Last Tuesday the U. Minnesota chapter of Students Supporting Israel (SSI) hosted a delegation called Reservists on Duty, comprising Arab and Druze citizens of Israel. Members of the group came to discuss their respective experiences as minorities living in Israel. They discuss how Israel is an accepting environment and how even though they aren’t Jewish, they are proud of their country. But rather than listen and engage in a dialogue with the group, former U. Minnesota teaching assistant, Leila Abdennabi, decided to interrupt the event. Abdennabi has a long history of wildly anti-Israel views. She has previously equated ISIS with Israel and accused Israel of committing genocide.She also has called Israel “trash” and even cursed out actress Natalie Portman for her support of Israel. At the event, Abdennabi walked up and down the aisle of the lecture room, denigrating the speakers. She called one speaker, Mohammad Kabiya, a “war criminal,” because he was an Israeli Defense Forces soldier. She has also claimed that Israel was founded upon the rape, genocide, displacement and theft of Palestinian land. She called the speakers garbage and claimed they were choosing money over the truth. Reservists on Duty is a volunteer organization. Ultimately, the police were called to end her tirade and as she was arrested, she accused the police of perpetrating “white supremacy.” Fortunately, the police did their job and the event was allowed to continue as planned.
