Deported terrorist speaks to University of Chicago Hamas-endorsed encampment
A deported terrorist spoke to anti-Israel protesters who are occupying space at the University of Chicago.
A deported terrorist spoke to anti-Israel protesters who are occupying space at the University of Chicago.
UChicago United for Palestine, which describes itself as a coalition of student organizations and organized the University of Chicago encampment, said on Instagram that it hosted Sami Al-Arian over Zoom on Wednesday. Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Chicago also organized the encampment
”Today, we will have the honour of being joined by Dr. Sami Al Arian, a former professor of computer engineering, prominent speaker and human rights activist and US political prisoner,” the group wrote. “Dr. Al Arian has since relocated to Turkey, where he is the Director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Zaim University.”
Al-Arian was arrested in 2003, but a grand jury deadlocked on three out of the four most serious charges against him, according to the DOJ, which noted that he ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He was previously a professor at the University of South Florida.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
A plea agreement signed by Al-Arian states he was associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s, and also said he performed services for the terrorist group, the Justice Department wrote. For example, officials said Al-Arian filed official paperwork to get immigration benefits for Palestinian Islamic Jihad associate Bashir Nafi.
According to the Associated Press, Al-Arian was deported to Turkey in 2015.
The University of Chicago didn’t respond to several requests for comment from Campus Reform.
