Post and cancel: Gaza student dropped by top French uni over 'hateful' online remarks

New Straits Times

6 days ago

LILLE, France: A top French university said Wednesday it cancelled the enrolment of a woman student from Gaza because of her social media posts that the country's interior ministry called "hateful."
Screenshots shown on social media indicated the young woman had reposted messages calling for the killing of Jewish people.
Israel is seeking to crush the Hamas movement through a devastating offensive in Gaza after the group launched deadly attacks on Israel in 2023.
The woman had been offered a place at the Sciences Po Lille university following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem, the establishment said.
Sciences Po Lille said that after consultations with the education ministry and regional authorities it "has decided to cancel this student's planned registration at our establishment."
Some of the posts "come into direct contradiction with the values upheld by Sciences Po Lille, which fights against all forms of racism, antisemitism and discrimination, as well as against any type of incitement to hatred, against any population whatsoever," the university added in a post on X.
Accounts in the woman's name have been closed.
Following the recommendation by French diplomats, the woman initially lived at the home of the university's director while she waited for permanent lodgings, Sciences Po said.
French ministers expressed outrage over the case.
"A Gazan student making antisemitic remarks has no place in France," said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who added that he had ordered an internal inquiry.
"The screening carried out by the relevant departments of the ministries concerned clearly did not work," he added in a post on X.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he had demanded the closure of the "hateful" account and ordered local authorities to take legal action.
"Hamas propagandists have no place in our country," Retailleau said on X.
Brussels Free University (ULB) has meanwhile called on Belgian authorities to intervene in the case of a Gaza researcher stuck in the Palestinian territory because of the conflict.
ULB said that Ahmed Alsalibi, 39, has a scholarship for researchers in dangerous situations and a visa and should have been at the university in September 2024.
ULB said it had approached the Belgian government to seek help getting Alsalibi out.