Vile Penn Professor Spews Antisemitic Rhetoric; Penn Doesn't Care

Huda Fakhreddine, an associate professor of Arabic literature at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), is at the center of a growing controversy over allegations of antisemitic statements and actions that contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students.

Fakhreddine’s critics have pointed to several statements attributed to her as evidence of antisemitic rhetoric particularly in the wake of Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on israel.

But even before October 7th, Fakhreddine was a co-organizer of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, held at Penn in September 2023.

The event, described as North America’s only festival dedicated to Palestinian writers and artists, featured speakers accused of promoting antisemitic tropes, including:

Refaat Alareer, who reportedly said in 2018, “Are most Jews evil? Of course they are.”
Salman Abu Sitta, who claimed, “Jews were hated in Europe because they played a role in the destruction of the economy in some of the countries.”
Roger Waters, former Pink Floyd frontman, who has a documented history of antisemitic actions, including wearing Nazi regalia at a concert and blaming Israel for George Floyd’s death.

The festival sparked outrage among Jewish community members and prompted donor backlash. It was followed by antisemitic incidents on campus, including swastika graffiti and vandalism at Penn’s Hillel building.

Fakhreddine defended the festival, arguing that Penn “failed to acknowledge how the onslaught of anti-intellectual anger endangered the festival organizers."

After October 7th though, Fakhreddine ramped up her hateful rhetoric:

October 7, 2023, Social Media Post: On the morning of the Hamas attack, Fakhreddine allegedly tweeted in Arabic, “While we were asleep, Palestine invented a new way of life”. The tweet was reportedly deleted after 10 days without a retraction or apology.
October 16, 2023, Rally Speech: At a pro-Palestinian rally on Penn’s campus, Fakhreddine allegedly declared, “Israel is the epitome of antisemitism [and] desecrates the memory of the Holocaust victims.”
Support for “From the River to the Sea”: In a Facebook post one week after the October 7 attack, Fakhreddine reportedly wrote, “When we chant, ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ we are calling for a one state, one person=one vote, where everyone living between the river and the sea is free and treated as a human being with rights and dignity.”
Denial of Jewish Indigeneity: Fakhreddine is accused of denying Jewish ancestral ties to Israel, stating at the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, “And now, as Zionists continued to forcibly remove us from our homes, destroy and build over our ancestral villages, cemeteries and archaeological heritage. They have invented a stunning new tale of indigeneity [that is] propagated in popular culture throughout the West in particular.”
Media Control Allegations: Fakhreddine allegedly claimed, “An open collaboration with Israel media continues to remove or shadow ban Palestinian content on social media.” This statement was reportedly verified by an independent investigation commissioned by Facebook.
Comparison to Nazi Regime: In a statement cited by Frontpage Mag, Fakhreddine compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to a “Nazi-style concentration camp, a concentration camp under bombardment.”
Rally Conduct: At an October 16, 2023, pro-Palestinian rally, a speaker reportedly declared that “all settlers and all settlements are legitimate military targets” and told Jewish students to “go back to Moscow, Brooklyn… f***ing Berlin where you came from.” Jewish students’ lawsuit alleges that Fakhreddine cheered and clapped in approval.

In March 2024, Fakhreddine, alongside history professor Eve Troutt Powell and Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine, filed a lawsuit to block Penn from releasing internal documents to the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is investigating antisemitism on campus.

The lawsuit, dismissed with prejudice in January 2025 by Judge Mitchell Goldberg, argued that the probe constituted a “new form of McCarthyism” that threatened academic freedom and risked doxxing or harassment of faculty. Fakhreddine claimed the investigation was motivated by racial bias and aimed to suppress criticism of Israel.

The congressional probe, led by Rep. Virginia Foxx, requested materials related to antisemitic incidents, the Palestine Writes festival, and faculty activities, including Fakhreddine’s syllabi and emails since August 2023.

Campus Antisemitism and Penn’s Response

The University of Pennsylvania has faced intense scrutiny for its handling of antisemitism since October 7, 2023. A lawsuit filed by Jewish students, dismissed on June 5, 2025, alleged that Penn permitted a hostile environment for Jewish students, citing incidents like swastika graffiti, vandalism, and inflammatory rhetoric at protests.

Penn has implemented an Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, condemned hate speech, and increased security measures. However, the university’s task force rejected the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, citing its “controversial” nature, a decision that drew criticism for weakening efforts to address anti-Jewish sentiment.

Fakhreddine still teaches a course titled “Arabic Readings in Belles-Lettres: Resistance from Pre-Islamic Arabia to Palestine,” which includes texts by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Despite these accusations, she remains employed at Penn. Social media posts on X have called for her deportation, citing her green card status and alleging she poses a danger to Penn and the U.S.