A new rector at a Glasgow university has described the UK as complicit in genocide. Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a Palestinian doctor, was elected to the post with 80% of the student vote and used his inaugural speech to denounce the nation for its support of Israel. University authorities reportedly investigated concerns about the doctor prior to his election but said it could do nothing to prevent it.
Jewish campaigners alerted officials to a video of Abu-Sittah crying over the death of Maher Al-Yamani, a founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which participated in the October 7 terror attack on Israeli civilians.
During his speech, Dr. Abu-Sittah said the UK’s arms supplies to Israel made it part of an axis “of which Israel is only the tip.” He described the “axis of genocide” as comprising the UK, the US, Germany, Australia, Canada, and France.
One day after his election victory in Glasgow, German authorities detained Abu-Sittah in Berlin as he attempted to enter the country for a conference. He later told reporters he was held at a Berlin airport for more than three hours before being deported to the UK.
Back in Britain, the new rector paid tribute to Rosa Luxemburg and Che Guevara and referred favorably to communist leader Vladimir Lenin. He added that his plans as rector include persuading Glasgow University to divest from fossil fuel and arms industries and use the money to build educational institutions in Gaza. He will also campaign for the university to disavow the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, saying a new definition must separate anti-Zionism from antisemitism.
Jewish students objected to Abu-Sittah’s plans, while university officials said they had no intention of changing the definition.
The Glasgow Jewish Society told the British Jewish News publication that Abu-Sittah’s appointment sets a “chilling precedent.” The Jewish News revealed that one day after the October 7 attacks, the doctor called on Palestinians to fight and “die with dignity.”