The University of California-Berkeley is facing intense backlash after it included a speaker accused of terrorism at a Palestinian Political Prisoners’ Day event.
Israa Jaabis, the failed car suicide bomber, was released from prison in November 2023 as part of a deal to return Israeli hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attack. Zabis was convicted in 2015 of attempting to detonate a car bomb during a traffic stop. The incident happened near an area where Israeli soldiers gather and try to hitchhike. Jabis and an Israeli officer, Moshe Chen, were severely burned in the attack.
UC Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the event organizers, posted Jabis’ message to students on Instagram.
“First of all, I want to say thank you [the students] For their attention, for their heart to listen. For many reasons, even their presence is enough to make us feel – as freed Palestinian prisoners – that there is someone who cares about us,” Zabis said, according to the video’s English-translated subtitles.
UC Berkeley Condemned After Anti-Israel Group Hosts Failed Suicide Bombing As Guest Speaker
UC Berkeley is facing backlash after a student incident featured a convicted car bomber.
(Getty Images)
UC Regent Jay Sures told Fox News Digital that the program featuring Jobis was “disgusting and despicable.”
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“I think when you talk about the larger context of the University of California, I can tell you, as one of only a couple of Jewish representatives, I’m very pleased with the steps the administration has taken to prevent anti-Semitism on campus. That being said, there will be situations all over the campuses, there are all groups of people in colleges and colleges promoting anti-Semitism and glorifying anti-Semitism,” Sures said.
Surace noted that the event was put on by Students for Justice in Palestine, a far-left, vehemently anti-Israel group that has been suspended or banned from several universities, including Columbia, American and Duke. He added that the group promotes “anti-Zionist behavior” and said that “there is no doubt that anti-Zionist rhetoric leads to anti-Semitism.”
“Under the First Amendment, these groups have a right to free speech. And that’s just part of what you like about living in a country with the First Amendment,” he said.
UC Berkeley Law recently told Fox News Digital that when it came to the program with Zabis, his hands were tied.
“As a public university, UC Berkeley has a non-discretionary obligation to uphold and uphold the First Amendment in a completely content-neutral manner,” said Alex Shapiro, assistant dean for communications. “We do not have the legal ability to sanction or censor constitutionally protected speech.
“However, UC Berkeley has repeatedly informed the student body that, if any campus community member feels threatened, they are encouraged to contact the Office for Harassment and Discrimination Prevention. OPHD provides assistance to victims, investigates all allegations, and the campus takes appropriate action following any findings.”
Isra Jabis, a Palestinian woman who spent eight years under fire in an Israeli prison, speaks about her captivity and freedom at the 3rd International Al-Aqsa Women’s Conference on November 7, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ucla Student Council Condemns Campus Incident With Former Israeli Hostage
Sures recently made headlines when he criticized the UCLA Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) after it released a letter condemning the release of Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov. In a letter that was widely circulated online, Sures said he was “disappointed and shocked” by USAC’s statement.
“While your letter expresses concern about the ‘painful disregard for Palestinian life,’ it says nothing about the Israeli lives lost on October 7, when many of Omer’s closest friends were shot. Nor does your letter mention the countless rapes and massacres committed by Hamas that day. It’s as if none happened,” Sures wrote.
Shem Tov told Fox News Digital in a statement that the response to his appearance on campus reflected a widespread reluctance to listen to viewpoints that challenge existing narratives.
UC Regent Jay Sures told Fox News Digital that it was “abhorrent and despicable” that a student group hosted a convicted failed car bomber.
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“If you’re willing to silence someone who survived 505 days in captivity to protect a preconceived narrative, it’s worth stopping,” he said. “When a worldview requires you to override your own values, something goes wrong. The hope is that this worldview changes—because values are worth keeping.”
Fox News Digital reached out to UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abroska contributed to this report.
Original article source: UC Regents described the Berkeley incident as ‘disgusting and despicable’ as a failed suicide bomber.
