A public outcry over an anti-Semitic speaker has killed a University of Southern Maine conference that was to feature a U.N. adviser who has been highly critical of Israel, according to a Jewish news outlet.
The cancellation was reported by Jewish News Syndicate, which calls itself “the fastest-growing news agency covering Israel and the Jewish world.”
The seminar, which was slated for February 28th, had Francesca Albanese on the guest list.
She has been sanctioned by the U.S. government for her anti-semitic rhetoric.
“The school told Jewish News Syndicate that it had ‘terminated the agreement for the use of USM facilities for the Consequence of Palestine conference after learning that one of the event’s speakers is sanctioned by the federal government and appears on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s office of foreign assets control’s specially designated nationals and blocked persons list,” the news outlet reports.
That “legally prohibits any U.S. person or entity from exchanging any goods or services with those on the list,” the university told the Jewish news service.
Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, called Israel the “common enemy of humanity” at a recent Qatar forum featuring Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.
Albanese later claimed her comments had been taken out of context.
The Maine Coalition for Palestine ironically had slated the conference to be held in a campus building named for Linda Abromson, who in 1982 was elected as the first female Jewish mayor in Maine’s largest city.
The event was to be sponsored by the University of Southern Maine along with the Maine Coalition for Palestine and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights.
The conference was designed to see Palestine “in a global context where international law, human rights, and truth are the casualties of violent state power and media narrative control,” according to Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights.
A Facebook group called United Against Jew Hatred had called for a boycott of the event in a post featuring The Maine Wire’s coverage of the controversy.
Albanese had become a lightning rod for a growing groundswell of public pro-Israeli sentiment that emerged once the conference plans were announced.
After the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, she called for an immediate ceasefire and warned that Palestinians in Gaza were at risk of ethnic cleansing.
Two years ago Albanese reported to the UN Human Rights Council that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.
Pro-Israel organizations, including the U.S. government, have accused Albanese of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias, and have called for her removal.
Albanese is listed on the U.S. government’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list.
A website announcing the conference posted by Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights defended its invitation to Albanese.
“We have been advised that it is legally permissible to host Ms. Albanese at our conference, so long as we remain within the narrow and specific confines of the recent guidance provided by the Office of Foreign Assets Control,” the website says.
As part of its defense for allowing Albanese to appear at the conference, the Maine Palestinian-rights group posted a disclaimer on its website.
“Conference organizers will not and have not engaged in any financial transaction, directly or indirectly, with or for the benefit of Ms. Albanese or any other sanctioned party,” it said. “The conference organizers will not and have not offered Ms. Albanese an honorarium for her participation. The conference organizers will not provide Ms. Albanese any specialized training or assistance, and will not receive any specialized training or assistance from Ms. Albanese.”
