Beinart pushes pro-Palestinian narratives and sanctions while Israeli patriots demand universities stop platforming Israel’s enemies.
Tel Aviv University is facing fierce backlash after announcing that Peter Beinart—a long-time promoter of anti-Israel boycotts and a leading voice for Palestinian “return” ideology—will address students at a department-hosted lecture titled “Trump, Israel, and the Future of American Democracy.”
Beinart’s planned appearance triggered immediate objections from the Zionist movement “Im Tirtzu.” CEO Matan Jerafi sent a formal letter Tuesday to University President Prof. Ariel Porat demanding the event’s outright cancellation, arguing that Israel’s leading academic institutions should not be legitimizing a man who openly advocates for dismantling the Jewish state.
According to Im Tirtzu, Beinart has spent years championing positions aligned with Palestinian maximalist demands:
- Support for the so-called “right of return,” a demographic blueprint to erase Israel
- Denial of the legitimacy of a Jewish state, as stated in his 2020 essay “I Do Not Believe in a Jewish State”
- Backing sanctions and international punishment against Israel
- Promotion of a one-state reality that would end Israel’s existence
After the October 7 massacre—when Hamas terrorists butchered Israelis in the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust—Beinart published a book portraying the atrocities as a mere product of “occupation.” Im Tirtzu notes that he even signed global letters pushing for sanctions against the Jewish state while Palestinian terrorists continued launching rockets.
This morning, in a new social-media post, Beinart escalated his rhetoric, claiming Israel commits “apartheid” and “genocide”—talking points heavily promoted by Iran, Hamas, and their Western ideological allies. He openly declared support for boycotts, divestment, and wide-ranging sanctions on Israel and advocated limiting U.S. arms sales to the IDF, essentially calling for weakening Israel’s ability to defend itself against terror-supporting regimes.
Though Tel Aviv University listed the lecture under a neutral political title, Beinart admitted the talk will focus on attacking Israeli policy, saying he believes it is important “to speak to Israelis about Israel’s crimes.” His self-proclaimed mission is to persuade Jews to stop supporting Israel’s security policies, particularly against Palestinian violence.
“I don’t get many opportunities to speak to Israelis,” Beinart wrote, suggesting that opposition from Israeli patriots is evidence that he must continue pushing his anti-Israel agenda despite local resistance.
Jerafi, in his letter to Prof. Porat, did not mince words:
“This university, which preaches endlessly about defending Israeli democracy, is inviting a man who boycotts Israel and denies its existence. This is madness.”
He criticized Porat for repeatedly intervening in Israeli politics, sending mass political messages through university mailing systems while lecturing the public about “threats to democracy.” Jerafi emphasized that allowing Beinart to speak mirrors the deteriorating academic climate at anti-Israel campuses abroad:
“Why host someone who delegitimizes Israel and pushes sanctions on the Jewish state? Stop dragging Israeli academia toward the chaos of Columbia University.”
Im Tirtzu is demanding that Tel Aviv University cancel the event immediately in order to protect the integrity of Israeli academia and prevent a taxpayer-funded platform from being handed to one of Israel’s loudest defamers.
