Friday, 30 May 2025

Meet Northwestern's Gift to Student Radicals: A Terror-Tied Professor. Plus, Who Funds the Marxist Group Associated With Elias Rodriguez?


Anti-Israel protesters at Northwestern (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Consequences of capitulation: When Northwestern University president Michael Schill brought an end to his school's encampment last spring, he struck a deal with student radicals and agreed to bring Palestinian professors to campus.

One of those slots has been filled by political science professor Mkhaimar Abusada. Abusada, our Jessica Costescu reports, "sits on the board of two organizations that were founded by and frequently partner with Palestinian terrorists," the Independent Commission for Human Rights and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The groups are known for praising, meeting with, and even employing Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorists.

Now, the appointment is prompting pushback. "The number one issue is that the institutions are doing no background checks," Scholars for Peace in the Middle East executive director Asaf Romirowsky tells us. "This is not a matter of academic freedom. This is a matter of national security. This is a matter of threats to the universities themselves. And there needs to be clear red lines."

READ MORE: Meet the Professor Northwestern Hired As Part of Deal With Student Radicals

Following the money: The Marxist organization Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) has attracted recent attention for its affiliation with Elias Rodriguez, the terrorist who murdered two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. Our Jon Levine dug into their donors.

They include Marcone Cangussu, an Amazon employee responsible for the company's account with the United States Agency for International Development, according to his LinkedIn. Alithia Zamantakis, who works as a "Research Assistant Professor" at Northwestern's Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, gave PSL $3,000 last May, according to federal election records. Another donor, Gregory Chen, is a software engineer at Bloomberg.

"The PSL confirmed Rodriguez's affiliation with the organization in an X post," writes Levine, "claiming the terrorist only had a 'brief association' with the group." That "association" included a 2017 PSL protest against Chicago police.

READ MORE: Amazon-Employed USAID Contractor, Northwestern Professor Among Top Donors to Party for Socialism and Liberation

Tell it to the judge: The Columbia students arrested for storming a campus library are set to have their day in court this week. They include at least six repeat offenders and a number of silver spoon activists, most notably actress Maggie Gyllenhaal's daughter, Ramona Sarsgaard.

If history repeats itself, the Manhattan district attorney's office will drop their charges, letting the students skate. So for the sake of transparency, we at the Washington Free Beacon published the names of the yet-reported students arrested for the library storming. Check out the list here, and stay tuned for updates from the courtroom.

READ MORE: Here’s the Full List of Everyone Arrested for Storming Columbia Library

In other news:

  • Democrats are "still searching for the path forward" after their election loss, reports the New York Times, but have no fear: Top donors are putting their money behind "SAM," short for "Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan," which "promises investment to 'study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.'"
  • What to do with billions in Harvard grant money? Donald Trump has an idea: Give it "to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land."
  • The FBI is reopening its probe into cocaine found at the White House during Joe Biden's presidency, according to the Daily Mail. No word on Hunter's whereabouts.

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