According to a report from Jewish Insider, the University of Minnesota is considering a radical professor who was seen chanting “Globalize the Intifada” during an on-campus rally for a position as Associate Dean of the university’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office.
The professor in question, Sima Shakhsari, is currently an associate professor in the university’s department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies program. The University would not confirm that Shakhsari is being considered for the position, and did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment. However, a video uncovered by Jewish Insider that is hosted on what appears to be the university’s Zoom channel in which Shakhsari is introduced as a “finalist” in a meeting titled “DEI Associate Dean public talk.”
Shakhsari began her talk by advocating for a host of radical left-wing initiatives, beginning with a call for the University itself to give back the land on which it sits to “indigenous” people whose land was “stolen” from them in 1851.
A significant portion of her speech, however, was focused on the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Among other claims , Shakhsari argued that widespread and credible reports of Hamas raping Israeli women were likely fabricated. “Of course, any person who has been raped, I am a rape crisis counselor, I believe the survivors. I am yet to see Israeli rape survivors of Hamas come and speak.”
However, Shakhsari argued that the stories of rape were likely the result of white people demonizing men of color rather than actual rape: “Part of our work and part of my experience… was how men of color in the U.S. have been demonized and have been falsely accused of rape. Exactly because of racism. We know the history of lynching, of black man, lynching, of indigenous man lynching Latinos in this country… because of accusations and they’re kind of violating the innocence of white women, right? And I think that is also this force that is repeated in the context of Israel and Palestine, because Arab men have been demonized and have been marked as monstrous people who are rapists and for violence.”
Shakhsari is also reportedly affiliated with the radical Students for Justice in Palestine, whose radical actions since October 7th have resulted in their student organization chapters being revoked at a number of American universities. Jewish Insider reports that she moderated a panel at the national SJP conference in 2019, and was also affiliated with the local SJP chapter when she was previously on faculty at Wellesley College, which is currently under federal investigation for failing to adequately protect Jewish students.