Beersheba Council Member Urges Mayor to Return Honorary Degree Over Lecturer’s Anti-IDF Remarks

Yair Shoshan, a member of the Beersheba City Council, has called on Mayor Rubik Danilovich to renounce an honorary doctorate awarded to him by Ben-Gurion University in 2018. This demand follows a recent inflammatory statement by Dr. Sebastian Ben Daniel, a university lecturer, who again labeled IDF soldiers as "murderers" in a social media post. The post referred to a terror attack near Givat Gilad, where two Israelis were killed, and subsequent clashes that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians. Ben Daniel wrote, "The correct framing is that IDF soldiers murdered four Palestinians, which is exactly what the religious participants sought in their 'trip.'"

Shoshan publicly criticized the university’s handling of Ben Daniel’s repeated hostile remarks, describing it as weak and negligent. He emphasized that the university, funded by public money, allows soldiers returning from combat to attend lectures by a professor who incites against them. Shoshan urged Mayor Danilovich to take a proactive leadership role by returning the honorary degree until the university dismisses the lecturer. He stated that the honorary degree should symbolize respect and that maintaining it while the university supports such rhetoric undermines its meaning.

In his Facebook post, Shoshan wrote, "Dear Mayor Danilovich, for the honor of our fighters, it is time for a leadership act only you can lead." He added that silence and condemnations are insufficient against such incitement and that returning the degree would send a clear message nationwide that the dignity of Israel’s defenders cannot be compromised for cooperation, respect, or funding.

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between certain academic voices and public sentiment regarding the Israeli military, especially in the aftermath of violent incidents in the West Bank. The university has yet to respond publicly to the calls for action against Dr. Ben Daniel.