Arab lecturer forbids student from wearing Star of David

Cinematography lecturer Nizar Hassan is still on suspension from him academic duties at the Sapir College in southern Israel pending a hearing on his divisive decision to bar a student wearing an IDF uniform from his class – but a new controversy has already reared its head and is further threatening the Hassan's future at the institute.

The letter, penned by a third-year student who attended a director's workshop taught by Hassan, was sent to the committee investigating the reserve soldier's case and may be used to prove the lecturer's behavior towards the reserve soldier was not an isolated incident.

According to the unnamed student identified only as A', she arrived at one of Hassan's classes with a backpack embroidered with the Israeli flag and was promptly asked by the lecturer to turn the bag so that the flag would not be facing him.

"I told him I would not do that – and then he approached me, grabbed the bag and forcefully turned it around," writes A' in her letter, which was also sent to College President Prof. Ze'ev Tzahor.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3493016,00.html

but this Arab teacher is an absolute moron.

With what balls do you forbid a student from wearing the Star of David, being an Arab and all...in freaking ISRAEL!

Is he ASKING for a lynching? Doesn't he know he lives in the nation of the Jews!

It would be just as wrong for a professor in the US to tell a student not to display the Star of David. And it would be wrong to tell a student in Israel he/she can't display an American flag.

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News to this Jew. Probably would be to the Israelis I know who have Arab friends as well. Considering the nature of the conflict in Israel/Palestine, I'd say that the mostly successful efforts to quell racism within Israel are something to be commended. I can't think of a country that has a similar long-term conflict between ethnic groups which exhibits less institutionalized racism than Israel.

I actually also take issue with your idea that members of second-class or oppressed segments of a society should be careful in what they say because they may aggravate racism towards them. It's a little close to blaming the victim to me, like when people blame Zionism for the surge in anti-semitism in the world today. It's pretty sick to try and blame anti-semitism on Israel, more accurately one could say it provides an excuse for anti-semites to express their opinions.

Assuming that the student is reporting the situation accurately (students everywhere are occasionally capable of making frivolous complaints), the lecturer is trespassing on his students' freedom of expression.

However, he is just as much a citizen of Israel as anyone else and should have the same rights as a Jewish lecturer. Neither should be bullying students.