How would you feel if a terrorist was speaking at your child’s university? I mean, a full-blown designated terrorist? How would you react if I told you this same university received over $28 million from the CARES Act that Congress passed this year.
That’s the current situation at San Francisco State University right now. As egregious as it sounds, your taxpayer dollars are literally going to a university that is welcoming a terrorist to speak this month.
In 1969 Leila Khaled and other members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked TWA Flight 840, which was bound for Tel Aviv. A year later, Khaled attempted to hijack El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam to New York City but failed after her grenades, fortunately, did not detonate. The plane then was rerouted to London, where she was arrested. During the arrest, Khaled stated, “I am the leader of the hijack. My name is Leila Khaled, and I am a member of the PFLP.” A month later, Khaled was released by the British authorities in a prisoner exchange for civilian hostages taken by PFLP members in another hijacking. Now on Sept. 23, Khaled is set to speak at SFSU.
In more recent years, Khaled has also implied that the second Intifada, in which over a thousand Jews were killed, failed because it was not violent enough. Khaled has also compared Nazi Germany to Israel on multiple occasions, which is considered an anti-Semitic act under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the U.S. Department of State.
The PFLP, in which Khaled is a proud member, is also designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State. In the most direct definition of both words, Leila Khaled is a terrorist and an anti-Semite. Yet, despite all this, she will be speaking at this public university in just a couple of weeks.
To little surprise, SFSU faced immediate backlash from Jewish groups such as the Anti-Defamation League. Instead of canceling the event and apologizing, the university released a statement saying that “SF State supports the rights of all individuals to express their viewpoints and other speech protected by law, even when those viewpoints may be controversial.” No one is arguing against free inquiry on college campuses, but to call Khaled merely “controversial” is offensive to the Jewish community and all Americans. Terrorism is not controversial.
While, of course, colleges should bring in speakers from both sides of the aisle to discuss debatable issues, that’s not what’s happening here. Khaled advocates for violence and spews anti-Semitic misinformation and lies about the Jewish state of Israel. She provides absolutely no valuable insight to students who are genuinely interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
SFSU is a public university, and they have received over $28 million of taxpayer money this year alone. Shouldn’t universities that accept federal or state funding be held to higher standards? It is difficult to understand how a college that grabs for federal dollars with one hand should sponsor speakers that the U.S. Department of State deems to represent a terrorist organization with the other.
Schools also have a moral duty to protect their Jewish students on campus. Instead of standing up to dangerous anti-Israel initiatives that put Jews at risk, SFSU is fueling the fire by giving Khaled a platform to speak. Khaled promotes violence against Jews, and she will only make anti-Semitism on campus worse than it already is.
SFSU has failed its Jewish students, and they have failed the taxpayers. It is shocking and equally disappointing that universities such as SFSU need to a reminder that terrorism is wrong.
Alex Blecker is a student at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.
