Head of Ben-Gurion University says school uncovered Islamist cell operating ‘modesty patrols’

The head of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev says an Islamist cell that operated “modesty patrols” and threatened students has been uncovered at the school in Beersheba.

According to Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, the group was made up of three people who “photographed female Bedouin students and sent the pictures back to their clans if they were not modest enough.”

“How did we discover this? Because they complained,” he says during a cultural event in the southern city. “It’s a complicated situation societally because they can’t complain publicly.”

“Just as there are modesty patrols in Mea Shearim that if there’s a Haredi man or woman not behaving properly, they threaten them,” he says, adding the group also photographed male Bedouin students.

“They threaten to send the photos if they don’t change their behavior.”

Chamovitz says the school “dealt with” the issue, but refuses to say whether the members of the cell still study at the university.

He also says that when the university learned about the cell, “we were startled, Jews and Arabs both.”