Education Minister Gideon Sa\’ar asked Tel Aviv University President Professor Joseph Klaftner to reconsider his decision to allow students to organize an "outrageous" on-campus ceremony to commemorate Nakba Day.
The Nakba, meaning "catastrophe" in Arabic, is an annual commemoration when Arabs mourn the creation of the State of Israel at the expense of the Palestinians that were living in territory liberated by Israeli forces in 1948. The Palestinian narrative recounts hundreds of thousands of Arabs that were either forced or felt compelled to leave behind their homes, many of whom fled to Israel\’s neighboring countries where they remain until this day.
TAU announced this week that it would allow students to organize a Nakba Day commemoration under certain provisions, including hiring six school security guards to monitor the day\’s events. The school administration also prohibited organizers from using a PA system and hanging flags and banners.
Speaking with the university president, Sa\’ar said he thought the university\’s decision to allow the ceremony was "false and outrageous," Army Radio reported.
While allowing the event, TAU likely feels pressured to maintain security on a potentially explosive day after regional events last year saw hundreds of Syrians storm Israel\’s Golan borders, and 15 Palestinians killed during demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Students organizing the event said the commemoration would include a moment of silence in order to emphasize the importance of the Palestinian day of mourning, which falls on the day after the Gregorian date of Israel\’s independence. The event at TAU\’s Antine Square is scheduled for May 14.
In addition, organizers will read an alternative version of "Yizkor," the prayer for Israel\’s fallen soldiers traditionally read at memorial ceremonies.
TAU approved the students\’ ceremony despite the Nakba Law, passed in the Knesset last year and upheld by the High Court of Justice in January, which allows the finance minister to cut the budget of any state-funded institution or body that holds events that mark the Jewish state\’s independence as a day of mourning.