Bounties as high as $100,000 are being offered for the murders of dozens of Israeli researchers, including some in the US, on the website of a hateful anti-Zionist group.
“The Punishment for Justice Movement” website offers between $50,000 for murdering one of the Jewish academics listed — and twice that amount for the killing of “special targets” — claiming the high-achieving researchers are complicit in child murder.
Home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts were listed for at least 40 academics, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The website offered a $2,000 USD as reward for installing protest signs in front of homes, $5,000 for sending information on targets, $20,000 for burning down homes or cars, and $10,000 for “eliminating the target.”
It was exposed by Israeli media on Friday and temporarily went offline before the site returned Saturday night.
Five of the individuals targeted are employees of the CERN Institute, which is in Switzerland and is home to the world’s largest particle accelerator.
Punishment for Justice claimed the targets were justified because, “Instead of using science to serve humanity, these killers used their knowledge to kill innocent people and children by spreading weapons of mass destruction to the Israeli military.”
“Double rewards” were offered for five Israel government officials, according to the website.
The organization instructs would-be assassins to establish secure communication before going out to collect the bounties and tells any who make a profile on the website to use a fake name.
The website was established some time in August and appears to be based in Drenthe, Netherlands, according to The Jerusalem Post.
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Israel’s Mossad spy agency has launched a probe, Ynet reported, with officials suspecting that Iran is behind the website.
Oxford University computer science professor Michael Bronstein told the outlet he didn’t “give a damn” about the bounty on his head and suggested the website was run by “nutcases who have a lot of free time and no serious job.”
“I was profoundly disturbed and shocked that my head was valued so cheaply, considering my standing in the academic community,” Bronstein bravely joked in a statement to the Jerusalem Post.
“I find anything below a seven-figure highly offensive,” he said.
“I am however consoled that I am at least in good company.”
As of late Friday night, the site appeared to have been taken down.
