State: New York
City: New York City
Campus: Columbia University (Columbia)
Thea Abu El-Haj is a professor at Barnard College with a history of promoting extremist rhetoric and supporting radical movements. She has used her academic platform to push anti-Semitic narratives, justify hostility against Jewish students, and endorse the dangerous Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
BDS Advocate: Longtime supporter of the BDS movement, which seeks to isolate and delegitimize Jewish institutions under the guise of activism.
Vilification of Jewish Students: Amplified anti-Israel propaganda that mischaracterizes security operations against terrorism as “attacks on education.”
Academic Disinformation: Used research and publications to whitewash extremist activities while blaming Israel for every challenge in Palestinian education.
2016: Anti-Israel Disinformation Campaign
Co-authored a blog post spreading false claims about Israel targeting Palestinian education.
Cited propaganda sources to accuse Israel of suppressing Palestinian academic freedom while ignoring Hamas’s exploitation of schools for terror activities.
Advocated for an academic boycott, attempting to pressure the American Anthropological Association into adopting BDS.
Academic Work as a Political Tool
Authored books and papers framing Palestinian-American identity as one of victimhood, promoting the idea that the U.S. and Israel are inherently oppressive.
Consistently presented one-sided narratives that dismiss radicalization and violence within Palestinian movements.
Ties to Anti-Semitic Campus Movements
Aligned with Birzeit University’s “Right to Education” campaign, which serves as a front for anti-Israel indoctrination.
Ignored the fact that Birzeit’s student body has repeatedly elected Hamas leadership and barred Jewish individuals from campus.
Thea Abu El-Haj has used academia as a shield for promoting radicalism, pushing an anti-Semitic agenda, and excusing terrorist-affiliated organizations. By disguising propaganda as scholarship, she continues to embolden extremist movements that threaten Jewish students and global academic integrity.
