Former New Mexico Professor, Apparent Member of Terror Group, Defends Pro-Hamas Protestors
Benay Blend, an apparent Samidoun member and Palestine Chronicle contributor, an outlet which allegedly employed a Hamas captor, dismisses antisemitism claims in her review of “The Encampments” film.
Benay Blend, a former professor at Central New Mexico Community College, published a review of The Encampments movie on the website of the U.S.-designated terror group, Samidoun. In her review, Blend dismissed accusations that the protestors in the film were antisemitic, labeling such claims “groundless.” She further argued that the film reveals “the willfully dishonest paranoid delusions of the Zionist project.”
Blend has been referred to as a member of Samidoun’s Albuquerque chapter, on Samidoun’s own website. Blend is also a contributor to the U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit, The Palestine Chronicle, which is the subject of lawsuit by former Israeli hostages who were held hostage by one of the outlet’s employees in Gaza following the attacks of October 7th, 2023. In a Facebook post Blend wrote, “I'm honored and pleased to be part of the PC family!”, an abbreviation for Palestine Chronicle.
Blend’s Connection to the Palestine Chronicle
Blend has written articles for the Palestine Chronicle praising former officials from the U.S-designated terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). One article she wrote celebrated Ahmad Sa’adat, the former Secretary-General of the PFLP, and another praised the legacy of Ghassan Kanafani, a former PFLP spokesperson and Politburo member.
The Palestine Chronicle is currently embroiled in a lawsuit involving Abdallah Aljamal, a Hamas operative accused of kidnapping Israeli citizens during the October 7, 2023 attack on the Nova Music Festival. The lawsuit alleges that the Palestine Chronicle knowingly paid Aljamal while he worked as their Gaza correspondent.
In 2024, the congressional committee responsible for tax law and raising revenue called for the revocation of the nonprofit status of the People Media Project, which publishes the Palestine Chronicle. In a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, urged the revocation of the People Media Project’s tax-exempt status.
Social Media Endorsements of Terrorists
Blend’s social media activity includes further endorsements of terrorist figures such as Leila Khaled, a convicted airplane hijacker, Yahya Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas in Gaza, Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, and Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’ military wing.
Additionally, Blend has promoted and donated to a fundraiser for the People Media Project, the official 501(c)(3) for the Palestine Chronicle. Facebook posts for the fundraiser include images of children wearing PFLP headbands.
Emerging Ties Between Academics and Samidoun
Blend has taught at several institutions, including the University of Georgia, Memphis State University, and the University of New Mexico. As a former adjunct professor at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, she taught courses in Native American, American, and New Mexico history.
Blend's connection to Samidoun comes at a time when other academics have been linked to the organization. Helyeh Doutaghi, for example, was terminated from her position at Yale Law School after a Jewish Onliner investigation revealed her membership in Samidoun. This marks the second individual from higher education with ties to the group, suggesting the possibility of a wider network of academics who support Samidoun.
As the Third Intifada is globalized, they will come for the Christians, so no one will have to travel for the next Crusade. Our enemies are now within, and we will be fighting for our lives on our own streets, in our own homes.
Congrats on the first consequences may they continue, anti-civilizational forces have no place in America / academia forevermore