Pro-Hamas Students Reportedly Trained by Left-Wing Groups Nine Months Before College Protests

Sarah Arnold reporting for Townhall 

Left-wing groups and activists have reportedly been receiving training for months ahead of the chaotic pro-terrorism protests occurring on college campuses. 

According to a Wall Street Journal report, many of the pro-Hamas agitators have been consulting with groups such as National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) and Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network for up to nine months. The protestors were reportedly trained on how to encourage college students to join in on the demonstrations and planning such turbulent events. 

The groups use social media to reach out to potential protestors and give them advice such as informing them to cover their faces. 

Columbia University students attended a “teach-in” hosted by former members of the Black Panthers before the pro-Hamas protests who taught them how to handle internal disputes regarding political movements. Students were also encouraged to call on universities to divest from Israel.

“We took notes from our elders, engaged in dialogue with them, and analyzed how the university responded to previous protests,” Sueda Polat, graduate student, and organizer in the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia, told the outlet.

“There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas,” Charlotte Kates, Samidoun coordinator, told the WSJ. “These are the people that are on the front lines defending Palestine.”

The university also hosted a “Resistance 101” training in March which included a speaker from the Canada-based group, Samidoun. The group has publicly celebrated the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. 

The outlet noted that the school banned the event from happening twice. However, organizers of the training defiantly held it anyway, resulting in several students being suspended. 

The article comes as several reports suggest outside professionals have been funded by left-wing organizations to lead pro-terrorism turmoil on campus grounds.