Anonymous website posted a list of assassination targets on Israeli figures: $100,000 for killing them!

Israeli circles witnessed a resounding shock following the publication of an anonymous website list of “targets for assassination” and offering sums of money in exchange for the murder of Israeli academics.

Anonymous website called The Punishment For Justice Movement published serious and specific threats to assassinate senior Israeli academics, considering them “criminals and collaborators with the Israeli occupation army,” “spreaders of weapons of mass destruction to the Israeli army,” and “involved in the murder of Palestinian children”.

The webste, which appears to be run by the United States or another Western country, includes calls for violence, offers of financial rewards for the perpetrators of the attacks, and even contact details for regional representatives — something that has never been seen before of such magnitude and candor toward Israeli academics.

There is concern in Israel that Iran is behind this website, as only two hours after the Israeli Ynet exposed the published threats, access to the website was blocked.

The text of the website reads, among other things: “Instead of using science to serve humanity, these murderers are using their knowledge to kill innocent people and children by deploying weapons of mass destruction to the Israeli army. All of these people have received warnings over the past months to stop their criminal activities. Because they were rejected, they were chosen as legitimate targets for the movement”.

The website explicitly called on armed groups and “non-state” organizations to join in “punishing” the scholars, and promised “generous financial rewards” for the perpetrators.

The website also addressed Israeli citizens directly and offered them a “double reward” if they helped “stop the bloodshed”.

The website contained a tab titled “Special Targets” featuring the names and photos of dozens of leading Israeli researchers in the fields of chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine – some of whom have well-known ties to the security industry.

Along with their names, details such as address, ID number, and phone number appear.

In some cases, photos of US passports and visas of Israeli academics have been posted, and it’s unclear where they were taken from.

Even if some of the details published are incorrect or completely inaccurate, the mere publication puts academics at real risk, especially when traveling abroad.

“This is the first case in which a detailed list of targets of Israeli academics has appeared with a public call to carry out attacks and offer financial rewards – a phenomenon reminiscent of the modus operandi of jihadist terrorist organizations, but this time presented under the guise of an English-language international justice movement”.

The list included very prominent figures in Israeli academia who were allegedly involved in the “murder of Palestinian children,” including Prof. Danny Haimovich, president of Ben-Gurion University and chairman of the Committee of University Presidents, and Prof. Elazar Rabinovich of the Hebrew University, who was Israel’s representative at the particle accelerator in Switzerland, one of the world’s most famous Israeli nuclear physicists, and dozens of others.

Shekma Bressler, a physicist and researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science, who is involved in particle accelerator research at CERN, is known as one of the leaders of the protest against judicial reform.

The website is offering a $2,000 reward for anyone who hangs signs in front of Pressler’s home; $20,000 (negotiable) for anyone who burns her car and house; and $100,000 for anyone who assassinates the target.

In addition to the 40 special targets, as they were named, the website also published hundreds of additional names of academics and scientists — including students — with a price list of $50,000 for each of their assassinations.

In this case, too, in some cases, the addresses, identification numbers and telephone numbers of these Israelis have been published.

The website used high data protection methods (such as the use of pseudonyms and an encrypted system) and published the names of what it describes as its “regional department heads”: Elijah, Liam, Gareth, Andrew, and Bernard.

The Israeli security services were informed of the site, and the matter is under accelerated examination by the Shin Bet and the Mossad.

It has already sent urgent directives to senior lecturers at Israel’s leading universities to increase vigilance, avoid posting travel plans abroad, and report any unusual incident.

According to Ynet, who quoted sources as saying: “This represents a very serious escalation in threats against Israeli citizens… Even if this is a virtual ‘organization’ at the moment, the mere public advocacy of physical abuse and the offer of rewards turns it into a real threat that requires immediate address”.

Prof. Daniel Haimovich, president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and chairman of the Committee of University Presidents, who was included in the list of “assassination targets,” said: “I am particularly concerned about extremist rhetoric that encourages violence… I am confident that the security services in the country and in civilized countries will know how to deal with this incident”.

“We’re witnessing a dangerous and appalling escalation, with a website tagging academics and spilling their blood through a ‘price list’ offered for car burning, physical abuse, and even murder,” the committee said in a statement.

This dangerous information was immediately passed on for urgent treatment by the Shin Bet, the Israeli police, and the national cyber system, based on the understanding that this is a real and tangible threat that cannot be delayed.

The current reality, where unbridled incitement from within against researchers and faculty is coupled with a wave of anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel from abroad, creates a toxic and deadly combination that may end up harming human lives.

The writing on the wall is clear… We call on the security services to take strict measures against the operators and close the site immediately, and at the same time we call on the leadership of the state to show responsibility and stop the hate speech and incitement directed against Israeli academia immediately, before it’s too late.

The Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budget Committee said they “express deep shock and unequivocally condemn any attempt to deter, threaten, or harm Israeli researchers… This represents a serious violation of every ethical, ethical and public standard and a real threat to academic freedom – the cornerstone of any democratic society and the global scientific community… We call on all researchers and academic institutions in the world to join in the firm and clear condemnation of the phenomenon of violence and threats against scientists”.

The National League of Students said: “The Association is shocked and strongly condemns the publication of the ‘assassination list’ and the offer of financial rewards for the assassination of Israeli academics, scientists and students… We see this as a targeted and dangerous terrorist attempt, which uses the methods of terrorist organizations and represents a very serious escalation of threats against the Israeli academic community… We’ll not allow violence and death threats directed at leading researchers to paralyze research and freedom of expression in Israel… We call on the government, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the national cyber system to act immediately and hold the operators of the site fully accountable”.