The sh*t is really about the hit the fan following the slew of online Leila Khaled talks. And by sh*t hitting the fan, I am not referring to more violence by Khaled, this time against a supporter.
In California, the feds are investigating San Francisco State University in attempting to host the terrorist:
The feds are probing a California university for inviting a Palestinian airplane hijacker to give a virtual talk that Zoom refused to host, The Post has learned.
The US Department of Education is reviewing concerns that San Francisco State University broke federal rules by attempting to host the event with Leila Khaled who helped carry out two politically motivated hijackings in 1969 and 1970. The agency has also asked the Justice Department and the US Treasury to examine the case, documents obtained by The Post show.
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The Lawfare Project, a civil right non-profit that serves the Jewish people and the pro-Israel community, urged the feds to investigate the Sept. 23 event given Khaled’s ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, a revolutionary group that the US has designated a terrorist organization.
“In normal circumstances, people like Leila Khaled would be barred entry into the United States,” Lawfare Project senior counsel Gerard Filitti told The Post. “However, now we’re living in a world in which Zoom and teleconferences and videoconferences are the norm, and it would be a perversion of justice if terrorists were allowed to spread their message and indoctrinate students by Zoom.”
The Lawfare Project contends SFSU provided “material support” to terrorists by offering Khaled a platform in the US, violating an anti-terrorism statute known as 18 USC Section 2339B.
In an Oct. 8 letter responding to the group, Education Department official Reed Rubinstein acknowledged that “SFSU’s conduct concerning Leila Khaled and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine may be subject to the Department of the Treasury’s sanctions authorities.”
Rubinstein, the agency’s principal deputy general counsel, referred the concerns to both the Treasury and the Department of Justice, which enforces the relevant anti-terrorism law, according to letters that Lawfare provided to The Post.
The Education Department will evaluate concerns that SFSU’s webinar violated civil rights rules and the conditions of federal grants the university received, Rubinstein wrote. The department’s civil rights office in San Francisco said in a Monday letter to Lawfare that it received the complaint and would decide whether to fully investigate it within 30 days.
A formal investigation by the feds could lead to a reduction in the university’s federal funding as well as possible fines or criminal charges, according to Lawfare executive director Brooke Goldstein.
The Treasury Department declined to comment. The Justice Department and the Education Department did not respond to requests for comment. SFSU also didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the feds’ action.
While over the pond, it is a university doing the investigating:
Leeds University has launched an investigation after a Palestinian terrorist addressed students, advocating for “armed struggle” as a means of resistance.
Leila Khaled, who hijacked two international flights for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), spoke to students at a virtual event on Friday.
During the Zoom event, as part of the Apartheid Off Campus campaign, promoted by the University of Leeds Palestine Solidarity Group, Khaled told students that Palestinians are “not afraid of struggle”.
She added: “We have used all means of struggle and we are still determined to continue using all means of struggle including armed struggle.”
Following Khaled’s address, Adam Saeed, the student chair of the meeting, told attendees: “I think we can all be inspired by this”.
He said: “Everything that she said about international law is true, it doesn’t mean that anyone in this meeting endorses or encourages anyone to take arms, what it means is that under international law people are entitled to resist occupation in any means they see fit.”
The event had originally been denied permission by Leeds university itself, who said organisers had not followed protocol or provided sufficient notice, especially about Leila Khaled’s appearance. But Leeds Palestine Solidarity Group said they believed “Leila Khaled deserves a platform”.
A joint University of Leeds and Leeds University Union (LUU) statement said: “We were disappointed that the event organisers chose to proceed without our permission. We are investigating this matter further.”
I am sure all of you, like me, are outraged a terrorist like Khaled was given a platform, in order to influence young hearts and minds.
Despite my outrage, I don’t feel like hijacking a plane and trying to murder passengers.
