04-07-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
What the Death of My Arab Student Revealed About Israel
On the night of June 13, Israel launched a surprise attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites. Iran responded by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel, many aimed at civilian targets. Israel's defense systems blunted the barrage, but many missiles still got through, striking homes and killing 24 civilians. One of the victims was my student Shada Khatib, a smart, accomplished, 20-year-old Palestinian-Israeli. She died on June 15 alongside her 13-year-old sister Hala, their mother Manar and their aunt Manal, in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel.
Last year Shada took my class on the history of political thought, which is mandatory for law students at the University of Haifa. She had applied to work as my teaching assistant next year, and I was supposed to interview her this week. Shada 'was the youngest among the students and the most prominent presence,' her academic adviser, human rights attorney Abeer Baker, told me in a private message, 'with her smile, tenderness and endless courage to participate in the discussions despite all the challenges Palestinian students face in Israeli universities.'
