Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, has criticized Harvard University for hosting a Palestinian professor who blamed Israel for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
The Democrat said he was “absolutely appalled” by Harvard Kennedy School’s support of columnist and Palestine Arab American University associate professor Dr. Dalal Saeb Illikat.
Dr. Illikat is scheduled to speak on March 7 at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School in a seminar series called “Middle East Dialogue.”
“The Kennedy School supports individuals who glorify and justify Hamas’ October 7 killing of Israeli citizens (infants, children, and the elderly) and the systematic rape, mutilation, and torture of girls and women. I’m really appalled,” Fetterman said. He said.
Fetterman added: “This hatred has absolutely no place in any sanctioned forum of dialogue. Common sense would demand that this be relegated to the drains of social media.” .
“As an alumnus and as a U.S. senator, it’s hard to recognize my former university now, 25 years later,” he said.
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Illikat caused controversy with his comments in which he downplayed Hamas’ attacks on Israel and blamed the Israeli government for the October 7th bloody incident in which Hamas terrorists invaded the country and killed 1,200 people.
Palestine supporter Dalal Saeb Illikat gathers at Harvard University to show support for Palestinians in Gaza during a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (LinkedIn | Getty Images)
“Today is just a normal struggle,” Illikat said on October 7, as Israelis near the Gaza border hunkered down in their homes while terrorists went door to door massacring people. Freedom,” he posted on X.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Dr. Illikat and Harvard University for a response.
Harvard University said in an online statement that event organizer Professor Tarek Massoud personally selected and invited speakers for the series.
Entrance to the Upen Faculty Building, the stage for a “die-in” protest in support of Palestinians
“The purpose of this series is to recognize that a variety of views will be presented and challenged, including views that many within and outside the Kennedy School may vehemently disagree with and even find hateful, and the purpose of this series is to and provide a forum for discussion,” Harvard University said.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) speaks to reporters before a Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on December 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. Mr. Fetterman spoke about military aid to Ukraine. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The school noted that Dean Douglas Elmendorf personally found Illikat’s words “abhorrent.”
Speakers in the “Middle East Dialogue” series include Jared Kushner, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump; Matt Das, former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Salam Fayyad, R-Vermont, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Einat Wilf, former member of the Israeli parliament.
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Harvard University said all speakers must answer questions from the audience and invited faculty unfiltered. An invitation to speak at the Kennedy School does not imply endorsement of the speaker’s views by the Kennedy School or any member of the Kennedy School Her community.
FOX News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
