Shahd Abusalama is a Palestinian, and a lecturer in the U.K. who praised terrorists as “heroes” and spread anti-Zionist conspiracy theories on social media. When concerns were raised, she was investigated by the university where she has taught since December. The result? She was not only cleared of all wrongdoing, but given “a more secure contract.” The deplorable story is here: “British university employs Palestinian woman who calls terrorists ‘heroes,’” JNS, February 11, 2022:
A Palestinian former Ph.D. student at the Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom who was investigated by the school for praising terrorists and promoting anti-Zionist conspiracy theories has been cleared of all wrongdoing and given an employment contract by the university, reported the Jewish Chronicle.
Shahd Abusalama announced her new position on Twitter last week, saying, “We’re celebrating a fantastic victory for Palestine today. … I have been wholly exonerated of the false charges of anti-Semitism. … I will also be offered a more secure contract that will afford [sic] my employee status at Sheffield Hallam University.”
A “fantastic victory for Palestine”? Some may say so. But certainly, a grotesque assault on morality and common sense.
Abusalama was appointed as an associate lecturer at the university in December.
The school launched an investigation and suspended her after concerns were raised about her social-media activity.
Abusalama attended an event marking the 46th anniversary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group and previously called Japanese terrorist Kozo Okamoto, who took part in the deadly 1971 Lod Airport Massacre in Israel, a “freedom fighter,” according to the Chronicle.
The Gaza-born activist also described Akram Rikhawi—a Palestinian given a nine-year sentence for transporting suicide bombers—as “legendary” on social media and labeled six prisoners who escaped an Israeli jail, including a former commander of the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, as “heroes.”
The PFLP has long been recognized as a terror group by the entire Western world, including the U.K. Kozo Okamoto was one of the three Japanese Red Army members, recruited by the PFLP, who carried out the Lod Airport Massacre, killing 26 and wounding 80. This is the moral monster whom Abusalama called a “freedom fighter.” That alone ought to have caused her to be discharged from her lectureship. But there was more. She has praised Akram Rikhawi, a Palestinian imprisoned in Israel for transporting suicide bombers to their targets, calling him “legendary.” She called the six terrorists who managed to briefly escape from Gilboa Prison “heroes.” Their “heroism” consisted of murdering Israeli civilians in cold blood. Zakaria Zubeidi, for example, the best known of the six, was a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades who took part in the Beit She’an massacre in 2002, when the terrorists opened opened fire and threw grenades at a polling station; six Israeli civilians were killed and 34 were injured.
She tweeted in 2012 that “Zionist lobbies … buy presidents/slaves” and separately claimed former U.S. President Barack Obama was a “Zionist puppet.”
Abusalama indulged in the antisemitic trope about rich Jews who control the world. In her version, it is “Zionist lobbies” that “buy” the support of “presidents/slaves.” In her demented view, even Barack Obama, whose palpable want of sympathy for Israel is well-known was a “Zionist puppet.”
In 2019, the academic also shared a video on social media that claimed the Talmud “permits stealing from non-Jews.” The clip also said about Jews: “Remember how they steal, and continue to steal the Palestinian land? Remember how they robbed the banks of America? Don’t blame them, they were just being true to their religion!” Abusalama added that the video “tells the truth about #zionist #Jews. They take their legitimacy from #Talmud.”
Apparently even Abusalama’s spreading of antisemitic tall tales about the Talmud permitting Jews to steal from non-Jews (as they “steal Palestinian land” and “rob the banks of America”) was not enough to disqualify her from teaching at Sheffield Hallam University.
“A Sheffield Hallam spokesperson commented on the appointment of Abusalama following the investigation, saying “as a university, we uphold the principles of free speech and academic freedom.”…
Do you think Sheffield Hallam would uphold the “free speech” rights of a faculty member who told students that the Qur’an tells Muslims that they are “the best of peoples”(3:110) and non-Muslims are “the most vile of created beings”(98:6)? What if that faculty member were to say that verses in the Qur’an instruct Muslims to “fight” and to “kill” and to “smite at the necks of” and “strike terror in the hearts of” non-Muslims – and then proceeded to quote verbatim, as support for that truthful observation, Qur’an 2:191-193, 3:151, 8:12, 8:60, 9:5, 9:29, and 47:4? What if a faculty member were to state that Muhammad had said, as quoted in the “reliable” hadith of Bukhari, that “war is deceit” and that “I have been made victorious through terror”? What would happen If that faculty member, on social media, were to tweet that “Muhammad consummated his marriage to Aisha when she was nine years old”? All of that is true, but any faculty member who dared to quote those Qur’anic verses, or Muhammad’s statements in the Hadith, or mentioned the age of little Aisha, would certainly be dismissed, even if tenured, for “racism,” ”Islamophobia,” and “hate speech.”
But If you hail as a “freedom fighter” someone who with machine gun and grenades murdered passengers at an Israeli airport, or drove Palestinian suicide bombers to their rendezvous with murder and death, if you honor the terrorist PFLP, If you promote the antisemitic story that “Jews” control, with their money, “presidents” who are merely their “slaves,” If you claim that the Talmud teaches Jews that they may “steal” from non-Jews, just as the Jews today “continue to steal Palestinian land,” then you will not be discharged, but given a “more secure contract.” Just like Shahd Abusalama. As she said, this time truthfully, “it’s a fantastic victory for Palestine.”
Roland says
A lot of these “Palestinians” are descended from Muslim squatters who arrived in Palestine from other countries in the last two or three centuries. Their names often denote their countries of origin.
mortimer says
Sheffield Hallam University is run by people who are complicit in promoting anti-Semitism. They are irresponsible.
Muslims like Shahd Abusalama are the New Nazis ready to persecute Muslims in Britain.
Anyone can discover the anti-Semitism under the surface in most Muslims. Just ask about Israel.
gravenimage says
Mortimer, I don’t think her main target will be other Muslims, but Jews and other Infidels.
And I very much agree with you about Muslims and Israel. I asked a number of Muslim acquantances about Israel–Muslims who appeared superficially “moderate”. The responses were so disturbing that I decided to table that project.
Rafael says
So mullah mortimer claims that Muslims are being persecuted by new Nazis in Britain. There are zero evidence that a Muslim woman will persecute her co-religionists, instead of that, Muslims are persecuting and opressing women, Jews and Christians every single day! I suggest mortimer to move to a Muslim country, see the real persecution with his/her eyes, or stop talking about Muslims bring persecuted by the opressed non-Muslims!
gravenimage says
Actually, Rafael, I think Mortimer meant to say “Jews” here, not “Muslims”. Note that he *does not* say that Muslims are being persecuted by non-Muslims.
Mortimer is a staunch anti-Jihadist here.
Keith O says
Vermin of the worst possible kind and so is this terrorist promoting mudslima.
With luck she will get the Chinese plague and the problem will self correct.
James Lincoln says
His keffiyeh says it all.
gravenimage says
Shahd Abusalama is a she, James. Otherwise, I entirely agree.
James Lincoln says
gravenimage,
Thank you, the picture confused me.
john smith says
Your not alone there James, the picture also confused me.
gravenimage says
No surprise. I had to look twice myself.
gravenimage says
UK: Terrorist-Praising, Antisemitic Muslim Lecturer Gets A ‘More Secure Contract’
……………..
Appalling, but who can be surprised in these times? Academia is especially bad, kowtowing to the worst Jihadists.
OLD GUY says
Gee I wonder where the University gets its major donations from? Saudi Arabia and other islamic countries are heavy contributors to higher education in western countries. And with those contributions come strings attached to teaching islamic studies and islamic instructors, to spread their propaganda.