After facing pushback from students, Wake Forest University has canceled a lecture by pro-Hamas speaker Rabab Abdulhadi that was scheduled for the first anniversary of Oct. 7th.
“We recognize that this date is significant for many reasons and to many different members of our community, our country, and people around the world,” said University Provost Dr. Michele Gillespie and President Dr. Susan Wente in a statement. “We empathize with the emotions felt by many Wake Foresters as the date approaches, including those who lost friends, family members and colleagues on October 7, 2023.”
The University made this announcement after a group of Wake Forest students with serious concerns exceeded the needed number of signatures on the Change.org petition created in opposition to the lecture. The petition received more than 8,600 signatures, exceeding the initial goal of 7,500.
“While we strongly support free speech on campus, we believe that hosting a speaker who promotes terrorism and espouses hate speech against Jewish students is a failure to protect all members of the Wake Forest community,” states the petition. “Choosing to host this event on October 7th fosters a hostile environment and detracts from the importance of allowing students to feel safe while mourning the anniversary of these atrocious attacks.”
The University’s motto is “Pro Humanitate,” which means “for humanity.”
“…yet hosting a speaker whose beliefs directly oppose this core tenet undermines the University’s commitment to humanity and respect,” concludes the petition. “We urge the administration to align with their own values and cancel this event.”
Abdulhadi is a Palestinian scholar and an associate professor in the ethics program at San Francisco State University. Abdulhadi has been outspoke about the events of October 7th since it occurred. This includes responding to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D-MN statement on the attacks.
Abdulhadi’s activism did not begin following the events of Oct. 7th. She has been promoting terrorism and speaking against the Jewish community since long before.
This is not the first time since that dark day that Wake Forest University has been entangled in controversy regarding language related to the events of that day.
Following the attack last year, Laura Mullen, the former chair of the humanities department, posted on her personal X account on Oct. 12.
“So it’s kind of a Duh, but if you turn me out of my house, plow my olive grove, and confine what’s left of my family to the small, impoverished state you run as an open air prison, I could be tempted to shoot up your dance party yeah even knowing you will scorch the earth,” said Mullen in the post.
Barry Trachtenberg, the University’s Presidential Chair of Jewish History, told National Review recently that at the time, he didn’t interpret Mullen’s post as a justification for Hamas’s violence.
The post was deleted from the account on October 19. Wake University’s student newspaper, Old Black & Gold, reported that Mullen was facing threats to her physical safety following the post. On October 31, Old Black & Gold reported that Mullen had resigned from her position as chair of the humanities department for “personal reasons.”
The University’s statement also announced alternative events for October 7, including “Interfaith Prayers for Peace” on the Manchester Quad from 11 am to 1 pm and a “Community Reflection Event” at 4:45 pm on the front steps of the Wait Chapel. During both events, faculty, staff, and students are invited to write a prayer or light a candle for peace as they pause and reflect. During the community event, members of the Wake Forest community will give prayers and readings for peace.
“We have also made the conscious decision not to host events on this day that are inherently contentious and stand to stoke division in our campus community,” continued the University’s statement. “Thus, we have informed the academic units sponsoring Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi’s campus lecture on October 7 that it cannot take place. We are living in complex times, and yet we remain hopeful about the future because of this caring community and our shared mission to serve humanity. “