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Canadian University Hires Convicted Terrorist Who Bombed Paris Synagogue to Teach ‘Social Justice’
Carleton University in Ontario, Canada is being castigated for hiring convicted terrorist Hassan Diab — who carried out a 1980 bombing of a synagogue in Paris, which killed four Jewish worshippers and injured dozens of others — as a professor.
Diab, 70, is teaching at least one course in Carleton University’s sociology department this fall, according to B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish civil rights group. He will lecture on “social justice in action.” So far, no high level administrative official has attempted to explain what merited his being hired.
A former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who is currently the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by French law enforcement, Diab was found guilty in 2023 in absentia of detonating a bomb at Rue Copernic synagogue on Oct. 3, 1980, an attack which coincided with Shabbat. The French court last year sentenced him to life in prison and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Decades passed between the incident and Diab’s conviction, owing to his elusiveness and oscillations of a criminal justice system which ordered his extradition on charges of terrorism, dropped them, and then reinstated them when the case reached France’s highest judicial body, the Court of Cassation. Throughout the proceedings, Diab has professed his innocence and even compared himself to Alfred Dreyfus, a French army officer falsely convicted of espionage in a landmark case that sparked antisemitic violence across France.
“Despite being handed a life sentence by a French court, Hassan Diab continues to live freely in Canada, while Carleton University, unconscionably, continues to allow him the privilege of teaching at a Canadian institution,” B’nai Brith Canada said in a statement, which included a link to a petition calling for the termination of Diab’s employment. “The university has ignored B’nai Brith’s formal request to terminate his position, allowing Diab to remain in a position of authority over students.”
It continued, “Carleton’s silence is deeply disturbing. Its decision to continue to employ Diab not only presents a danger to the well-being of its students, but it is an insult to the memory of innocent victims of his heinous crime and an affront to all Canadians who value law and order. This must change! We must act now!”
Carleton University has not responded to The Algemeiner‘s request for comment for this story.
Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian academic, is not the first PFLP terrorist to find refuge in academia. Leila Khaled, who hijacked a Tel Aviv-bound plane in 1969 and attempted another hijacking, this time of an El Al flight, in 1970 — has been invited to speak at San Francisco State University, the University of California, Merced, and New York University. Additionally, Khaled has a strong following among radical activists in the American anti-Zionist movement, in which she is highly praised as “the poster girl of Palestinian militancy.” American lawmakers, however, have described Khaled as “unrepentant” and suggested that inviting her to an American campus violates anti-terrorism laws.
In Diab’s case, Carleton University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, in which he is currently employed, has effusively advocated ignoring France’s request for extradition, which would result in Diab’s serving the life sentence to which he was sentenced for his crime.
“Dr. Diab has been caught in a political nightmare in which the existence of accuse has become the foundation for a guilty finding in a trial with no official transcripts and no opportunity for appeal,” the department said in 2023. “While our hearts go out to the victims, families, and communities hurt by this act of antisemitic terror, causing further damage to the life of an innocent man and continued harm to his family will not heal their pain. Canada must refuse to extradite Hassan Diab and end his 15-year long ordeal.”
Jewish civil rights leaders in France, however, support the court’s findings and have demanded Canadian compliance with the two countries’ extradition treaty.
“Forty-three years after the attack on the Rue Copernic synagogue, Hassan Diab is sentenced to life imprisonment,” Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), said following the verdict. “Everything must now be done to enforce the international arrest warrant. CRIF calls on Canada to cooperate with the French justice system. CRIF expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims, who have devoted their lives to ensuring that justice is done.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Canadian University Hires Convicted Terrorist Who Bombed Paris Synagogue to Teach ‘Social Justice’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Why the Super Bowl antisemitism ad uses a familiar slur
To the editors:
The sticky note cruelly slapped on a high school student’s backpack didn’t have to say “Dirty Jew.”
It could have been any one of dozens of other antisemitic slurs, and believe me, throughout my life and current line of work, I’ve seen and heard them all. At the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, our Command Center closely tracks the spread of antisemitism online, in all its pernicious forms.
In his piece for the Forward about our new Super Bowl ad, PJ Grisar argues that the ad misses the mark by using “Dirty Jew,” characterizing it as old-fashioned and out of touch with the heavily coded, meme-driven ways students typically express antisemitism today.
We’ve seen all of those slurs gaining traction among younger people that Grisar gave as examples of how kids hate today.
But we didn’t pull “Dirty Jew” out of the history books. In creating the ad, the Blue Square Alliance made a conscious decision to follow the research. Our decisions are based on data, from the one billion social media posts we analyze daily, to our semi-annual 7,000-participant survey on American sentiment toward Jews and antisemitism, to our multi-stage audience testing that is foundational to our creative development.
Here’s the hard data: With nearly 500 million social media impressions since 2023, “Dirty Jew” is a slur that has managed to penetrate all corners of American discourse. Worse yet, its usage online has increased by 174% in the past three years, growing at a significantly higher rate than other slurs. And sadly, the last few years have seen more than a few disturbing and real incidents of the scenario in the ad play out in real life. In U.S. high schools. Right now. Not 1950.
This data-guided approach drove our selection of “Dirty Jew” among all the possible antisemitic slurs as the one to appear on the sticky note. Even though at first glance this phraseology may seem dated, it’s actually timeless and ubiquitous — scarily — and is even outpacing other slurs in frequency of use.
So, whether you’re a Boomer, Millennial or Gen Z, there’s no subtlety to what this ad is showing you: this is antisemitism, pure and simple. And, as Grisar acknowledges in his piece, the challenge of storytelling within a 30-second ad window requires a clear, unambiguous message. In that short time, clarity beats complexity.
It was also important to us to use the high school setting and focus our ad on a younger demographic because that is where we have seen the most concerning trends in antisemitism data. Our most recent survey data shows that Gen Z is three times more likely to witness antisemitism than older generations, and yet nearly twice as likely to say it is not a problem.
At the heart of this campaign is Blue Square Alliance’s dedication to addressing another data point: more than 100 million Americans say they are unengaged in the collective effort to stand up against anti-Jewish hate. We have spent the past few years closely studying this segment, and our surveys show that unengaged Americans often don’t know Jewish Americans, they aren’t familiar with antisemitism (their news feeds and social feeds don’t share the awful stories that we all know too well), and they don’t think antisemitism is a significant problem. Importantly, they don’t feel personal or societal pressure to be an ally.
That’s exactly why we’re using the Super Bowl — a cultural touchstone for the entire country — to raise awareness and model allyship. We test all of our ads, including “Sticky Note” and our earlier ads like “Tony,” specifically with this target audience. What we’re seeing is promising.
Among the unengaged, exposure to our messaging measurably shifts attitudes: viewers become 36% more familiar with recent antisemitic incidents and 41% more likely to see antisemitism as a major problem in the United States. And the impact doesn’t stop at awareness — it moves people to act. After seeing our ads, unengaged viewers are 27% more likely to say they would speak up when they witness antisemitism.
And our work to cultivate allies extends far beyond the television screen. We complement our social media, outdoor and audio campaigns with on-the-ground bridge-building to strengthen connections with Americans across communities and reach those who have not yet been meaningfully involved in this issue. Over the past year, we’ve expanded our programs to bring more people into the conversation, like our partnership with UNCF and Hillel International, now on a 14-stop “Unity Dinner” tour, to connect Black and Jewish students on campuses nationwide. And last fall, we joined with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation to launch “Stand Up Sunday,” an interfaith effort that mobilized hundreds of thousands of congregants across the nation to reject antisemitism and all faith-based hate.
Our founder, Robert Kraft, created the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate in 2019 because he recognized that reversing the rise in antisemitism would require both awareness and empathy.
With “Sticky Note,” we’re showing what it means to be an upstander and giving Americans a clear, accessible way to step off the sidelines. We won’t simply win over the unengaged through displays of toughness and bravado alone, as some people have suggested. To reach the unengaged majority, you have to meet them where they are — not where we, as a deeply committed Jewish community, already stand.
The post Why the Super Bowl antisemitism ad uses a familiar slur appeared first on The Forward.
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Amid Iran Standoff, Witkoff and Kushner Pose Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier
Steve Witkoff (R) aboard the aircraft carrier Lincoln. Photo via i24 / social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law
i24 News – Special US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited on Saturday the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
The duo, who led the US in the indirect nuclear talks with Iran on Friday, visited the aircraft carrier at the invitation of US Central Command chief, Adm. Brad Cooper.
The carrier arrived in the region last week as part of a US “armada” amid rising tensions with the Islamic regime of Iran. It is stationed in the Arabian Sea.
The visit came hours after US President Donald Trump stated that while the talks went well, “But I think Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly, as they should. Last time, they decided maybe not to do it, but I think they probably feel differently. We’ll see what the deal is. It’ll be different than last time. And we have a big armada. We have a big fleet heading in that direction. It’ll be there pretty soon. So we’ll see how that works out.”
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Pentagon Says It Will Cut Academic Ties With Harvard University
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives to administer the oath to U.S. Army National Guard soldiers during a re-enlistment ceremony at the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Friday his department was ending professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University, marking the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the school.
President Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on top US universities, including Harvard, over a range of issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s assault on Gaza, diversity programs, transgender policies and climate initiatives.
“Starting now and beginning in the 2026-27 school year, I am discontinuing all graduate level Professional Military Education (PME), all fellowships and certificate programs between Harvard University and the War Department for active duty service members,” Hegseth, who himself holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, said on X.
The policy will apply to service members enrolling in future programs while those currently enrolled will be allowed to finish their courses, Hegseth said.
He also added that the Pentagon will evaluate similar relationships with other universities in the coming weeks.
Rights advocates have raised free speech, academic freedom and due process concerns over the government’s actions against universities.
A Harvard spokesperson directed Reuters to a page on the history of the university’s ties with the US military that says Harvard has played a “significant role” in America’s military traditions since the nation’s founding.
TRUMP-HARVARD TENSIONS CONTINUE
The university has previously sued the Trump administration over the government’s attempt to freeze federal funding.
Hegseth accused Harvard of “hate America activism,” also calling the university antisemitic in a reference to pro-Palestinian protests.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza with antisemitism and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Harvard has condemned discrimination on campus. Its antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces found last year that Jews and Muslims faced bigotry after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack.
Trump’s attempts to freeze federal funds for Harvard have faced legal resistance and the two sides have failed to reach a deal thus far.
Trump said this week his administration was seeking $1 billion from Harvard to settle probes into school policies.
Some Ivy League schools have reached agreements with the Trump administration and accepted certain government demands. Columbia University has agreed to pay more than $220 million to the government while Brown University has agreed to pay $50 million to support local workforce development.