Moroccan Dean Sparks Outrage After Refusing Prize to Student Wearing Palestinian Keffiyeh

Mohammed Talbi hesitated for a moment to get up from his seat when he was invited to present the prize to the student in question who was wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh. He finally went up on the podium and asked the applicant to remove it. She categorically refused and the official returned to his seat without giving her the prize.

The Dean of the Faculty of Science Ben M’sik in Casablanca faced fierce criticism on the networks after his behavior described as cowardly and irresponsible. The attitude of the official also aroused the anger of some political actors and the trade union world. Former Minister of Justice Mustapha Ramid said that Mohamed Talbi does not deserve the position of dean. For his part, the local office of the National Union of Higher Education firmly condemned the "irresponsible behavior" of the dean, expressing its support for the student.

The students of the Higher School of Technology in Casablanca, for their part, expressed their dissatisfaction with this "deplorable and unacceptable act" of the dean of the Faculty of Science Ben M’sik. In a statement published on Sunday, they argued that the behavior of the official is "an insult to the academic and human values on which our educational institutions are based".

Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh "is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause, a right guaranteed by the Moroccan constitution and international human rights conventions," the students hammered, calling for respect for students’ rights to express their opinions and beliefs, the opening of an urgent investigation into this incident and the taking of measures to prevent such behavior from recurring.

https://youtu.be/-7tnR_zBVoo