University of Southern Maine Scraps Francesca Albanese Conference Following Jewish Onliner Exposé
The U.S.-sanctioned UN official was scheduled to appear via Zoom on Feb. 28 at the publicly funded university, but the administration has withdrawn approval for the conference to take place on campus
After Jewish Onliner’s February 15 report revealed the University of Southern Maine’s plan to host U.S.-sanctioned UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, administrators announced on February 20 that they had terminated facility agreements for the “Consequence of Palestine” conference scheduled for February 28 citing Albanese’s participation.
Jewish Onliner had previously discovered that the Maine institution—a publicly funded university receiving federal funds—had coordinated with activist organizations to host Albanese virtually at the all-day conference despite her inclusion on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, a designation that legally prohibits any U.S. person or entity from exchanging goods or services with her.
Conference Organizers Attempt End-Run Around Cancellation
Conference organizers subsequently updated the event website with a legal caveat claiming they had obtained written guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) permitting Albanese’s participation under narrow confines. The statement asserted that “another group recently asked the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) whether it could invite Ms. Albanese to participate in its conference. OFAC advised, in writing, that it was permissible for that group to host Ms. Albanese so long as it remained within the narrow confines of that particular conference and request.”
The organizers claimed they had been “advised that it is legally permissible to host Ms. Albanese at our conference, so long as we remain within the narrow and specific confines of the recent guidance provided by OFAC,” and asserted the arrangement did not violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The statement further specified that “conference organizers will not and have not engaged in any financial transaction, directly or indirectly, with or for the benefit of Ms. Albanese or any other sanctioned party” and would not provide her an honorarium, specialized training, or assistance.
Despite the university's withdrawal, the conference website still shows the conference scheduled to take place at Hannaford Hall, located in the Abromson Community Education Center, at 88 Bedford Street, on the campus of the University of Southern Maine.
Planned Speakers and Organizational Ties
The conference roster included Fateh Azzam, listed as representing the Maine Coalition for Palestine. Jewish Onliner’s original reporting identified Azzam as having previously directed al-Haq from 1987 to 1995. In September 2025, the U.S. State Department designated al-Haq as an entity “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute Israeli nationals without Israel’s consent.”
One of the coordinating organizations, The Maine Coalition for Palestine, includes member organizations with alleged ties to foreign influence networks. The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and Maine Democratic Socialists of America have been linked to funding from China-based Marxist tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who was the subject of a House Committee on Ways and Means hearing investigating foreign influence dynamics in U.S. left-wing activism.
Facility Named for Jewish Community Leader
The venue choice carried particular significance, as the facility is named in part for Linda Abromson, a Jewish activist and Portland’s first female Jewish mayor. The Maine Wire noted the irony of hosting a conference featuring a sanctioned UN official who has been accused of antisemitism in a space bearing a Jewish community leader’s name.