IsraCampus.org

The Supreme Court will deliberate Monday a petition calling for the revocation of the decision to bestow the Israel Prize on Professor Ze'ev Sternhell. Members of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which submitted the request, claimed that Sternhell had publicly legitimized Palestinian terrorism in an article he once published and suggested that the terrorists target settlers.

"Anyone who forfeits the blood of Israeli citizens is not worthy of the prize," the petition reads.

In its response, however, the State writes that there is controversy surrounding the winner is not reason enough to revoke the decision to award him the prize.

"Accepting this petition would be an injustice," Army Radio quoted the State Attorney's Office as saying. "This [petition] makes a man's life's work as shallow as a bumper sticker."

In February, Education minister Yuli Tamir rejected a request by the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel to cancel the decision to award Sternhell the prize. The request had stated that "There is no case more appropriate than Professor Sternhell's, which justifies the killing of civilians in terror attacks, provided that they are settlers."

"It is doubtful whether any scientific researcher, great as he may be, would have received the Israel Prize had he justified attacks by Arab terrorists on any other population group," they said.

"These are foolish words," Sternhell said in response. "They have tried to do this in the past and claim for themselves a right to veto the Torah of Israel in science. The very demand is disgraceful and absurd."