Dr. Sebastian Ben Daniel was suspended from his position at Ben Gurion University due to social media posts he made under the pseudonym “John Brown.” On March 6, 2025, we appealed to the President and Rector of Ben-Gurion University calling for Ben Daniel’s suspension to be revoked. We also requested the deletion of the post published by the university president regarding Ben Daniel’s suspension, which contributed to inflaming tensions and began a wave of widespread attacks against him.
Attorney Tal Hassin argued that Ben Daniel's suspension for posts made outside of the university, as well as the way in which the suspension itself was carried out, are illegal and represent a shameful surrender to right-wing pressure, both within and outside the university. Hassin stated that Ben Daniel’s harsh criticisms of the government and state institutions, which he has been making online for many years under his pseudonym, is protected by the substantial safeguards that the law grants to freedom of expression in general and political expression in particular, especially when it comes to provocative opinions and statements that fall outside of the political and social consensus.
As Hassin wrote in the appeal: "The university is certainly entitled to convey the message that Dr. Ben Daniel's statements are not made on its behalf and do not reflect the position of its leadership, but his hasty, illegal suspension falls far short of the fundamental principles of due process, and the university's conduct undermines the right to expression. These actions constitute another stage of academia's abandonment of the core values of freedom of expression and thought to which it is committed, and another step toward its complete trampling by right-wing, anti-liberal, and anti-democratic elements who dictate their agenda through pressure campaigns."
ACRI’s appeal, March 6, 2025 (Hebrew)