I wish I could thank Ms. María Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo for illuminating the American public in her El Pais article on the disturbing phenomenon of “doxxing,” “inquisition,” and “crucifixion” of pro-Hamas American academics—all those colorful words she wields—if only she hadn’t found a creative way to make me and the Middle East Forum (MEF) the chief inquisitors in her Spanish auto-da-fé. But who am I to protest? After all, as a Jewish Israeli-American, I’m quite used to the occasional anti-Israel broadside, particularly from those who toss medieval tropes around as casually as she does. Let’s dissect her claims with the same fastidiousness she reserves for my alleged wrongdoing.
First, Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo’s biggest gripe is that MEF—more specifically, I—somehow triggered the arrest of one “Badar Khan Suri” by revealing that he is connected to Hamas leadership through his wife’s family. It’s all very scandalous. Perhaps the truly scandalous part is that Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo thinks a person’s direct ties to terrorists is some trivial footnote. Far be it from me to question her priorities. Evidently, she’d prefer a hush-hush approach when it comes to folks married into terror circles lecturing on American campuses. Public safety be damned.
Then we get to her repeated references to an “inquisition,” presumably directed at me, an oh-so-evil ringleader of an “anti-Palestine offensive.” Yes, because we all know the Jewish diaspora is known for staging inquisitions—especially in Spain. Historically, that only ended delightfully for them, right? Pardon my sarcasm, but her invocation of these terms feels like a not-so-subtle wink to tropes that are as dusty as the archives of the actual Inquisition. I do love how Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo scolds me for a medieval-style witch-hunt while ironically slipping medieval references of her own. Delicious.
Let’s clarify the “doxxing” bit. I find it oddly comedic that, even as she writes, she acknowledges how our organization’s project, Campus Watch, “admits” to documenting open-source information—like social media posts, lecture announcements, and public statements—to highlight extremist sympathies. Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo calls it doxxing. I call it “researching what’s already public.” The difference may appear subtle, but if a professor tweets, posts an official biography on a departmental website, or signs a public letter calling for Israel’s demise, that’s not exactly top-secret. Meanwhile, she sees fit to recast every instance of legal process as a tool of my alleged “inquisition.” As if the Spanish monarchy’s 1492 motto, “All who disagree must vanish,” were now operating in reverse from my Philadelphia office?
She claims that foreign students are being “persecuted,” “arrested,” and “crucified” (ah yes, another deeply sensitive term, Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo—someone might almost suspect a whiff of bias). She also insinuates that the entire U.S. government is doing my bidding. Or is it the other way around? I lose track in her swirling narrative. Regardless, it’s astonishing that she lumps every student into one group of “peace-loving angelic dissidents” while deriding any official investigation into potential extremist affiliations or violent incitement.
But the best part is where Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo lumps me in with Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rubio. Why not? We must all gather under the same big evil umbrella to stifle precious free speech. She overlooks the basic premise: free speech does not mean free license to endorse or collaborate with terror organizations. My phone starts ringing, I tip off the FBI—voilà, “inquisition.” The leaps of logic would do a gazelle proud.
Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo’s article further laments that academics like Callen are losing jobs over ripping down posters of Hamas hostages. Let me get this straight: A teacher tears down photos of innocent civilians kidnapped by a terror group, then claims moral high ground? Strange. Even more remarkable is how Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo frames that as “harassment” by those who dared film the destruction or question the act. No mention that the families of these hostages might want the world to remember that their loved ones are alive somewhere—likely tortured in a tunnel beneath Gaza.
And then, of course, there’s the oh-so-sinister Canary Mission (not my organization, mind you), yet Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo lumps us all together to intensify her colorful “persecution” narrative. She lumps and lumps, and lumps some more, flinging blame around like confetti at a carnival. Maybe she’ll next claim that MEF was behind the meteor that fell somewhere last year. If it furthers the dramatic motif, why not?
For the record, we at MEF are indeed proud of our mission: shining light on professors or students who sanitize extremist ideologies and wink at terrorism. We do so publicly, referencing publicly available data. If Ms. Sánchez-Vallejo wants to call that an “inquisition” or a “crucifixion,” I’d gently suggest she check her own loaded references. Perhaps she might consider how casually employing that sort of language could itself be construed as hateful. But, after all, who am I to spoil her rhetorical fireworks?
