Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., is calling for an investigation into San Francisco State University for inviting Leila Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who participated in two plane hijackings, to take part in an online seminar.
"It is clear to me that providing technology services and forums to terrorists would contradict material support laws," Lamborn wrote to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, according to the Washington Free Beacon. "I ask that an investigation be launched into SFSU’s conduct in this matter, and that any and all federal funds given to SFSU, directly or indirectly, be canceled."
The event was initially going to be held on Zoom, but the company refused to host it, so the school turned to Facebook and then YouTube, but both platforms removed the stream for violating their terms of service.
The congressman wrote in a letter to the school last week: "I am deeply concerned that an American institution in higher education, such as San Francisco State University, would send an invitation to a terrorist and repeat hijacker such as Leila Khaled. SFSU receives taxpayer funds and must be held accountable for their appalling actions."
“Higher education and the college experience are an opportunity to hear divergent ideas, viewpoints and accounts of life experiences,” SFSU President Lynn Mahoney said last month in an open letter explaining the school’s reasoning for inviting controversial figures to speak, according to Forward.
She added that “an invitation to a public figure to speak to a class should not be construed as an endorsement of point of view.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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