Since October 7, 2023, Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, has provided legal representation to dozens of Israeli students accused of supporting terrorism, most through social media posts made on the day of the massacre or shortly afterward. Critics argue that Adalah operates multiple initiatives that issue biased statements, blurring Hamas' sole responsibility for initiating the war while applying double standards regarding Israel's right to self-defense.

Evidence suggests Adalah's legal strategy has been effective – in early 2025, Israel Hayom reported that while more than 180 complaints were filed with university disciplinary committees for suspected incitement and terrorism support since the war began, most cases were dismissed. These students allegedly violated Israeli laws prohibiting support for terrorist activities, despite educational institutions' stated policies requiring investigation and prosecution of students suspected of such violations.

While providing legal counsel to students accused of supporting terrorism, Adalah simultaneously took action against Israeli officials. In April 2024, the organization sent a letter to the State Attorney, Attorney General, Police Commissioner, and Minister of Justice demanding "an immediate investigation of possible cases of incitement to genocide by various public figures since the beginning of the war on October 7." Adalah's Legal Director Suhad Bishara claimed, "the rhetoric supported by public officials, as well as by the general public, reflects a long history of dehumanization of hatred and incitement against Palestinians." According to security assessments, no connection exists between statements made by senior Israeli officials and actual operations in Gaza.

On November 2, 2023, Adalah called for an immediate investigation into a dormitory disturbance at Netanya College, claiming Jewish rioters attempted to harm Arab students. However, local residents had reportedly endured years of hostility from Arab students. That particular Saturday, Arab students allegedly played Arabic music at high volume near a synagogue and threw eggs at worshippers, triggering a response from Jewish neighborhood residents.

These incidents represent just a fraction of Adalah's controversial activities, which critics say have worked against Israeli interests for years through activism, biased reporting, and engagement with international organizations. Following Oct. 7, many observers believe Adalah intensified its distribution of narratives that mischaracterize Israel's actions.

Just four days after the Oct. 7 attacks, Adalah declared, "The extreme and racist Israeli government is using the attacks by Palestinian gunmen as a pretext for carrying out illegal attacks and war crimes leading toward ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip... The Israeli military also attacks and destroys infrastructure, including water and sewage systems, cuts off electricity and humanitarian supplies, and deliberately targets medical facilities, staff, and journalists."

Security analysis indicates that more than half of Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza during Operation Iron Swords had connections to terrorist organizations. Regarding hospitals, evidence from October 2023 revealed Hamas using hospital infrastructure to conceal weapons, hide hostages, and house command centers and tunnel networks. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza admitted that he and other staff members served as Hamas military operatives. Under international law, hospitals lose protected status when used for military purposes.

Adalah's claims of "ethnic cleansing" disregard standard wartime civilian movement patterns. From Oct. 7 until the IDF's ground entry into Gaza on October 26, Israeli forces requested Gaza residents evacuate through leaflets and phone calls, and opened humanitarian corridors – which Hamas later blocked, preventing civilian evacuations. Comparative analysis shows other global conflicts have produced substantially larger refugee movements, both in absolute numbers and percentages of affected populations. Additionally, no Israeli civilian settlements have been established in Gaza, undermining claims of ethnic cleansing.

On October 17, 2023, following Israel's implementation of new firearms regulations after the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, Adalah issued a statement claiming that "the strategy of arming civilians is borrowed from Israeli settlers in the West Bank, designed to achieve control through terror. The Israeli government is exploiting the anger and fear of Israelis to strengthen its part of apartheid within the war system in policing."

Security data shows that West Bank attacks doubled in 2023 compared to previous years. Given this increased threat and the widespread sense of vulnerability following Oct. 7, security experts consider it unfounded to characterize civilian defensive measures as "control through terror." Research conducted over three years by Professor Shlomo Shapira from Bar-Ilan University's Political Science Department found that armed Israeli civilians helped prevent attacks in 70% of incidents. Israel maintains strict regulations governing civilian firearm ownership, with detailed protocols for storage, possession, and use specifically designed to prevent harm to innocent people while enabling self-defense.

Security analysts suggest Adalah might more productively address illegal weapons in Arab communities, which account for over 90% of shooting offenses despite Arabs constituting approximately one-fifth of Israel's population. In 2024, the Shin Bet security service uncovered 20 terrorist cells among Arab Israeli citizens planning attacks, including five plotting bombings or car bombings.

Regarding apartheid accusations, legal experts note that before and after Oct. 7, Israel's Arab citizens maintained full electoral rights, with Israeli Arabs holding positions in the judiciary, economy, and medical fields – undermining claims of systematic discrimination.

Security officials emphasize that restrictions on Palestinian movement in Judea and Samaria stem from security imperatives rather than ideological preferences. Operation Iron Wall, launched January 21, targeted terrorist infrastructure in northern Samaria, where Hamas and Islamic Jihad – organizations designated as terrorist groups by the US, Canada, the European Union, and other nations – had established extensive operations. After Palestinian security forces failed to neutralize terrorist cells in Jenin in December 2024, the IDF intervened directly in what military planners described as a critical security threat.

According to Shin Bet data for 2024, Israeli security forces thwarted 1,040 significant attacks, including 689 shootings, 326 bombings, 13 stabbings, 9 vehicular rammings, 2 suicide attacks, and 1 kidnapping.

Critics characterize Adalah's claims about "Jewish supremacy" as echoing antisemitic tropes, noting the term originated with neo-Nazi groups before being adopted by extreme left organizations and the BDS movement. Constitutional scholars point out that many liberal European democracies legally define their national languages, flags, and anthems in their constitutions.

On October 26, 2023, Adalah joined other human rights organizations in petitioning Israel's High Court of Justice against tightened conditions for security prisoners following the intake of Hamas terrorists arrested during the October 7 attacks and hundreds of Hamas operatives detained in the West Bank. Critics note that Adalah has remained silent regarding the humanitarian conditions and torture experienced by Israeli hostages – primarily civilians – held by Hamas. Unlike the Red Cross, which operated freely in Israeli security prisons before the war, international organizations have been unable to evaluate the condition of Israeli captives with mental health issues like Avera Mengistu and Hisham Shaaban al-Sayed, who endured nearly a decade in Hamas captivity.

In December 2023, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), representing organizations including Adalah and B'Tselem, published a resolution accusing Israel of "the ongoing crime of genocide and other offenses in Gaza and against the Palestinian people." Military analysts consider this claim unsupported by evidence, as Israel has demonstrated no intent to target civilians. The legal definition of "genocide" under the 1948 UN Convention requires "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group."

UN data from May 2024 indicated one-third of Gaza casualties were women and children. Statistical analysis by University of Pennsylvania researchers challenged claims that most casualties were civilians, finding the ratio between combatant and civilian casualties approximated 1:1. British General Richard Kemp noted the UN considers a 1:3 ratio of combatant to civilian casualties acceptable, while actual urban warfare typically produces a 1:9 ratio.

Humanitarian data contradicts genocide allegations, with no evidence of deliberate starvation in Gaza. Since the war began, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories has facilitated more than one million tons of aid entering Gaza via 57,545 trucks. From January to July 2024, the average food consumption in Gaza reached approximately 3,004 calories per person daily – compared to 3,540 in Europe and North America and 2,600 in African nations. Critics note that Adalah avoids holding Hamas accountable for systematically diverting humanitarian aid from Gaza residents. Infrastructure efforts include the November 14 reconnection of Deir al-Balah's desalination plant to Israel's electrical grid, enabling 24-hour operation and production of 20,000 cubic meters of water daily. Between January and February 2025, humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza doubled following the temporary ceasefire.

International legal experts note that blockades do not inherently violate international law when implemented to prevent weapons transfers to terrorist organizations, provided they are not intended to starve civilian populations. Security assessments indicate that Gaza's blockade functions primarily as a defense mechanism against weapons smuggling.

Current intelligence suggests Hamas maintains significant operational capacity despite Israel's military campaign. After October 7, Israeli forces eliminated numerous Hamas leaders and approximately 20,000 operatives, yet Hamas continues administering extrajudicial punishments to intimidate the population. Security assessments for 2025 indicate 20,000-23,000 active terrorists remain in Gaza, with recruitment outpacing neutralization efforts. Evidence from hostage situations and street-level documentation confirms that Hamas maintains territorial control. Security officials report terrorists increasingly operating from humanitarian zones – actions considered war crimes under international law.

In January 2025, Israel's High Court rejected Adalah's request to delay the implementation of legislation restricting UNRWA operations. Adalah and Gisha claimed these laws violate basic human rights and Israel's international obligations. Critics counter that UNRWA has demonstrated systemic problems in its relationship with terrorist organizations.

A November 2024 report revealed that over 10% of UNRWA's senior educational staff in Gaza consisted of Hamas or Islamic Jihad members. UNRWA's per-refugee investment exceeds that provided to other global refugees by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees by 400-500%. Despite concerning findings regarding terrorism connections, the UN General Assembly approved a $5.5 million UNRWA budget increase in late 2024. That same month, UN Watch published evidence that UNRWA – which employs 30,000 staff managing a $1.5 billion annual budget – maintained covert cooperation with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations, with international UNRWA employees regularly meeting terrorist representatives in Gaza and Lebanon.

Educational researchers have documented problematic content in UNRWA schools. Fifth-grade students at Gaza's al-Zaytoun School studied materials praising Dalal Mughrabi, who orchestrated the 1978 Coastal Road attack, killing 35 Israelis. Test materials bearing the UNRWA logo stated, "liberating the Al-Aqsa Mosque and sacrificing for it is a duty for all Muslims." Al-Maghazi School materials glorified violence, including describing an Israeli bus attack as a "barbecue party." Ahmed Abd al-Aziz School displayed maps depicting all of Israel as Palestine. West Bank UNRWA schools teach tenth-graders that "jihad for the liberation of Palestine is a personal duty of every Muslim," use intifada martyrdom figures in fourth-grade arithmetic exercises, and teach physics through stone-throwing examples. In March 2024, the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education presented UN Secretary-General Catherine Colonna with a 245-page compilation documenting antisemitism and incitement in Palestinian education.

International human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have cited Adalah as a reliable source for characterizing Israel as an apartheid state, though critics note these reports typically omit security context. Legal scholars point out that many Western democracies maintain similar security-based restrictions and anti-incitement laws. Germany, for example, criminalizes public incitement, denial or support of Nazism, and strengthened anti-incitement legislation covering social media in 2020.

In early 2025, Adalah represented the family of Walid Daka in their High Court petition to recover his remains after he died in an Israeli prison in April 2024. Daka, a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine operative, participated in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of IDF soldier Moshe Tamam. Critics argue that Adalah's willingness to represent Daka's family demonstrates that the organization sides not only with students accused of supporting terrorism but with convicted terrorists themselves.

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In early 2025, Israel Hayom reported that over 180 complaints were filed with disciplinary committees across various universities on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism by students since the start of the war. However, most of these cases were shut. It's important to note that these same Israeli universities where such incidents occurred had already reached out twice to their global counterparts in early November 2023, expressing "concern about the discourse taking place on campuses following Hamas' violent attack." In their letter, the heads of the Committee of University Presidents wrote that "various campuses around the world have become fertile ground for antisemitic and anti-Israel discourse." They appealed to their colleagues, urging them to immediately condemn any support for Hamas on campus grounds. The letter added: "We find ourselves at war on two fronts: one against Hamas and its heinous acts, and the other in the arena of international public opinion. In this arena, Israel is portrayed as an oppressive force despite its right to self-defense. Consequently, a false symmetry has been created between the actions of a murderous terrorist organization and those of a sovereign state committed to protecting its citizens. The creation of this false symmetry betrays every intellectual and moral value and is unjustifiable."

In April 2024, the Committee of University Presidents issued another letter of concern in response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protest encampments established at Columbia University, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, an end to US military aid to Israel, and the termination of the university's collaboration with Israel-related companies. In their letter, they stated, "Freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration are the lifeblood of democracy in general, and of academic life in particular, and we continue to recognize their importance, especially in these difficult times. However, freedom of expression and demonstration does not permit violent actions or threats against communities and does not include the freedom of incitement or calls for the destruction of the State of Israel."

However, just a month before this letter, professors from these same academic institutions used their titles to draft a letter to President Joe Biden calling for an arms and money embargo on Israel, claiming that genocide was taking place in Gaza. They urged Americans "to prevent this heinous crime."

While we observe conflicting messages emerging from university faculty, it's important to examine how the rhetoric has evolved in some academic institutions as time passes from the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The narrative has shifted from statements of zero tolerance for expressions of support for terrorism and the destruction of Hamas to a more cautious stance regarding freedom of expression and academic freedom in controversial statements made by students and faculty, as well as the organization of events that point an accusing finger at Israel in the war. Here are a few examples:

As early as May 2022, Professor Daniel Chamovitz, who serves as the president of the Committee of University Presidents and president of Ben-Gurion University, said in an interview, "The university shows zero tolerance for incitement against the State of Israel." However, in August 2024, when a student at the university shared a video eulogy in memory of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and despite complaints from students, the university's rector responded: "It was done inadvertently; I hope he has learned from his mistake." In an interview with Ynet about a year after the October 7 tragedy, when asked whether students could raise Palestinian flags on campus, Professor Chamovitz emphasized, "There is freedom of expression, but there is another freedom, and that is freedom from fear. And if your freedom of expression causes me to fear – we must find an agreement." However, no significant action appears to have been taken against statements that offend the vast majority of students and faculty at the university who identify themselves as Zionists. This is particularly noteworthy given that Ben-Gurion University made the important decision to become the first academic institution in Israel to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

On October 22, a letter from the rector of Tel Aviv University, Professor Mark Shtaif, stated, "The university's policy clearly and unequivocally rejects expressions of support for terrorist actions in general, and particularly in these difficult days, and deals with them with the utmost severity possible under the law and according to university regulations." However, when Dr. Anat Matar eulogized the terrorist Walid Daqqa and called him a "source of inspiration," the university's response, apart from condemnation, was, "According to Israeli law, freedom of expression also protects outrageous, painful, and insensitive statements, whether you like it or not." This was despite the angry response from students on campus who called for her dismissal. Less than a week after the October 7 massacre, I personally approached the rector of Tel Aviv University after several female students in the dormitories told me with concern about a student, Amit Cohen, who expressed support for Hamas in the October 7 massacre. The rector's response was: "Thank you for passing on the material. We are passing the information for verification and will then act with great determination within the framework of university regulations and the law. There is no room for tolerance towards statements that encourage the terrorist actions we have experienced." Apart from a clarifying conversation with student Amit Cohen, she was not suspended at all.

At Tel Aviv University, at a meeting marking 30 days since the horrific massacre by Hamas terrorists in the southern communities and Gaza border communities, Tel Aviv University President Professor Ariel Porat spoke and mentioned two verses from the Torah: The first, "Remember what Amalek did to you when you came out of Egypt." The second, "Blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget." He linked these verses to the present: "This is how Hamas should be treated, and I am convinced that this is what the State of Israel will do. The comparison of Hamas to Amalek is flattering to Hamas. Amalek did not do terrible things like the Hamas murderers did." And what has changed since then? In January 2025, the university president sent an invitation to the faculty for a conference titled "What's Happening in Gaza?" Apart from expressing concern for the soldiers and hostages, which is indeed important, he continued to write, "As time passes, it's clear we cannot ignore it. The widespread harm to uninvolved residents in Gaza, including the many children who are killed, injured, and living in unbearable conditions. This is accompanied by the concern surfacing mainly in recent months that proper rules of conduct for the fighting forces are not always maintained, rules that should characterize a moral army conducting a war in defense of Israel." With all the concern for Gaza residents, it's important to set a few things straight. From October 7 until the IDF's ground entry into Gaza on October 26, the IDF asked Gaza residents to evacuate their homes through flyers, phone calls, and opened humanitarian passages, which Hamas later blocked and harmed Gazans who tried to pass through them. Additionally, according to data published by the UN last May, it appears that a third of those killed in Gaza were women and children. According to a statistical study by an expert from the University of Pennsylvania, the claim that the majority of those killed were women and children is incorrect, and it appears that the ratio between a killed armed person and a killed civilian is around 1:1. According to British General Richard Kemp, the ratio accepted by the UN as appropriate is a key of 1:3 – three civilian deaths for every combatant. According to UN estimates, the actual situation in urban combat zones around the world is a ratio of 1:9, meaning nine civilian deaths for every combatant killed. In other words, the IDF and the State of Israel are trying their utmost to maintain the purity of arms and prevent harm to uninvolved civilians. I am sure it would be possible to find professors of history at Tel Aviv University who will show that there is no other example in history of a country providing humanitarian aid and medical services on the scale that Israel is transferring to Gaza.

The president of the Hebrew University, Professor Asher Cohen, and Tamir Sheafer, the university's rector, sent a letter on November 12, 2023, to all students and university staff, in which they demanded to define the boundaries of freedom of expression for faculty members and students at the institution: "Expressing sympathy for the terrible act of massacre destroys the foundations on which human society is based. It expresses contempt for human life and severely harms the dignity of each and every member of the university community. It also goes beyond what is permitted by law." However, about 5 months after that letter, in March 2024, Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian from the Hebrew University was interviewed on a podcast and called the citizens of the State of Israel criminals, denied the right of self-determination of the State of Israel by saying "It's time to abolish Zionism," and denied the events of rape and slaughter of infants on October 7 by Hamas. As punishment, Professor Kevorkian received only four days of suspension. In May 2024, a "protest strike against the extermination and massacre in Gaza" by students at the Hebrew University took place, which, on the one hand, called for an end to the war in Gaza, but in the same breath, also heard mass calls of "With spirit and blood we will redeem Al-Aqsa." These are calls that are actually incitement to violence as they call for a forceful takeover of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is under Israeli sovereignty.

While the University of Haifa purported to be a pioneer and decided to suspend 6 students until further notice four days after the massacre due to posts they published on social media – including support for Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel, already on January 7, 2024, it retracted its decision to suspend those students, so, in fact, they were not suspended at all due to the postponement of the fall semester in the shadow of the war. It is not surprising that in June 2024, Professor Assad Ghanem from the Department of Political Science at the University of Haifa participated in a virtual panel with Dr. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official from Gaza, on behalf of an academic organization called the "Palestine Forum". Dr. Naim represents Hamas in his many appearances in the global media and has served in key roles in the organization's leadership. If that wasn't enough, to mark the new year, antisemitic graffiti was displayed throughout the University of Haifa, including "Zionism = Nazism" and "Faculty of Genocide Studies." Grafitti was also in the university's bathroom stalls where messages like "Gaza will win" were written.

University leaders cannot afford to act with double standards, where they act against antisemitism outside Israel's borders but tolerate or ignore it in their own institutions. Such behavior must be fought directly, as it influences the next generation of leaders and endangers Israel's educational and social future. It is important that universities continue to be places that not only transmit values of freedom of expression but also mobilize all forces to fight against hatred and antisemitic injuries from any source. Academic institutions in Israel should adopt the universal definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which has already been adopted by dozens of academic institutions in North America and Europe, and also act accordingly when antisemitism raises its head in their territory.

Tom Yohay is the manager of CAMERA on Campus Israel.

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