EXCLUSIVE: Ivy League Universities Co-Organize Upcoming Webinar With Convicted Terrorist
The webinar, titled "On Zionism," is being co-organized by over a dozen institutes at universities like Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, and Brown, and will feature Islamic Jihad financier Sami al-Arian
A webinar scheduled for August 14th will feature Sami Al-Arian, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to providing services to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), speaking alongside prominent American academics, former UN officials, and media figures in an event co-organized by major U.S. universities including Georgetown, Harvard, Columbia, Brown, and the University of Chicago.
The third session of the Pedagogic Series "Teaching Palestine Today," organized by the Gaza in Context Project and National Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, is titled “On Zionism.”
Terror Financing Conviction and Leadership Role
According to court documents from the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Tampa Division, Al-Arian was identified as "a member of the PIJ, a member of the 'Shura Council' of the PIJ, Secretary of the 'Shura Council,' and the leader of the PIJ in the United States." The court found that "in his capacity as a leader in the PIJ, he directed the audit of all moneys and property of the PIJ throughout the world and was the leader of the PIJ in the United States."
Concerning Academic Platform
The webinar will feature speakers including Sherene Seikaly, Associate Professor of History at UC Santa Barbara; Craig Mokhiber, former senior UN official and international human rights lawyer; Noura Erakat, Professor at Rutgers University; Adam Horowitz, Executive Editor of Mondoweiss; and Nimer Sultany, Reader in Public Law at SOAS University of London. The event will be moderated by Bassam Haddad from George Mason University, with Yousef Munayyer from the Arab Center Washington DC serving as discussant.
The involvement of American academics from respected institutions and former UN officials alongside Al-Arian raises concerns about the vetting process for speakers and the risk of normalizing individuals with terrorist connections in academic settings.
Pattern of Terror-Affiliated Activities
Al-Arian's recent activities continue to raise alarm bells. In May 2025, he was photographed attending an event in Istanbul, Turkey, alongside Majed Al-Zeer, identified by European authorities as a central Hamas operative in Germany for whom a European arrest warrant was issued.
Al-Arian, who was deported from the U.S. to Turkey due to his terror-related activities, currently serves as director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Zaim University, which has repeatedly hosted Hamas-affiliated individuals.
On October 6, 2024, CIGA held a conference titled "Fourth International Conference on Palestine Toufan Al-Aqsa & Regional and International Orders," using Hamas' term for its October 7 massacre against Israel. The event featured Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official and U.S.-designated terrorist.
CIGA also hosted Mohammed Mushanish at an event in 2020, identified as a key Hamas operative in Turkey, further demonstrating the institution's connections to members of designated terrorist organizations.
Defending Hamas’ Position
Al-Arian was also featured on a website launched in tandem with a legal petition filed by Hamas to challenge the U.K.’s 2021 decision to designate the group as a terrorist organization. His essays, titled "Zionism as a Maximalist Ideology" and “The Legacy of the Martyr Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam” were prominently featured on the website, defending Hamas' position and challenging the U.K.'s classification of the group.
Extremist Rhetoric and Ideology
In January 2025, Al-Arian delivered remarks in Islamabad, Pakistan, where he stated: "We do not fight the Jews because of their faith, we fight the aggressors – the Zionists. And since we brought this in, let me define who a Zionist is. A Zionist is any person who believes, acknowledges, or recognizes that Jews have a sovereign right in Palestine, exclusive right in Palestine."
This rhetoric effectively declares his intent to "fight" anyone who believes Jews have a sovereign right to exist in Israel—a position held by the vast majority of Jewish people worldwide.
He also discussed how he was inspired by Hamas's October 7 massacre, stating, "When you look at [October 7] Al-Aqsa Flood – it gave us a lot of ideas and thoughts, and it basically gives us the map of how this could be done. This is not a final battle, this was a very important battle to understand where we are and where we are heading."
Al-Arian has emphasized the importance of "Palestinian resistance action being accompanied and joined by global solidarity movements", language where "Palestinian resistance" serves as a euphemism for terror groups like Hamas, PIJ, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Ties to Extremist and Terror Networks
Al-Arian's involvement with extremist organizations dates back decades. He reportedly joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1978 and remained a member until 1983, participating in its activities in the United States, including the establishment of institutions such as the Islamic Union for Palestine in North America. He later established the Islamic Palestine Committee in 1988 and the Islamic Academy of Florida in 1992.
Ahmed Youssef, former advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, referred to Al-Arian as "my friend" and praised him as being "among the first generation to work to serve the Palestinian cause in the United States." Youssef also described Al-Arian as one of the most important figures in the "Palestinian Islamic community," alongside PIJ founder Fathi Shaqaqi and senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk.
Among the event's co-organizers is Georgetown University-Qatar, which previously hosted the "Reimagining Palestine" conference in Doha featuring alleged PFLP member Shawan Jabarin, and Wadah Khanfar, an alleged former Hamas leader in Sudan who praised the October 7 massacre as a "great achievement."
Another co-organizer, the Palestinian Birzeit University, has documented ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups, with its student government dominated by Hamas-affiliated blocs and campus events celebrating these organizations.
Academic Platforms and the Legitimization of Extremism
The involvement of Sami Al-Arian in this event underscores how figures with extremist ties use academic platforms to legitimize their views and expand their influence.
Al-Arian’s history of affiliations with terrorist organizations, coupled with his statements advocating for acts of terror such as Hamas’ October 7 massacre, reveals his role as an operative seeking to provide political backing and support for terrorist groups.
His participation highlights the growing concern over how academic institutions may inadvertently serve as conduits for individuals who promote and defend terrorism under the guise of academic discourse.
You obviously put tremendous effort into exposing the terror links of various conferences and seminars. But does it make any substantive difference? Are there any repercussions for universities or organizations which host speakers with such overtly antisemitic and genocidal views? Would white supremacist groups espousing similar views of darker skin colour minorities be allowed similar free rein in the US ?