoners and foreign elements who want to harm the Israeli public to create 'fake news' never cease."
A statement by the agency said, "UNESCO does not fund UNESCO Chairs. It is the responsibility of the university hosting a UNESCO Chair to provide all the resources required – human, financial etc. – for the UNESCO Chair to carry out its work. According to our database, the Chair holder of the UNESCO Chair at An-Najah National University is not Dr. Jony Aasi."
Moreover, the statement continued, "The diploma/certificate-awarding training is not a UNESCO program and we have no role or contribution to it. Rather it is training provided by the university with the support of the UNESCO Chair. Chairs can contribute to such training but awards, diplomas, and certificates can be issued only by the university, not UNESCO."
UNESCO's name, it said, "Is associated with the university – the UNESCO Chair is the result of a partnership between UNESCO and the university. The Chair holder is the expert leading the action of the UNESCO Chair. He is nominated by the university and UNESCO must be consulted before the person can use the title as Chair holder."
