Kahane Disciple Ben Ari to Teach at Ariel University

Former MK Michael Ben Ari, an erstwhile disciple of far-right Rabbi Meir Kahane, has started teaching at Ariel University as an external lecturer in the Israel Heritage Department, the university said.

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Ben Ari received his doctorate in Land of Israel and Archeology Studies from Bar-Ilan University. At Ariel University, in the settlement of Ariel, he is teaching a course on the archaeology and history of the Temple Mount.

"I am an academic, I do research, I have a doctorate - I am a university lecturer as a researcher,' Ben Ari told Haaretz. "I worked hard on my doctorate. I may also be a politician but now I am [coming from] the perspective of research."

Ben Ari, a former MK for the National Union party, is the founder of the educational arm of the Temple Institute, which wants the ancient Temple to be rebuilt on the Temple Mount. Ben Ari has said in the Knesset that excavations there "prove that the Arabs never had a true hold on Jerusalem."

"The school year is starting and I wish you success," Ben Ari wrote on his Facebook page on the first day of classes in October.

"And to the faithful of the Jewish people and their only land, please guard the academic institutions so they do not fall into the hands of Israel haters. At the university there is freedom of speech and academic freedom, and that is important. But incitement against the state, against the Israel Defense Forces and against Zionism cannot leave you apathetic," he wrote.

Ben Ari is known for his activism against migrants from Africa.

"For three years women can't go to the market without having their bags stolen, little girls can't play, young men cannot find work," Ben Ari said at a demonstration in south Tel Aviv in May 2012. In the speech he later added: "Sudanese, back to Sudan!"

Ben Ari was also among the initiators of the effort to revoke some of MK Haneen Zoabi's parliamentary rights after she took part in the Gaza flotilla in 2010.