San Francisco State University (SFSU) will be hosting Leila Khaled, a prominent member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) and hijacker of the Tel Aviv-bound flight TWA Flight 840 hijacking in 1969 and Dawson Field hijackings in 1970.Khaled will be participating in a ‘resistance’ event organized by the Department of Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies, according to an Algemeiner report Thursday.
Khaled was later released as part of a prisoner exchange, and is expected to speak at the event titled, “Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice and Resistance: A Conversation with Leila Khaled,” on September 23, hosted by Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi. The latter has been accused by some, according to Algemeiner, of fostering a climate of hate on campus towards pro-Israel students.Others expected to speak at the event include Ronnie Kasrils, a Jewish member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign who has also been accused to promoting conspiracy theories.Khaled, who is currently 76 years old and lives in the Jordanian capital of Amman, continues to have ties to the PLFP. The Palestinian organization is classified as a terrorist group by Israel, the US, Canada and the EU.The PLFP was heavily involved in terrorist attacks and suicide bombings during the Second Intifada from 2000-2005.The interconnected nature between the BDS movement and Palestinian terrorism has been reported on multiple times by The Jerusalem Post.
In early August, Strategic Affairs Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohens issued strong criticisms of a series of pro-Palestinian protests which are being staged in several prominent cities in Europe and North America by the Samidoun organization, which also has strong ties to the PLFP. Similarly, in June, PayPal closed the account of the pro-BDS French organization Collectif Palestine Vaincra because of its ties to the PLFP.
