US left-wing anti-Israel advocate Peter Beinart issued a public apology for giving a lecture at Tel Aviv University.
His lecture drew backlash from both Israeli right-wing groups against his stance on Israel and pro-Palestinian boycott activists, who were angry that Beinart spoke to Israelis in Israel.
Beinart, a professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York and a prominent critic of Israeli policy, was invited for a conversation titled “Trump, Israel, and the Future of American Democracy.”
In his apology statement posted to his X/Twitter account on Wednesday, Beinart acknowledged that he had made “a serious mistake” by failing to seek out Palestinian perspectives before speaking at the Israeli university.
“I let my desire for that conversation override my solidarity with Palestinians, who, in the face of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide, have asked the world to boycott Israeli institutions that are complicit in their oppression,” he said.
“I really wanted to speak to Israelis,” Beinart added. “I’ve hoped for more conversations with Israelis to explain why I believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and why I believe Jewish supremacy is fundamentally wrong. Speaking at Tel Aviv University seemed to offer that chance.”
He further clarified that his motivation for giving the talk was not financial: “I didn’t receive an honorarium. I wanted to say certain things to an Israeli audience.”
BDS backlash
Beinart, long known as a self-proclaimed liberal Zionist, has in recent years become one of the most prominent Jewish advocates of a one-state framework and of boycotts targeting Israeli institutions.
In his latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, he argues that the Israel-Hamas War has forced American Jews to reassess their relationship with Israel.
Despite his strong criticism of the Jewish state, pro-BDS activists condemned Beinart for appearing at an Israeli institution, accusing him of normalizing it.
A video reel posted by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel condemned Beinart’s decision to appear at what it called a “complicit” Israeli university, accusing TAU of involvement in Israeli military policies and calling on supporters to oppose the lecture.
Israeli critics
Beinart also received strong backlash from pro-Israel voices.
The nationalist group Im Tirtzu demanded that the event be canceled, accusing TAU of legitimizing a figure who opposes a Jewish state and supports sanctions.
Matan Gerafi, its CEO, sent a letter to TAU president Prof. Ariel Porat demanding that the university cancel Beinart’s appearance, arguing that the school was giving a stage to a figure who “supports the Palestinian right of return, opposes the existence of a Jewish state, and backs sanctions against Israel.”
Israeli journalists and influencers criticized the university, calling the invitation inappropriate and politically driven.
Israeli public diplomacy activist Hen Mazzig noted that Beinart was coming to TAU “to lecture… about how Israel is an ‘apartheid’ state” and wondered how he would react to the fact that roughly one in five Israeli citizens are Arab.
Pro-Israel influencers widely shared Mazzig’s post, arguing that Beinart’s boycott advocacy should have disqualified him from speaking at an Israeli university.
Tel Aviv University defended the event on grounds of academic freedom and stated that Beinart was instructed to stay focused on the agreed-upon topic.