The president of San Francisco State University issued an apology last week for saying, “Zionists are not welcome on campus,” following a wave of anti-Semitic incidents on campus and protests over an Israeli speaker a couple years ago.
“My comments about Zionists and whether or not they are welcomed at San Francisco State University caused a lot of anguish and deeply hurt feelings,” SFSU President Leslie Wong said in a university statement after meeting with the school’s Hillel group. “I am responsible for those words and, after study and reflection, I have come to understand how flawed my comments were.”
Wong added, “Let me be clear: Zionists are welcome on our campus.”
Shortly after Wong made his apology, chalked messages appeared in front of the student center with the words, “Zionists not welcome,” and, “Zionism = Racism!”
SFSU ethics studies professor Rabab Abdulhadi condemned Wong’s apology and demanded a retraction, calling it “a declaration of war against Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians.”
“I consider the statement from President Wong, welcoming Zionists to campus, equating Jewishness with Zionism, and giving Hillel ownership of campus Jewishness, to be a declaration of war against Arabs, Muslims, Palestinians and all those who are committed to and indivisible sense of social justice on and off campus,” she wrote.
“It is embarrassing to have our campus leadership cater to donor pressures and the Israeli lobby,” she added.
Abdulhadi is well-known for supporting terrorism against Israel, calling for a “Third Palestinian Intifada,” in addition to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.
At a lecture last November at George Washington University, Abdulhadi compared Zionists to McCarthyites. She also compared the modern state of Israel’s founding to left-wing issues like police brutality.
Last year, SFSU was sued for allegedly fostering a hostile environment toward Jewish students for the last two decades. The tipping point came when a public demonstration disrupted a speech by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in April 2016. The lawsuit was dismissed last November by a federal court.
Jackson Richman (@JacksonRichman) is an editor and daily columnist at The National Discourse.
