UC regent slams Berkeley event featuring failed suicide bomber as ‘disgusting and abhorrent’

Campus Controversy UC regent slams Berkeley event featuring failed suicide bomber as ‘disgusting and abhorrent’ Israa Jaabis, a convicted failed car bomber released in a 2023 hostages-for-prisoners swap, addressed law students via video By Rachel Wolf Fox News Published April 28, 2026 10:30am EDT Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video UC Berkeley students face hostile political climate on campus during event Members of a Turning Point USA chapter at the University of California-Berkeley spoke with Fox News Digital about navigating a polarized political climate. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The University of California-Berkeley is facing heightened backlash after a Palestinian Political Prisoners Day event included a speaker with a terrorism conviction. if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('tablet', 'lb2', 'tablet-tw-ad-lb2', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('mobile', 'ban1', 'mobile-mw-ad-ban1', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } Israa Jaabis, a failed car suicide bomber, was released from prison in November 2023 as part of a deal to return Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Jaabis was convicted of attempting to set off a car bomb in 2015 during a traffic stop. The incident occurred near an area where Israeli soldiers would often gather and attempt to hitchhike. Jaabis and an Israeli officer, Moshe Chen, were severely burned during the attack.UC Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the event organizers, posted Jaabis' message to the students on Instagram. if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('desktop', 'lb2', 'desktop-desk-ad-lb2', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } "Firstly, I would like to thank [the students] for their attentiveness, for listening with their hearts. For many reasons, even their attendance is enough to make us feel — as liberated Palestinian prisoners — that there is someone who cares about us," Jaabis said, according to the video's English-translated subtitles. if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('mobile', 'ban2', 'mobile-mw-ad-ban2', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } UC BERKELEY SLAMMED AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL GROUP HOSTS FAILED SUICIDE BOMBER AS GUEST EVENT SPEAKER UC Berkeley is facing backlash after a student event featured a convicted attempted car bomber. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) if (window && window.foxstrike && Array.isArray(window.foxstrike.cmd)) { window.foxstrike.cmd.push(function(Strike) { Strike.insertAd('tablet', 'lb3', 'tablet-tw-ad-lb3', ''); }); } else { console.error('Error: window.foxstrike not found'); } UC Regent Jay Sures told Fox News Digital that the event featuring Jaabis was "disgusting and abhorrent.""I think when you talk about in the larger context of the University of California, I can tell you, as one of just a couple of the Jewish regents, I'm very satisfied with the steps the administration has taken to try to…

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