The founder of an antisemitism watchdog group condemned actors Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch and the hundreds of celebrities who signed a petition demanding that Israel release Marwan Barghouti, a convicted terrorist found guilty of orchestrating multiple attacks that killed Israeli civilians. 

The "Free Marwan" campaign is calling for the United Nations and world governments to "actively seek" Barghouti's release from Israeli prison, alleging in the petition that the political figure and terror leader faces "violent mistreatment and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned."

Over 200 public figures, in addition to Ruffalo and Cumberbatch, have signed the petition, including musician Paul Simon, author Margaret Atwood and actor Sir Ian McKellen. 

According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Barghouti is associated with the Fatah terrorist organization, having served as the leader of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, which carried out thousands of terror attacks against Israel between September 2000 and April 2002.

"Just as we wouldn't expect a counterterrorism expert to win an Oscar or Grammy, no one should listen to celebrities' opinions on a mass murderer and arch terrorist," StopAntisemitism founder and executive director Liora Rez told The Christian Post. 

"Barghouti was convicted of five murders. That's bad enough, but he also led one terrorist organization and co-founded a second, responsible for incalculable human suffering," Rez added. "The fact that these big names would side with a monster like that over his victims says a lot about their moral character — none of it good."

The organizers behind the Free Marwan campaign did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. 

On its website, the Free Marwan campaign claims that Barghouti, who was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996, has been "unjustly imprisoned" by Israel and convicted in a court that he didn't "recognize." The campaign likened Barghouti to Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa and an anti-apartheid activist. 

"Despite his imprisonment, poll after poll show he's Palestine's most popular leader," the campaign alleges. "A powerful symbol of unity and a long-time advocate for freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people."

As The Washington Post reported in 2004, Barghouti was convicted of five counts of murder by a court in Tel Aviv and found guilty of orchestrating multiple terrorist attacks, including one that resulted in the murder of a Greek monk. He was also convicted of one count each of attempted murder and membership in a terrorist organization.

The court also found that Barghouti was responsible for a January 2002 terror attack on a gas station in Givat Zeev and a March 2002 attack at a seafood restaurant in Tel Aviv that resulted in the murder of three people. 

Due to insufficient evidence, a three-judge panel said that Barghouti's guilt in 21 other deaths that were initially part of the indictment could not be proven, as The Washington Post reported.

Regarding the verdict, Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid argued that it "demonstrates the independence of the Israeli courts."

"The fact that in most of the accusations he is found not guilty is clear evidence that his case was given a fair trial," Lapid stated.

As televised footage of the trial shows, a then-44-year-old Barghouti declared in Hebrew, "This is a court of occupation that I do not recognize," according to The Washington Post. 

"A day will come when you will be ashamed of these accusations," he said. "I have no more connection to these charges than you, the judges, do. The judges cannot judge on their own. They get their order from above."

Before the verdict, Barghouti flashed a victory sign with his shackled hands as he entered the court and declared, "So long as occupation continues, the intifada will not stop. As long as Palestinian mothers are weeping, Israeli mothers will also weep."

In a Sunday X post, Aviva Klompas, author of Stand-Up Nation: Israeli Resilience in the Wake of Disaster, also condemned the recent calls from high-profile public figures for Barghouti's release.

"This season's celebrity activism trend? Demanding freedom for convicted Palestinian terrorists," she wrote. 

"Take Marwan Barghouti. Hollywood stars are campaigning for him like he's a folk hero. But Barghouti isn't Mandela," Klompas stated. "He's serving multiple life sentences for orchestrating attacks that murdered civilians. It's astonishing how easily terrorism becomes romanticized when the victims are Jewish."

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