In July 2018 Israeli forces raided Hind al-Husaini College and al-Quds University under orders from Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan, whose office said that an academic conference planned to occur promoted “incitement” against the state of Israel. Over a dozen participants were briefly detained and given orders to appear before Israeli Intelligence officers at a later date.
The two-day conference, titled “The Fourth Academic Conference on the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem,” was to take place at Hind al-Husaini College in East Jerusalem. The event was organized by the Mufti of Jerusalem, Akrama Sabri, who was recently issued a travel ban by Israel, and police briefly arrested Munib al-Masri, a Palestinian businessman who funded the conference.
Erdan accused the Palestinian Authority of “repeatedly attempting to undermine Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem.” He said Israel would “continue to fight and prevent any attempt to fan violence in the city.”
Endangered Scholars Worldwide opposes this imposition of restrictions on assembly and speech activities, which are core values to both democratic societies and universities.