There has been another case of a college graduate spewing antisemitic hate at a publicly funded university, with the university even quoting some of her speech on Twitter.
This instance of antisemitism occurred at El Camino Community College in Torrance, California, on Friday. The student who made the speech, 18-year-old Jana Abulaban, told the New York Post that she felt ‘inspired’ by the speech of CUNY Law School student Fatima Mousa Mohammed, who infamously stated that Israel was guilty of indiscriminately killing Palestinians during her address in New York City last month.
Abulaban did the same as Mohammed, claiming in her speech that Israel was ‘killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak.’ She spewed the same antisemitism by saying the following:
I gift my graduation to all Palestinians who have lost their life and those who continue to lose their lives every day due to the oppressive apartheid state of Israel killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak.
Subscribe to Florida Jolt Newsletter!
Abulaban was also the head of the college’s Associated Students Organization, which made her lack of inclusion for Jewish students extremely controversial.
Once the hateful speech ended, the school’s official Twitter quoted the address, mentioning how Abulaban was a Palestinian refugee.
“If I was told 7 years ago, as a Palestinian refugee stepping foot for the first time in this country, that one day I’ll be standing on this stage — I would not have believed it. I’m extremely thankful to have gotten to this point.”
Jana Abulaban ASO President
“If I was told 7 years ago, as a Palestinian refugee stepping foot for the first time in this country, that one day I'll be standing on this stage — I would not have believed it. I'm extremely thankful to have gotten to this point.”
Jana Abulaban
ASO President pic.twitter.com/28ivEfBYao— El Camino College (@elcaminocollege) June 10, 2023
Reactions to the speech from many were fierce, with the organization stopantisemitism.org mentioning how another example of hatred was shown off at a campus commencement speech.
The tweet also mentions how much federal funding the school received during the 2022-2023 school year.
Yet another graduation speech is hijacked with false antisemitic rhetoric, this time at El Camino Community College, CA.
Jana Abulaban, students association president, outrageously claimed the “apartheid state of Israel” is "killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak".
El… pic.twitter.com/QF3vKYEXGl
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) June 12, 2023
Join your fellow patriots and subscribe to our Youtube Channel.
Another horrified user responded directly under the school’s tweet praising the speech, with them quoting the hateful part of her speech and calling out the school for not vetting the address.
“…. to all Palestinians who have lost their life and those who continue to lose their lives every day due to the oppressive apartheid state of Israel killing and torturing Palestinians as we speak,’’
Are these type of speeches reviewed before they are given? Would seem prudent to me to do it.
That statement is a lie.
The facts over there say something completely different. IMHO Israel has shown GREAT restraint in their response to terrorist attacks coming from Hamas controlled territory. Israel has every right to defend itself from terrorist attack. Israel is not the problem over there. – @tomgrantham07 on Twitter
When questioned by the New York Post, Abulaban decided to take a different route, claiming her speech had no hate in it and that she had no hate in her heart.
I felt the need to really shed light on the atrocities that Israel as an apartheid state is committing, I’m not talking about Jewish people torturing and killing Palestinians. … It’s the Israeli government that is killing and torturing Palestinians.
When questioned about Mohammed’s widely condemned address, Abulaban said,
I heard snippets of her speech. And I honestly feel inspired by her courage to speak up. We are only trying to speak up against what this oppressive government is doing. I don’t believe her speech – or mine – was trying to incite violence or hatred against a specific religion. This is very far away from being antisemitic. I would never disrespect a religion, I prepared a speech … to fight for justice worldwide through my voice and advocacy work. It was really just a peaceful message that I was trying to get out there.
It is unclear if the school plans to denounce the speech or has taken disciplinary action against the graduate.
Other stories you may want to read:
DeSantis Announces More Than $6.1 Million in Awards to Support Florida’s Military Communities
How Bad Girl Red Lipstick Became a Patriotic Symbol During WW2
