Pro-Palestine speaker says his lecture was moved to online due to activists who consider him a Zionist 'traitor'
A pro-Palestine activist has alleged that a portion of his speaking appearance at the University of California, San Francisco needed to be moved online due to activists who view him as a “Zionist ‘traitor.’”
On Nov. 19, Ahmed Alkhatib published an X post saying that part of the event that he spoke at had to be moved to Zoom 'to avoid security risks.'
A pro-Palestine activist has alleged that a portion of his speaking appearance at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) needed to be moved online due to threats from activists who view him as a “Zionist ‘traitor.’”
On Nov. 19, Atlantic Council Resident Senior Fellow Ahmed Alkhatib published an X post saying that part of the event that he spoke at the day before at the university had to be moved to Zoom “to avoid security risks.”
I was invited to speak to faculty and students at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), an event sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Jewish Coalition Diversity Committee, to give a talk titled “Breaking the Cycle of Dehumanization.”
What was… pic.twitter.com/lws5mSVDsL— Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib (@afalkhatib) November 20, 2024
Alkhatib, who is originally from Gaza, gave a talk that was sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Jewish Coalition Diversity Committee, entitled “Breaking the Cycle of Dehumanization.”
“Some in the ‘pro-Palestine’ community at the school, who are medical professionals and researchers with supposed critical thinking skills, ignored the entirety of my publications, statements, public stances, and clearly pro-Palestine, anti-occupation ethos to claim I am a Zionist ‘traitor’ – simply because I’ve been vehemently anti-Hamas and a proponent of mutual empathy, humanity, and peace,” his post read.
“My Instagram was bombarded with threats, pro-Hamas slogans, pro-resistance symbols, insults, and attacks, claiming that I have no right to speak about the war in Gaza or the broader conflict,” Al-Khatib said.
The activist’s X post also stated that part of the UCSF event had to be moved to Zoom in order to “avoid security risks to myself and others” and that the event “had to have a police presence to secure the space.”
Alkhatib, who identifies as “pro-Palestine, anti-Hamas & violence” and “pro-peace,” wrote in his post that the threats against him may have been due to a “hit piece” by a “Russian/Iranian PsyOp propaganda website run by far-left disinformation agents” who claim he is receiving $30 million from Israel to “promote genocide.”
[RELATED: ‘New study identifies 150+ ‘militant’ anti-Israel groups on US campuses’]
In response to Alkhatib’s situation, President David Keating of the Institute for Free Speech told Campus Reform that, “We have a right to protest, and it can be an effective tactic. But those who gather to listen to a speaker have a right to hear the speech. People who interrupt the speech, incite violence, or prevent the event from continuing not only hurt their cause, they violate the rights of the speaker and audience.”
Campus Reform has contacted Ahmed Alkhatib for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
