Now Glasgow University's new rector brands the UK part of an 'axis of genocide'

The new rector of Glasgow University claimed the UK is part of an ‘axis of genocide’ in a speech marking his appointment, the Mail can reveal.

Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian medic, was elected with 80 per cent of the student vote.

The surgeon sparked fury after claiming last week the university ‘colludes in the murder of innocent civilians’ because it has shares in arms firms that supply Israel.

He also quoted ‘immortal [IRA hunger striker] Bobby Sands’. Now it has emerged Dr Abu-Sittah, 55, used the same speech, published in full online at the weekend, to condemn the UK for its role in an ‘axis of genocide’ in Gaza.

We can also reveal the university authorities looked at concerns about him before he was elected but found there was no reason to prevent him from standing.

Jewish campaigners had highlighted a video which showed him weeping over the death of Maher Al-Yamani, a co-founder of the proscribed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is accused of participating in the October 7 massacre in Israel.

In an email to the campaigners on March 28, principal Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli said the university was bound by regulations which limited the actions it could take.

Tory MSP Annie Wells said: ‘I am deeply concerned with the language used by the new Glasgow University rector. Many people will rightfully be outraged at his glorification of convicted terrorists and eulogy of an anti-Semitic terrorist leader.’

In his speech, Dr Abu-Sittah said the ‘genocidal project is like an iceberg of which Israel is only the tip.

‘The rest of the iceberg is made up of an axis of genocide. This axis of genocide is the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada and France… countries that have supported Israel with arms and continue to support the genocide with arms.’

In response to the claims against him, Dr Abu-Sittah insisted he ‘vehemently opposes terrorism’.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13307667/Now-Glasgow-Unis-new-rector-brands-UK-axis-genocide.html

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Nebraska lawmakers pass bill that would allow smaller school districts to arm staff members

Students in some of Nebraska's smallest school districts could soon be protected by armed staff, thanks to one of over 100 bills passed by the state legislature last week.

The provision that would allow such staff to carry firearms in schools and at school-related events originally included all districts across the Cornhusker State, but now applies only to those with under 5,000 residents after opposition from some areas of the state led lawmakers to compromise.

"It doesn't apply to all the schools. This was designed for the rural schools where they didn't have a resource officer or law enforcement wasn't readily available," state Sen. Tom Brewer, who introduced the measure, said, according to a local report.

State Sen. Tom Brewer said the bill to arm staff members or to enable districts to employ other armed security aims to help rural districts. (iStock)

The measure would enable schools to either hire security or elect a specific member of the school to carry a weapon.

"It can be anyone from the superintendent to the janitor," Brewer continued, according to the report. Regardless of the choice, those who are armed must undergo training.

Some fear that, without the imminent presence of someone capable of confronting a school shooter in the event of an emergency, law enforcement could otherwise be 15 minutes – or further – away from these rural districts.

It's among several GOP-led states' efforts to protect or expand gun rights or firearm safety instruction to protect students and staff, including two measures in Tennessee, one in Iowa and another in New Hampshire.

Despite opposition from some who speculate the expansion of gun rights and access could hinder rather than help safety efforts, these measures have charged ahead.

In Omaha, Superintendent Matthew Ray said he could understand why Nebraska's measure could apply to less populated school districts with fewer resources, but failed to see its need in his own district.

According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, at least 32 states allow teachers or school staff to be armed at school, including several states neighboring Nebraska.

Brewer's proposed measure was passed as part of Legislative Bill 1329, an education package that passed 40-0 on the next-to-last day of the legislative session last week.

It now awaits Republican Gov. Jim Pillen's signature.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/nebraska-lawmakers-pass-bill-allow-smaller-school-districts-arm-staff-members

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Fighting Antisemitism in American Public Schools: A Losing Battle

Is it wrong to have a “hijab-wearing day” in an American public school at this point in time, asking students to wear a hijab, the conventional head covering worn by Muslim women?

A Hijab Day “event” was recently hosted by the Muslim Student Association (MSA) in a Montgomery County (Md.) public school. Surprisingly, I found Hijab Day on the Northwood High School calendar, along with Spirit Day, Twin Day and Spring Break. If this was intended to be a lighthearted, fun event, it totally missed the mark, at least for the Jewish students.

Hijab Day was not created to acquaint people with Muslim culture, as the MSA claimed. Perhaps, if it had been, there would have been food, singing and other festivities. Unfortunately, Hijab Day was another thinly veiled (pun intended) ploy to show and garner support for Hamas during the Israel-Hamas War.

The MSA claimed the hijab is not a religious symbol, but, in fact, it is. The mandate to wear a hijab is one of the fundamental religious practices of Islam. In this country, we abide by the separation of church and state, as established by the First Amendment, which is why, for example, our children do not recite prayers in school.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “Since the 1960s, the federal courts have made it crystal clear that officially sponsored prayer and proselytizing is not acceptable in the school environment .….

When public school officials disregard the US Constitution’s mandate of religious neutrality, they not only violate students’ rights to remain free from government-imposed religious viewpoints, but also usurp their parents’ rights to decide and direct the religious upbringing of their children.”

As far as I am concerned, just like the all-day silent protest that Muslim students held at my children’s school (where Muslim kids sat in class all day, but did not speak), Hijab Day was inappropriate and, for the Jewish students, a form of intimidation and harassment.

Supporters of Hijab Day say it had nothing to do with the Israel-Hamas war. If so, then why did the MSA call the event Hijab Nova on its publicity poster? The Nova Music Festival in the Negev Desert was one of the sites of Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7th 2023—the attacks which incited the war.

The members of the MSA said they simply liked the word “nova.” Were they being disingenuous or deliberately offensive? I imagine that the music festival was named Nova because it was outdoors, under the sky. What does nova have to do with wearing a hijab? (The all-day affair on school grounds reminds me of the time I was approached in my college dining hall by a religious group seeking to recruit me. Inappropriate!)

Nobody is denying anyone the right to wear a hijab. As a Jew, I am not knocking modesty or Muslim beliefs, but Jewish people don’t go around asking non-Jews to don a tallit (prayer shawl). Especially now that Israel and Hamas are at war, asking all the students to wear a hijab is an anti-Zionist, antisemitic statement in support of the Hamas terrorists. The MSA may as well have waved the Palestinian flag.

Further disappointing to me was that school staff participated—they donned hijabs and took photos of each other. This is another example of school staff making poor decisions that can influence our children. Would Mormon parents want their children to put on a hijab, take a photograph and post it on social media knowing that some people might misinterpret the photograph as meaning that these kids don’t respect their own religion and support the Palestinian cause?

Do we want our children to go along mindlessly with what someone else tells them to do? Isn’t the idea of education to raise children who become independent thinkers and not mindless followers? The Nazi regime started with many people blindly following Hitler without thinking for themselves.

Unfortunately, it appears as if the Montgomery Public School System, once considered to be a top school system in this country, is now a bastion of unchecked antisemitism. Though in the scheme of things Hijab Day may be one of the milder antisemitic infractions, once again, the MSA managed to trample on the rights of non-Muslim students to attend school in a safe, unintimidating environment. Allowing Hijab Day is yet another example of the school administrators’ insensitivity.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/fighting-antisemitism-in-american-public-schools-a-losing-battle-part-7/

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My other blogs: Main ones below

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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