Tel Aviv University declares 'Free Palestine' as its Facebook page is hacked

The Facebook page of Israel’s Tel Aviv University was hacked last night with human rights activists using it to call for the rights of the Palestinian people. A message published on the institute’s social media page read “Free Palestine”, along with images of Palestinian flags and a YouTube link to the song “My Blood is Palestinian” by Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf.

Tel Aviv University comes out in support of Palestinian liberation 😂 pic.twitter.com/wqf1CiiM3S

— Remi Kanazi (@Remroum) February 16, 2021

The messages were removed once the hack was uncovered.

This comes weeks after the university was slammed after signing a student exchange agreement with Ariel University, located in the settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. Under the terms of the deal, medical students from the illegal settlement can be placed in hospitals affiliated with Tel Aviv University for their clinical practice.

In a letter sent to the university administration earlier in January,  Academia for Equality, an organisation that includes 600 academics in Israel working to promote democratisation, equality, and access to higher education for all communities living in Israel,  said: “Cooperation with such an institution forces faculty and students at Tel Aviv [university] to support the settlements and the occupation, and forces them to adopt a political position that some [faculty and students] strongly oppose.”

OPINION: What does Israel have against Palestinian singer, Mohammed Assaf?