Amid ongoing outrage over campus antisemitism, Princeton University recently held an event platforming an advocate for Islamist terrorism and anti-Zionism.
The posh Ivy League school hosted authors Sireen Sawalha and Sami Hermez for a discussion on their novel focusing on Sawalha’s brother — a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The book, “My Brother, My Land: A Story from Palestine,” depicts Iyad — a participant in an internationally recognized terrorist organization — as a courageous freedom fighter struggling to liberate his homeland from the shackles of supposed Israeli oppression.
Hermez, the co-author of the book, raised eyebrows after observers drew attention to her effusive praise of the Oct. 7 slaughters throughout Israel by the Hamas terrorist group. Moreover, Hermez also mourned the death of Hamas ringleader Yahya Sinwar. Regarding Sinwar, Hermez has uttered that the terrorist kingpin is “a hero, a legend, and a role model.” Hermez has voiced support for the “struggle for liberty” of the Palestinians and Lebanese people from the Jewish state — a tacit endorsement of the terrorism inflicted upon the Jewish State by the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups.
According to the book’s official description, the work is a “a rich story of intertwining voices, mixing genres of oral history, memoir, and creative nonfiction” which chronicles Iyad’s “armed resistance in the First and Second Intifada.”
“Through the lives of the Sawalha family, and the story of Iyad’s involvement with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hermez confronts readers with the politics and complexities of armed resistance,” the book’s description reads.
The event was spearheaded by the university’s Department of African American studies and its Department of Comparative Literature.
The invitation drew prompt backlash from Jewish students on Princeton’s campus, demanding that the university officials step in to denounce the authors and clarify Princeton’s position on bringing terrorist apologists to campus.
In a letter addressed to Princeton African American Studies Chair Tera Hunter and Comparative Literature Chair Thomas Hare, “Tigers for Israel” President Maximillian Meyer requested that the two authors have their invitation rescinded, urging the Ivy League academics to “denounce” the individuals.
Ivy League universities have been ravaged by anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests in the year following the slaughter of roughly 1200 people throughout the Jewish state. Campus activists have set up unsanctioned encampments, held disruptive demonstrations, confronted and assaulted Jewish students, and have expelled “Zionists” from their campus clubs.
The hostile environment on college campuses has sparked outrage among employers, with many vowing to never hire any student affiliated with these groups. Alumni have also closed their wallets, causing many elite colleges to suffer a precipitous decline in donations over the past year.
