A student group at City University of New York School of Law is facing mounting criticism after promoting an event that frames Hamas terror infrastructure as a form of �resistance.�

The campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine announced a March 5 discussion featuring Hadeel Assali, an anthropologist affiliated with Columbia University Center for Science and Society. The event is billed as an �anthropologic investigation� into Gaza�s tunnel network, described as �social organization in resistance to colonization.�

In past writings, Assali has called the tunnels �an essential form of resistance,� portraying Hamas�s underground network as part of a relationship between Palestinians and the land � completely ignoring their use in kidnappings, torture and attacks on civilians.

The invitation drew backlash from Columbia Faculty and Staff Supporting Israel, which noted that Assali was named in a lawsuit against Columbia University and Barnard College over failures to protect Jewish students.

The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association warned that the event reflects a broader trend of politicized scholarship spreading across campuses.

�This is how it happens,� the group said.

Brandy Shufutinsky of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies called the program �a dangerous reframing of terror,� stressing that �no number of teach-ins can erase the atrocities.�

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)