Police reportedly mulling probe into Tel Aviv U lecturer who eulogized terror convict

Police may open a criminal investigation into a Tel Aviv University lecturer who eulogized Palestinian terror convict Walid Daqqa, who died in jail last week, the Ynet news site reports.

In a post on Facebook, Anat Matar, a senior lecturer in Tel Aviv’s Philosophy Department, called Daqqa a “dear and beloved friend” and “an endless source of inspiration.”

She also offered condolences to Daqqa’s family and the Palestinian people over the loss of “one of its greatest sons.”

Daqqa, an Israeli citizen sentenced to life behind bars for being part of a cell that abducted and killed Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984, died of cancer last week at age 62.

According to Ynet, police need permission from the state prosecutor to open a probe into Matar for supporting terror.

Matar’s post drew protests from right-wing groups and some students, who held a rally last week calling on the university to fire the veteran academic and activist, the site reported.

The school told Ynet it condemned her remarks, and said they would be looked at in terms of whether she violated the school’s free speech guidelines.

Matar, head of the Israeli Committee for the Palestinian Prisoners, has long been known as a strident critic of Israeli policies vis-a-vis the Palestinians. In 2011, she co-authored a book on Palestinians incarcerated by Israel for security offenses, calling into question Israel’s approach toward legal procedures and treatment of inmates.