Calls Mount to Dismiss Ben-Gurion University Lecturer Over Anti-IDF Posts
Calls have grown to dismiss Ben-Gurion University lecturer Dr. Sebastian Ben Daniel over social media posts accusing IDF soldiers of being child killers.
Calls to dismiss Dr. Sebastian Ben Daniel, a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, intensified on Tuesday following a series of social media posts defaming IDF soldiers. Writing under the pseudonym "John Brown" on the X platform, Ben Daniel claimed that "the most dangerous child and adolescent killers in the West Bank are IDF soldiers."
This is not the first time the lecturer's online statements against IDF soldiers have sparked outrage. Although he was previously suspended by the university over similar remarks, Ben Daniel was eventually reinstated to his teaching position.
Controversial Social Media Posts
Over the past week, the lecturer published several posts defaming and inciting against IDF soldiers. Responding to statements made by Yaya Fink, a reservist officer and candidate for the "Democrats" party, Ben Daniel wrote: "20,000 children slaughtered in Gaza by IDF officers will testify that theory did not translate into practice."
In another post, he asserted: "I don't want to ruin the debate here, but it is of course true that the most dangerous child and adolescent killers in the West Bank are IDF soldiers."
Public Backlash and Demands for Dismissal
Activists from the "Im Tirtzu" movement joined the growing demands for his termination.
"Every day that the president of Ben-Gurion University continues to employ the inciting lecturer Ben Daniel is a stain on the university's reputation. It is a disgrace," the movement stated.
Ben-Gurion University has not yet issued a response to the controversy. The incident follows previous calls from Beersheba city council member Yair Shushan, who earlier urged Mayor Ruvik Danilovich to return an honorary degree awarded to him by the university due to earlier inflammatory remarks by the same lecturer.
