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Palestinian Authority Celebrates and Supports Antisemitic Campus Hate Fests
Anti-Israel illegal encampments, initiated on college campuses across the United States, have now been spreading all around the world. In many cases, they have featured intimidation and attacks that have placed Jews and supporters of Israel in physical danger, with some even hospitalized.
The situation has deteriorated so much to the point that Columbia University and others have canceled or changed graduation ceremonies. Overall, many Jewish students have reported feeling extremely unsafe, and lawlessness has spread to many campuses.
It comes as no surprise that the Palestinian Authority (PA) gives these hate fests its overwhelming support, since the PA is often the source of the talking points for the anti-Israel movement.
A recurring libel to delegitimize Israel at these demonstrations has been the fundamental message of PA ideology — that the State of Israel is a colonialist implant and therefore has no right to exist.
Fatah’s youth movement, Shabiba, in its statement of thanks to students in the United States and at Columbia University in particular, called the conflict with Israel a “war of occupation” that “has been continuing for more than 75 years,” meaning since the establishment of the modern State of Israel.
The Fatah Shabiba [Youth] Movement expressed its appreciation for the student protest movement at the American universities supporting the Palestinian cause … [At] a time when our Palestinian people is dealing wherever it is with a policy of discrimination and apartheid and with the war of occupation, which has been continuing for more than 75 years [i.e., since the establishment of modern Israel], this important, historic, and unprecedented student protest movement comes to support the Palestinian cause… [emphasis added]
[Wafa, official PA news agency, April 27, 2024]
The statement of thanks, which was published by the PA’s official news agency, has a picture of a protestor at Columbia University waving a Palestinian flag covered by the Fatah Shabiba Youth Movement logo.
Besides thanking the students, Shabiba also leveled fierce criticism at any attempt by the authorities to finally restore a semblance of order to campus. It totally disregarded the antisemitism so prevalent at these protests by passing them off as “false accusations … on the pretext of antisemitism … in a manner that contradicts democratic principles and values:”
The Fatah Shabiba Movement condemned the attacks against the protesting students and the lecturers at the American universities, the blow to their right to express an opinion and to assembly, the hurling of false accusations against them on the pretext of ‘Antisemitism,’ the arrest of a number of the students, and the exaggeratedly violent treatment of them by the police officers and those opposing this historic protest movement.
It expressed its opposition to all the punitive measures and suspension decisions taken against a number of the male students, female students, and lecturers, in a manner that contradicts the democratic principles and values that the US has waved around as a slogan since its establishment. [emphasis added]
On official PA TV, a prominent journalist also hurled criticism at the attempts to restore order, saying that they were a defense of evil:
Egyptian state-owned paper Al Gomhuria Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ihab Nafea: “The stubborn behavior in managing the crisis by Columbia University President [Minouche Shafik] — she is attempting to gain favor with the American administration and is presenting herself as being against what is happening, but I think she will pay a heavy price for this because in the end, she is defending evil and the students are defending justice.”
[Official PA TV, Capital of Capitals, May 6, 2024]
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) indicated through an official Fatah spokesperson on official PA news that the protests were the culmination of a longstanding coordinated effort by Palestinian communities in the US:
PLO Executive Committee member Osama Al-Qawasmi expressed his appreciation for the student protest movement that supports the Palestinian cause at the universities of the US and some other states. In a statement to [the official PA] radio [station] The Voice of Palestine, he explained that this protest movement came as a result of an effort that the Palestinian communities there have made for many years … [emphasis added]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, May 1, 2024]
The notion that these protests are part of a greater coordinated effort was also asserted on official PA TV by a prominent Palestinian activist in the US:
This is what makes us happy in the American arena and this is part of the fruits of the ongoing labor that has been conducted by the Arab, Palestinian, and Islamic communities and the supporters in the American arena…
What is currently happening in the American arena is a shout to humanity, a shout against oppression, a shout to support the Palestinians, and a shout to this [American] administration that has not relinquished its Zionism and its positions, which joined itself to the occupation state in its war of annihilation against our people in the Gaza Strip in particular and in the West Bank and Palestine in general.” [emphasis added]
[Palestinian activist in the US Hayel Mansour, Official PA TV, April 26, 2024]
Finally, the PA’s goal of delegitimizing Israel to the point that it would lead to the state’s destruction was reiterated in a recent PA TV broadcast:
Arab American paper Al-Hawadeth Editor-in-Chief Adnan Khalil: “In practice, the occupation state [i.e., Israel] cannot live without the world and without the wealthy capitalist states. It was always — it was planted by Western colonialism; it was supported and is still supported [by it]. Without this, we would not be talking about Israel that we know today, which can defeat or confront the Arab states, the Arab people, and the Palestinian people, because the Palestinian people are being crushed by this state, by American weapons, and by support from the American politicians.
Now, as the [American] masses have turned against these regimes, this is a very big thing, very big and very influential. We will see the liberation of Palestine in our lifetime without a doubt. This undoubtedly gives us hope, and we will yet see this liberation in our lifetime.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, April 30, 2024]
Through its hate speech, the PA leadership has manipulated university students around the world into thinking that by fighting Jews and Israel, they are fighting colonialism and imperialism. And as events worldwide have demonstrated, the PA hate propaganda has been very effective.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
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