UC Berkeley Students Host Remote Talk by Released Palestinian Prisoner Israa Jaabis
Students at UC Berkeley hosted a remote address by Israa Jaabis, convicted of an attempted car bombing, as part of a Palestinian Political Prisoners Day event. Separately, UCLA's student council condemned an event featuring Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov. Hot Air reported on both incidents highlighting campus responses to Middle East conflict figures.
Unknown authorUnknown author / Wikimedia (Public domain)Israa Jaabis, convicted of an attempted car bombing in Jerusalem in 2015, spoke remotely to students at the University of California, Berkeley on Monday, April 23, 2026. The event took place in a classroom at Berkeley Law School, organized by Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine and UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine as a Palestinian Political Prisoners Day event.
A video posted by UCB SJP on Wednesday shows Jaabis addressing students in a full classroom where students clapped.
Jaabis was released as part of a swap with Hamas that allowed the release of 15 hostages. Hot Air reported that the address occurred in Berkeley Law School classroom 170 during the event. The video captured students clapping for Jaabis.
Separately, the Undergraduate Students Association Council at UCLA released a statement on April 21, 2026, condemning an event featuring Omer Shem Tov. The event was hosted by the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and Hillel on April 14, 2026. Shem Tov, aged 23, was abducted by terrorists from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and held captive by Hamas for 505 days.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council statement condemned the event on the grounds that it advanced incomplete and harmful representations of ongoing violence. Joel M. Petlin stated on April 23, 2026, 'To condemn an event featuring a young man who was kidnapped from a music festival and held underground for 505 days is not activism.
' Hot Air reported on the confluence of these campus events.
Key Facts
Story Timeline
5 events- 2026-04-23
Israa Jaabis spoke remotely to students at UC Berkeley; Joel M. Petlin issued statement.
1 sourceHot Air - 2026-04-21
Undergraduate Students Association Council at UCLA released statement condemning Omer Shem Tov event.
1 sourceHot Air - 2026-04-14
Event featuring Omer Shem Tov hosted by UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and Hillel.
1 sourceHot Air - 2015
Israa Jaabis convicted of attempted car bombing in Jerusalem.
1 sourceHot Air - 2023-10-07
Omer Shem Tov abducted from Nova music festival.
1 sourceHot Air
Potential Impact
- 01
Broader public debate on free speech and event hosting on campuses.
- 02
Potential increase in campus tensions between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
- 03
Influence on student activism related to Middle East conflicts.
- 04
Possible administrative responses from universities to student-organized events.
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