A disturbing development has come to light as an anti-Israel group has reportedly launched a website offering substantial bounties for the assassination of Israeli academics. This revelation has sparked alarm and condemnation from various quarters.
According to reports from The Jerusalem Post, the website, known as the Punishment for Justice Movement, has not only put a price on the heads of specific individuals but has also disclosed their personal information. Details such as home addresses, emails, and phone numbers have been made public, raising significant safety concerns for the targeted individuals.
The academics named on the site are affiliated with prestigious institutions. These include Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Haifa’s Technion public research university, and even international institutions like Harvard, Oxford, and the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
The alarming aspect of this website is the financial incentives it offers. A bounty of $100,000 has been set for the assassination of “special targets,” while $50,000 is earmarked for other individuals. Additionally, $20,000 is promised for arson attacks on the homes or vehicles of these academics, $5,000 for information leading to the targets, and $1,000 for placing protest signs outside their residences.
Initially created last summer and believed to have originated from the Netherlands, the website briefly went offline on a Friday night. However, it reappeared the following day, continuing to pose a threat to the safety and security of the individuals involved.
The website, created last summer and apparently originating in the Netherlands, briefly went down Friday night but was back up Saturday, the outlet reported.
The website is written in English, according to The Times of Israel, and accuses its targets of being “criminals and collaborators with the occupation army,” referring to the war in Gaza.
It also accuses the targets of being “distributors of weapons of mass destruction to the Israeli army” who are “involved in the murder of Palestinian children,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
The Punishment for Justice Movement allegedly named specific targets and prices. (James Sheppard/Future via Getty Images)
The organization claimed to have warned the targets to “abandon criminal activity” and stop working with the Israel Defense Forces but claimed they ignored the warnings. So, they are now “legitimate targets for the movement,” according to the Times.
Two targeted academics told the Post they received no warning, and several of those targeted at the European Organization for Nuclear Research said they hadn’t worked on military projects, but the website creators seemed to be mixed up by the word “nuclear.”
One targeted academic told the Post, “The competent government agencies should suggest more comprehensive solutions” than just taking down the website “because walking around with targets on our heads puts at risk not only us, but also our families.”
Harvard was one of the universities whose academics were targeted on the website. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
However, Michael Bronstein, who teaches computer science at Oxford, told the Post he didn’t “give a damn” about the bounty on his life, calling those threatening him “nutcases.”
“I was profoundly disturbed and shocked that my head was valued so cheaply. Considering my standing in the academic community, I find anything below a seven-figure highly offensive,” he told the Post. “I am, however, consoled that I am at least in a good company.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Anti-Defamation League for comment.
