Palestinian Bar Association grants honorary degree to terrorist who murdered two Israelis

On Oct. 3, 2015, Palestinian terrorist Muhannad Halabi stabbed to death Israeli Aharon Bennet and wounded Bennet's wife and 2-year-old son. He also murdered Nehamia Lavi, who attempted to aid Bennet and his family. Halabi then grabbed a gun and started shooting in the direction of tourists, before being shot and killed by Israeli security forces. Halabi was apparently a law student, and on October 10, 2015, the PBA council voted to posthumously award him an honorary LL.D. "They also decided that the next swearing-in ceremony of Palestinian lawyers would be named for him. After the meeting council members paid a condolence call on the Halabi family, because, they claimed, he had excelled in his law studies."

This is old news, but I didn't get the chance to blog about it at the time, and I haven't seen it picked up in mainstream media sources, including in the newspaper that hosts this blog. I think it deserves more attention. Glorification of brutal terrorist murderers is hardly uncommon in the Palestinian territories; indeed, it's official government policy in both the West Bank and Gaza. But to have the bar association do it seems especially noteworthy.

(This post was edited to delete a reference to Bennet as a "civilian"; he was in fact serving in special IDF Haredi unit, though it's not clear whether he was in uniform at the time of the stabbing).