Frightening Threat
Shock in Israel: Anonymous Website Posts "Hit List" of Israeli Academics – Up to $100,000 Bounty for Murder
Anonymous site doxxes top Israeli professors with home addresses & ID numbers - $100,000 bounty for murder. Iran suspected as universities rush to protect staff.
A chilling escalation in threats against Israel's academic community: An anonymous website calling itself "The Punishment for Justice Movement" has published a detailed "kill list" of dozens of senior Israeli professors and scientists, openly calling for physical attacks against them and offering cash rewards of up to $100,000 for their assassination.
The existence of the site was first exposed Thursday by Ynet reporter Itamar Eichner.Alongside the academics' names and photographs, the site lists their private home addresses, phone numbers, Israeli ID numbers, and even travel documents.
It includes an explicit "price list" for violent acts:
The site brands the listed individuals as "criminals who use science to murder innocent people" and "those involved in killing Palestinian children," claiming each received "warnings" and is now a "legitimate target."
Among the roughly 40 "special targets" are some of Israel's most prominent researchers:
Ben-Gurion University President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz
Israel Science Foundation Chairman Prof. Daniel Zajfman
Senior nuclear and particle-physics experts
Weizmann Institute researcher Prof. Shikma Bressler (also a leader of the anti-judicial reform protests)
The site appears hosted in the West but Israeli security officials suspect hostile foreign involvement, with strong indications pointing to Iranian backing. It uses encryption, VPNs, fake names, and an internal messaging system, while also naming "regional coordinators," raising fears of a broader network.
The Shin Bet and Mossad have launched an urgent investigation. Universities nationwide immediately sent emergency alerts to faculty, urging them to avoid posting travel plans, report suspicious activity, and heighten personal vigilance.Security sources described the development as "a severe and unprecedented escalation in threats against Israeli civilians," stressing that even if the group operates only online, the publications themselves create a real and immediate danger.
Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, president of Ben-Gurion University and head of the Committee of University Presidents, himself on the list, responded: "I am mainly disturbed by the extreme discourse that encourages violence. I trust Israel's security forces and those in democratic countries to handle this incident."
In a strongly worded statement, the Committee of University Presidents said:
"We are witnessing a dangerous and horrifying escalation in which a website marks academics and permits their blood through a 'price list' offering payment for arson, physical harm, and even murder. The grave information has been transferred immediately for urgent handling by the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and the National Cyber Directorate, with the understanding that this is a tangible threat that cannot be delayed.
The current reality, in which wild incitement from within against researchers and faculty merges with the global wave of antisemitism and hatred of Israel, creates a toxic and deadly mix that could, God forbid, end in loss of life. The writing is on the wall in letters of fire. We demand that security agencies act with an iron fist against the operators and shut down the site immediately, and at the same time call on Israel's leadership to show responsibility and stop at once the hate speech and incitement directed at Israeli academia before it is too late."