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Rep. Tenney Condemns “Free Speech for a Free Palestine” Event At HWS Saturday

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Congresswoman Claudia Tenney is speaking out against an event advertised to take place Saturday at Demarest Hall on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges that will feature someone who she says is a known Hamas sympathizer, Mohammed Abdou.

According to a poster, the event on the Geneva campus is being moderated by Hannah Dickinson with “Faculty for Justice in Palestine” and is titled, ‘Free Speech for a Free Palestine, Speaking Truth to Power.’ The flyer reads that the forum is to “build strength and solidarity across Upstate NY Colleges, Universities, and Communities.”  According to the HWS website, Dickinson is Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric.

Columbia University reportedly fired Abdou after he made a social media post following the October 7th Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, in which he posted, “Yes, I’m with Hamas, and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.”

“Anti-Semitism is completely unacceptable in our community,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “We have witnessed the violence sweeping across college campuses nationwide, calling for the death of Jews and the destruction of Israel. This disgusting anti-Semitic behavior cannot and should not be allowed in our community and on college campuses. Hobart and William Smith Colleges must immediately cancel this vile propaganda rally and reiterate its support for Jewish students.”

“This is simply not true,” said Cathy Williams, Hobart and William Smith Vice President for Marketing and Communications when asked by Finger Lakes Daily News about holding the event on Saturday. “In fact, it would be unthinkable for us to do so, not to mention that it would be completely against the values of this institution.”

“Hobart and William Smith has just been made aware that a small meeting had been planned, almost exclusively on Zoom with no more than 20 people in the room. This event is not sponsored by, funded by, or supported by, Hobart and Wiliam Smith Colleges in any way. I must emphasize that the information you have been given is simply not true.”

Last month, the Colleges relieved Jodi Dean, a Professor of Politics, of her teaching responsibilities after she wrote a blog saying she felt exhilarated by “the images from October 7th of paragliders evading Israeli air defenses…”

On October 7th, Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped around 250 more in a surprise attack that included the use of paragliders with Hamas fighters on board who murdered concertgoers at an outdoor music festival.

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