AUGUSTA, Maine -A group of Maine Senate Republicans is raising alarms over a planned conference at the University of Southern Maine, questioning both the safety implications and the university system’s decision-making process.
In a Feb. 19 letter to University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel P. Malloy, Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart and Assistant Senate Republican Leader Matthew Harrington, joined by 12 other Republican senators, called out the upcoming “The Consequence of Palestine” conference scheduled to be held at USM’s Abromson Center .
According to the letter, the event is being hosted by the Maine Coalition for Palestine, and the USM Department of Criminology and Sociology is listed as an official sponsor .
Among the scheduled speakers is United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, whom the senators state is listed on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons list . The letter further alleges that Albanese’s conduct has led foreign ministers from multiple nations to call for her resignation .
The senators also pointed to what they describe as a troubling contrast. Only months ago, a symposium addressing the rise of antisemitism, organized by several statewide Jewish groups and scheduled for the same venue, was indefinitely postponed. Organizers cited violent threats and a hostile environment that made it unsafe to proceed .
In their letter, the lawmakers argue that the University of Maine System has an obligation to ensure a safe learning environment for all students. They note that antisemitic incidents in Maine have increased by nearly 300 percent since 2022 and contend that allowing the conference to move forward at USM directly impacts Jewish students who may feel less safe on campus .
The senators also raised concerns about the symbolism of holding the event at the Abromson Center, named in honor of a distinguished member of Maine’s Jewish community, while an academic department co-sponsors the conference .
If the university proceeds with hosting the event at the Abromson Center, the senators are requesting detailed information about the policies and procedures used to evaluate invited speakers and approve departmental sponsorships. They are also asking for specific steps being taken to safeguard Jewish students and the broader campus community.
The letter closes with a warning. If these matters are not addressed “transparently and promptly,” the lawmakers say, the situation could generate significant concern and potentially place future support for system-wide funding requests at risk.
The letter was signed by Stewart, Harrington, and State Senators Susan Bernard, Richard Bradstreet, Bruce Bickford, Russell Black, Scott Cyrway, Brad Farrin, Stacey Guerin, David Haggan, James Libby, Joseph Martin, Marianne Moore, and Jeff Timberlake.
*Update: “The University of Southern Maine terminated the agreement for the use of its facilities for the Consequences of Palestine Conference, last week, after learning one of the event speakers is sanctioned by the federal government and appears on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. This legally prohibits any U.S. person or entity from exchanging any goods or services with them. To have this indidualval speak virtually would have required conference organizers to obtain permission from the Treasury Department, which they did not, despite their claims to the contrary. Other organizations, including other institutions of higher education, have secured the required federal approval before virtually hosting this speaker. Consistent with our nation’s founding principles and our own poli9cies protecting free speech and academic freedom, our System and USM are committed to fostering free exchange of ideas. We have encouraged the organizers to find an alternative location and advised them, consistent with guidance provided to all prospective faculty users, that full compliance with all federal and state laws and university policies is required if they wish to hold an event here in the future” said Samantha Warren Chief External and Government Affairs Officer of the University of Maine System in a statement to the Maine Wire.
