Palestinian course named after terrorist not recognised by Scouts

Scouts claim the course named after the murderer of an American-Israeli was not run by an official association

The world scouting organisation said the Palestinian scout group that named a leadership training course after the killer of a dual American-Israeli citizen is not recognised by the movement or its official Palestinian branch.

Following claims by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), the World Organisation of the Scout Movement said the group behind the course named in memory of the terrorist Baha Alyan was separate from its official branch, the Palestinian Scout Association, and not recognised by the world movement.

“We are extremely disappointed that the good name of both organisations has been abused in this way,” the movement said in its statement. “WOSM is the world’s largest youth movement with a strong commitment to peace and we will always take the strongest action to uphold these values.”

The Jewish News front page, covering the story

In its update, the movement said that the non-recognised group, The Palestinian Scout and Guide Association, runs the website in which notice of the leadership course appeared, while the sanctioned group, the Palestinian Scout Association, does not have a website.

“Anything published on this website is not an official communication of the Palestine [sic] Scout Association” or the world movement, the statement said.

Alan Lakin, 76, and two other Israelis were killed in a stabbing spree by Alyan and an accomplice aboard a Jerusalem bus on Oct. 13, 2015. Last month, Lakin’s son, Micah Lakin Avni, sent a letter alerting the world scouting organisation that the Palestinian training course is named in memory of Alyan, who was killed while carrying out the attack, and calls him a “martyr.”The world scouting movement promised an investigation.

Micah Avni remains sceptical about the movement’s explanation. insisting that the Palestinian Scout Association and the Palestinian Scout and Guide Association are one and the same. In an op-ed for The Times of Israel, he shared analysis by Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli organisation, that suggests multiple overlaps between the two entities.“I do not believe that the Palestinian Scout Association and the Palestinian Authority are telling the truth,” Avni wrote.

(JTA)