Student Allegedly Threatens To Behead Professor To His Face Mid-Class

Professor Michael Ben-Gad of City St. George’s, University of London, said in an interview Wednesday that his lecture was disrupted by pro-Palestine students calling for his dismissal and even one allegedly calling for his head.

Ben-Gad said protesters labeled him a terrorist because he was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the 1980s, according to Ben-Gad’s interview with Sky News. He said it seemingly began the day the Israel-Hamas ceasefire began and alleged that their accusations extended beyond his time in the Israeli military. (RELATED: Mehdi Hasan Has Tantrum As Americans Inform Him They Don’t Want Islamic Call To Prayer In Their Neighborhoods)

“The other three accusations against me are that I studied at Hebrew University, this is a 100-year-old university in Jerusalem; that I’ve taught at the University of Haifa; and I’ve worked at the central bank [of Israel],” Ben-Gad said in the interview. “Broadly speaking, the accusation is that I lived in the Middle East while being Jewish. And if it’s illegal in their eyes to do that, I don’t know what they think about people who might be Jewish [and] living, let’s say, in Edgware or Golders Green.”

Ben-Gad told Sky News the same protesters disrupted his lecture on economics the day of the interview.

“As of about an hour ago, I finished my lecture. It was invaded by protesters who came right up to me and screamed in my face, called me a war criminal and a Nazi, refused to leave… they’re masked… one of them… made a threat about having my head chopped off,” he alleged

A video shared by City Action for Palestine shows protesters with face coverings calling for Ben-Gad to be sacked while referring to him as a terrorist.

Another video shows more masked protesters interrupting Ben-Gad’s lecture by claiming that he has killed innocent people and chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Ben-Gad said protesters are calling on him to resign. “I’m insisting on carrying on my duties. I think that the students have a right to expect nothing less from me,” he said.

“I would also say that I’ve taught at this university for nearly 20 years. My background has never been a secret. We have a large Muslim population here. The [City St. George’s] students are nearly all extremely polite, and they have wonderful manners. Nobody has ever confronted me about any of this until last week,” Ben-Gad said, adding that this was a “very small radical element.”

As of the time of publication, more than 1,200 academics have signed a Wednesday letter in support of Ben-Gad and against the targeting of “Israeli, Jewish, or members of any other group,” no matter where each of these academics stands regarding the war.

The university shared a statement on the matter with Jewish News. “City St. George’s fully supports and upholds freedom of expression within the law,” the university said, adding that it “will not tolerate the harassment of its staff and students.”

“We reject the unlawful actions of this small group of individuals that is neither affiliated with the university nor its Students’ Union. We will continue to support and protect our staff and students, including Michael, who has the full support of the university and its senior management team, as well as colleagues of all faiths and backgrounds,” they continued.

The Daily Caller has reached out to City Action for Palestine for comment.