University of Illinois Professor Quotes Holocaust Denier in Class

June 4, 2012 By 72 Comments

Professor Farhad Malekafzali teaches political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Or, at least, that’s what he’s supposed to teach. If you read his final, according to students, he actually teaches anti-Israel canards for a living.

Posing as a moderate on the Israel-Arab issue, Malekafzali instead associates with the radical anti-Israel group “Students for Justice in Palestine.” He has told students at rallies that Zionist Jews only began moving to Israel in the 20th century, ignoring centuries of historic Jewish connection to Israel. He has also said that before any negotiations take place, Israel must withdraw from all territories won in the 1967 Six Day War. And yes, he’s a member of Change.org.

But it’s what Malekafzali teaches in the classroom that’s truly disturbing.

According to one of his students, a recent final exam asked students to explain, “why, in reality, Israel has never faced an existential threat from its neighbors.” He asked students to “discuss Israel’s policies toward Gaza since 2005.” And he told students to “Compare and contrast in depth the arguments advanced in Mearsheimer and Walt, The Israel Lobby and Plitnick and Toensing, The “Israel Lobby” in Perspective.”

This isn’t just anti-Israel. It’s anti-Semitic.

Israel, of course, has always faced an existential threat from its neighbors. Malekafzali assigns noted anti-Israel Holocaust minimizers like Norman Finkelstein to his students to show them just how Israel is the great Satan in the region. He quotes the anti-Semitic canards of Walt and Mearsheimer, which suggests that pro-Israel Jews control American foreign policy.

In class, reportedly, Malekafzali teaches that Israel essentially started the 1948 War of Independence and blithely ignored international UN boundaries – although it was Israel that accepted the UN mandate, and the Arab countries that united to attack it. He calls the reality “more complex.” He teaches that all the Palestinians who left Israeli territory were expelled, as opposed to any of them leaving voluntarily (hundreds of thousands did). In a page straight out of the Palestine Liberation Organization playbook, he reverses history, calling Israel’s history “simplistic and self-serving.” He says that Israel was responsible for the Yom Kippur War. Apparently, he denies any connection between Hamas and Iran.

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About

Ben Shapiro is an attorney and writer and a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, and author of the new book “Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How The Left Took Over Your TV” from Broadside Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

  • Jan

    I don’t doubt he’s teaching antisemitic views and historical revisionism.

    IL has long been a bastion of antisemitism,racism and cronyism .The corruption is so well known and obvious residents have made it a running joke.

    Southern IL is so digusted with the crime and corruption they have had meeting to discuss seceding from the state.

    The state is morally and financially bankrupt ,schools are miserable failures,you can not vote a democrat out of office in IL,period.

    Drawing attention to this man won’t effect anything.Citizens are too busy trying to survive in a state that used to be part of the USA but is now a 3rd world ghetto.

    • Anthony

      Jan,

      I thought I was the only one disgusted with the true reality of the utter failure of America as a whole, then i read your comment

      Expane your example of IL as a “Third World Ghetto” to include most major American cities and include nearby suburbs, then you can fully appreciate when the country is heading.

      Most Americans can’t imagine the sheer ugliness of places like Detroit and South Central LA because they’ve accepted the huge lie that masses of refugees and millions of entitlement demanding minorities and a minority majority America soon to come is “progress”. Well, low IQ people with impulse control issues fueled by a anti- White media and perverse entertainment industry equals a place that will soon be unlivable for most decent Americans, kind of like Soddom and Gamorrah, only with more than a pinch of Babel for good measure.

      I’m moving out of NY ASAP, but where to escape multiculturalism?

      About the Moslem professor doing Moslrm things, wait until more are here in America, wait until more are professors and politicians, wait for the next Islsmic “cultural” center and mosque to pop up in a ‘ hood near you. Guess what, that the price you liberal dopes deserve, you people enslaved your children in a madhouse that is collapsing all around us as you stupidly accept the federal government ‘s intentional theft of our traditions, heritage, majority defing culture, and even our right of free association.

      We are slaves and we haven’t seen the worst yet.

      Winston Smith, Oceania
      SOS

    • Questions

      Downstate Illinois has its share of street crime and corruption, too. I grew up in the St. Louis metro area. The Illinois side of the river, especially in heavily black East St. Louis, was almost a joke. At one point, there was literally a murder every night there. By the Nineties, authorities in Belleville, Ill., a mainly white community next door, were so demoralized that they placed traffic barriers at the East St. Louis border, to discourage travel by blacks from East St. Louis. They were, of course, called "racist."

      There is a lot to like about Illinois. Chicago is a great city. But blacks and their enablers seem to take a wrecking ball to every place they live in. Muslims simply make things worse.

    • Walt

      My question is why do we have Arab professors teaching in our colleges and universities. Don't we have more qualified persons available from our own citizens? And please, please don't answer with … 'diversity'.

  • David M

    This chap Farhad Someone's antisemitism was not a surprise. I speak Farsi and I'm aware that there are millions of Iranians who despise Islam and mullahs but there are a considerable Iranians who are agents or have sympathy for the Islamonazi regime in Iran. The most active agents of mullahs are National Iranian American Council (NIAC). The Council has gathered a combination of Islamists and Communists (Iranian and American) who share anti-Americanism and antisemitism together. Antisemitism is widespread not only among the NIAC members but also is shared by Iranian Communists and the so-called Iranian moderate Muslims and reformers. The Iranian Lobby and other Iranian agents have infiltrated the White House, State Dept, VOA Persian Service and universities.

  • SCREW SOCIALISM

    NIAC are the fifth column that the "islamofascist regime of iran" intends to use to attack America from within.

  • kafir4life

    If Joe has a family emergency, can't find his way to the convention center, or they just plain don't let him in, couldn't this fellow be stinky's (bo) running mate in the fall? It sounds like politically they are in lockstep.

  • H&R_ Barack

    The anti-Semites, Arabs and Islamists remake history to serve their own interests.

    FACT: Nearly 6 million of Europe's 9 million Jews were murdered… 2 out of every 3 Jews!

    .The Holocaust was the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews, (two-thirds of the total European Jewish population), the primary victims,- and 5 million others!

    It is hard to grasp the idea that it isn't just 11 million deaths, but 11 million people whose lives were cut off because of racism and hate, all in a period of 11 years . It was not Jews only.

    Moreover, on November 25, 1941 the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, went to visit Hitler in Germany. This in and of itself was not so unusual for, during much of World War II, leading Muslims including Haji Amin al-Husseini (Arafat's uncle!) collaborated with the Nazis.

    The Arab leader was assured by Hitler that once he [Hitler] ridded Europe of its Jews, he would do the same throughout Palestine (then the name for Israel).

    Although Heir Hitler is roasting marshmallows; – the Arab world is still hades-bent on finishing his work!

  • Schlomotion

    In his last article, Ben Shapiro was trying to censor the word "Israel Firster." In this article, the Israel Firster is trying to censor professors who quote Mearsheimer and Walt. Ben Shapiro is building a reputation as a Jewish Nationalist censor in America. For this, he deserves the same disrespect as a Iranian censor, or a Christian Fundamentalist censor. Just say no to Talmudic Sharia. We have a long tradition of free speech in the United States, even the freedom to advocate totalitarianism, as Mr. Shapiro does. We do not, however, have a long tradition of letting these kind of statements fly by without ridicule.

    • akreynin

      You are an antisemite.

    • guest

      take a dump in your koran

    • reader

      Actually, you are trying to censor Ben Shapiro. Just say no to a takiyya troll schlo.

    • poppakap

      …and you are building a reputation as a world class troll who hates anything that paints Israel in a positive light.

      I've got a one way ticket to Tehran for you anytime you're brave enough to take me up on it. I'm willing to double down on the bet expecting you'd sh#t yourself before leaving your basement.

      • Schlomotion

        Make it a round trip ticket.

  • Anthony

    Schlomotion

    What’s wrong with ” Israel First” assuming he said that? Shouldn’t any healthy society, any self respecting nation, any sane people be concerned with their own survival?

    Don’t you disordered liberals always push for minority rights first, don’t blacks have their caucus, dont’s Hispanics have La Raza, don’t white people have guilt?

    You are so botched up it isn’t comical anymore.

    • Schlomotion

      There's nothing wrong with it if he lives in Israel. He doesn't.

      • reader

        There's a huge wrong when trolll like schlo live in the United States.

    • SCREW SOCIALISM

      The professor is a Jihad Firster.

      Ask the professor what happened on 9/11.

  • Alvaro

    Norman Finkelstein may be a lot of things, but he is not a "holocaust denier". And quoting someone is not the same as endorsing anyone's opinions in itself: (Historians quote Hitler all the time, but how many of them support his ideas?)

    But isn't it ironic that people like Farhad Malekafzali rely on the writings of "evil" Jews, even for their own antisemitism?

  • marios

    'schlo" is Muslim who use all means to promote Islam. He masked as American but he is one of fifth column in this country. Muslims openly said ' America is big Satan" , 'Islma will dominate". They want to built world wide Chaliphate. It means to conquer our country as well. He and other like him wants to destroy US from within. i am sure that he is on Iranians or Saudis petrodollars payroll. Only one religion in the world is the same as Nazis ideology. Out of Koran:__ "War is ordained by Allah, and all Muslims must be willing to fight, whether they like it or not. 2:216__ " "Kill disbelievers wherever you find them. If they attack you, then kill them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. (But if they desist in their unbelief, then don't kill them.) 2:191-2 "__Fight them until "religion is for Allah." 2:193 __that is it what professor doing and "schlo" as well. it is still Jihad.__Srop Muslim immigration! BHO is one term president!__Only those conditions can survive us.__God bless America and Israel. Your children are in danger. Help us to survive.____

    • Schlomotion

      You are incorrect. Schlo is an atheist who has not promoted Islam in any way. He is a citizen of the United States with an ancestry in the United States before there was a United States. You can't even spell "Caliphate." Your certainty as to who pays my bills is certainly comedy. It's definitely not factual.

      • reader

        You a liar. If you were an atheist you wouldn't be offended by posts about islam, but you were. takiyya jig is up, troll.

        • Schlomotion

          I am not offended by them.

          • SCREW SOCIALISM

            Happy Eternal Nakba Schlocky!

          • reader

            So you lied about being offended by them. It must be confusing to live the life of a troll.

      • Choi

        HAHAHAHAHAHA
        Next you'll say you're descended from the Pilgrims who came over on "The Mayflower".
        Or ,let me guess,you're a descendent of Christopher Columbus?
        Leif Erickson?
        Who the

      • johnnywoods

        Islam allows it`s slaves to lie to "infidels" so we are right to hold anything you say in suspect.

  • Marty

    I get to teach college students the facts and document with ample illustrations uf Islamic intentions to brutally coerce nonmuslims to convert, pay the jizya, or die. The Islamic and arab tradition of imperialism and conquest ad well ad the subjugation of christians and Jews is fully covered. I’ve also taken advantage of the rich history of genocidal arab leaders and their miserable citizenries expressing their determination to destroy Israel even though they reside in impoverished and corrupt so hurried that sternly capable if blaming Americans and Israelis for their institutionalized decadence. My students receive the truth and fully understand how despicable the Islamic ideology is and how it destroys any culture it touches.

    • Choi

      I sure HOPE you're TENURED or the Lefties will go after your position.

    • aspacia

      Marty, the Muslim or liberal students will whine, but continue to use Academic Freedom. One Muslim college student of mine said Jordan is very free. I let her continue her presentation, and the next day brought in documentation about how totalitarian, and intolerant the King is.

      • WilliamJamesWard

        What was the reaction to the documentation?………………William

        • aspacia

          Silence, I was her professor. I told her I am open to refutes. Nothing, Nada, Zilch, Zero. She, and three other Muslim students were miffed, but so what, refute my claim and no ad hom attacks.

          • WilliamJamesWard

            You gave her a gift, the truth which is always something to think about and broadened
            her horizon. I wonder if she will ever consider and be grateful, one could wish.
            William

    • Suzanne

      Keep up the good work, Marty!

  • marios

    "scllo" is Islamists agent. He posed as an American but he is not. US is Christians country and was built on Jedeo-Christians believe. No Muslims built this G-d blessed country. They came as "schlo" from their filthy, corrupted, 7 century country with illiteral people living in poverty and try now to conquer our country from within. It is typical stealth jihad. Petrodollars already bought some politicians and probably Law inforcement as well. Plus the last 3.5 years was created very benevolent conditions for Mulsims invasion. Each year BHO administration brought by 1ML Muslims. They are his voters. Muslims all the world financed BHO campagn in 2008.
    for US surviva… BHO is one term president.

  • seth bullock

    Please, people, stop talking to Schlomotion. He's either a troll or a flamer, and what he may have done to akreynin with that link is just plain wrong.

    • BS77

      Right…just boycott Schlo….he's a troll and a sick puppy….just ignore his garbage posts.

    • Schlomotion

      Akreynin should not make false accusations.

      Is this the same place where people consistently make the statement that Rachel Corrie deserved to be splattered with a bulldozer and that Palestinian children deserve to die by white phosphorus because they didn't move to Jordan? This is the same place where nobody deserves to be known by their public profile even though they make false accusations? Is this the same place where center columns routinely attack people for making false claims of racism? Is this the same place where several World of Warcraft gamers regularly proclaim that a future date is coming when all Muslims and leftists are going to get shot in the head? I just want to get the facts straight here. This is the place that does not, but really does endorse Anders Breivik, isn't it? This is the place that is quick to defend shooters, vigilantes, and nationalists, unless they oppose Israel, isn't it? This place is the one that is constantly trying to get someone fired from his job or elected position, isn't it?

      • SCREW SOCIALISM

        Who? Saint Pancake?

        Meanwhile Muslims kill Muslims in the Assad dictatorship and the so called "anti-war" cultists are nowhere to be seen.

        The Kremlin has issued orders NOT to protest their boy in Syria.

      • Ted G

        stretch reality much schlomo?

      • Anthony

        Schlomotion

        Have you ever served in the military?

        • Schlomotion

          No. I have privately pursued the equivalent physical and weapons proficiency. I would not stand there and get yelled at by a short, dopey drill instructor without punching him in the face. Basic training strikes me as brutally unnatural like most religion. You have to be a joiner, someone who likes humiliation and who doesn't have the basic faith in himself to get adequate physical and martial fitness or discipline without being humiliated into a group first. In the event of a defensive war, I am perfectly ready and able to fight and kill people. I am not running to sign up for big oil, though.

          • reader

            Yes, your instructor would be a scrony man with a long beard.

  • Looking4Sanity

    "Historians quote Hitler all the time, but how many of them support his ideas?"

    More often than you might think, I'm sorry to say.

    • SCREW SOCIALISM

      Especially Islamist "historians".

      • Looking4Sanity

        Amen, brother.

  • ALFRED E. NEUMAN

    I am sick and tired of all the ANTI-SEMITIC remarks about the JEWISH PEOPLE! They are GODS people and they are the APPLE of HIS EYE! They have been totally DISOBEDIENT to HIM for CENTURIES, yet HE STILL LOVES THEM and PROTECTS THEM. This un educated nut job so called professor is already on his way to ETERNITY with SATAN, and not the VIRGINS SATAN promised him when SATAN CREATED ISLAM and the MUSLIMS! The only QUESTION which PLAGUES ME is HOW SO MANY AMERICAN JEWS FOLLOW OBAMA and the MUSLIM CRAP? The best I can come up with is that they are the USEFUL IDIOTS OF PIG BLOOD ISLAM!

  • marios

    You know GW Bisch ignored all filthy propoganda Democraps used against him and BHO won in 2008.
    80% of MSM controlled by Liberals/socialists use that tactic and their followers leftists and muslims use the same. Silence is sign of consent. 'schlo" is enemy of this country and we should not ignore that.

    • Choi

      AGREED.
      Coming BACK at Schlo is IMPORTANT!
      Ignoring Trolls doesn't make them go away,it leaves their BS UNANSWERED,which is NEVER GOOD.

  • tagalog

    Boycott Malekafzali's classes!

    • SCREW SOCIALISM

      Stage walk outs DURING is classes.

      Sing "God Bless America" in his classes.

      • Choi

        The problem is that the U of Illinois students are so BRAINWASHED they would never do that.
        If you Google Malekafzali ,you'll see where his BRAINWASHED students" love him".
        You'll also see how he politicizes his Final Exams so that students have to either write ,in essay form,HIS TEACHINGS,or obviously their GRADE and GPA will reflect DISAGREEING with him.
        The DOLT students obviously are not clever enough to use Taqyia on him,yet know the opposite of his lies are the TRUTH.

  • SCREW SOCIALISM

    Who knew that Charlie Sheen is also a "professor"?

  • Alex

    Mr. FartHead Malekafzali – aren't you mentally sick?
    Oh, you did seek professional help?
    Really, nobody could help you?
    Nice.

  • Choi

    Thanks for bringing this Iranian POS to our attention.
    Since the University of Illinois is a STATE TAXPAYER SUPPORTED institution, THIS POS is a LEGITIMATE Campaign Issue for GOP candidates for the Illinois General Assembly.
    I know of one Illinois Senate candidate who WILL USE THIS against the Democratic incumbent .

  • Anthony

    We have his name, we know his workplace, will anyone contact his bosses to complain? answer: No.

    Funny, isn’t it? This dumb ass in front of a class of dumb asses, got his credentials from a bunch of disordered dumbasses making money on firmly establishing a country of dumbed down dimbasses pretending to be smart.

    We see how true to form, academic capitalists will sell their children while Marxists will sell your freedom, and Moslems will make love to lies, just so that they can create their own little utopias where truth matters not the least, nor God. So long any pretensions of us being anything remotely resembling a nation.

  • 080

    The "professor" should bel quoting the statements of the Nazi elite at the Nuremburg trials. They did not deny the Holocaust. They said that they were simply obeying orders.

  • RoguePatriot6

    I am so sick and tired of this constant BS of "well if the U.S. didn't establish Israel as a sanctuary for the Jews in 1948 then we wouldn't have all of this trouble". I even had someone at work try to tell me that the Middle East went chaotic in 1948 because of it.
    I'm going to try to break it down in simplest of terms.

    ISLAMISTS HATE JEWS!!!!!

    I honestly don't know what part of that is so hard to understand. It wouldn't matter where if they were located anywhere other than Israel. It wouldn't matter if Israel were Texas, Massachusetts or Timbucktu, they would still hate it simply because JEWS are in it. All of the Jews could leave Israel right now in a mass exodus and Islamists would still hunt them down and exterminate them. Whether we established Israel as a home for them or not wouldn't matter, there would still be bad blood between them. It's written in their religious doctrine, so what's the point? Israel has opened the doors to Palestinians to live freely in the nation. This is a fact that many overlook yet how much of this tolerance is exhibited by Palestinians towards Jews? NONE. Who, with an intact brain could ever see the Israelies as the oppressors or antagonists?

    • johnnywoods

      If we gave New Jersey to the Israelis for their homeland a bunch of Arab Muslims would begin to move next door and demand their "ancient homeland", New Jersey, be returned to them. Don`t confuse these ignorant fools with the facts as their minds are already made up. Let them eat pork.

      • WilliamJamesWard

        It will be just a matter of time and the demon rats of Islam will attack and make it all quite clear
        once they have all of the cowards and lunatics in line, then they can have the pork lined with lead.
        William

  • Carl Stoll

    It is utterly false to call Norman Finkelstein a "Holocaust denier". He may be very anti-Israeli, but he has never dened or belittled the Holocaust.

  • Nadia

    How much did Saudi Arabia pay the University to hire this Islamist professor?

  • Suzanne

    Ok, so now we know about this guy. It's time for the University of Illinois to fire him.

    • Steve Chavez

      Are you serious? The guy will now get a raise and tenure!

  • Willy Rho

    Simple, Islam is incompatible with Western Civilization. Any attempt to accommodate it is suicide for the West. The West needs to move to do everything possible to eliminate Islam from the face of the Earth or modify it to accept the Western Civilization. If Islam would accept the Ten Commandments, it would have to Radically change its ways, but they like Evil Outcomes so much, I think that is impossible.

    • scum

      Sure, why don't we commit the ultimate genocide (1 Billion or so), to make the world a better place. Get out your copy of Mein Kampf for the roadmap.

  • scum

    Of course, "Zionism" is basically a term from 1891, that emphasizes the right of return (which means many Zionists were not there at the time), and the 'movement' began about 1897. What is improperly considered now a fait accompli was quite contentious at the time, with many mainstream Jew opposing. Moreover, "Judaism" was not necessarily to be the state religion. Even today, one must oppose thinking of the Isreali state and Judaism as one and the same, for two reaons: 1) There are non-Jews living is Israel; 2) To posit a state religion is by definition to set up an arena for significant conflict, and notions of inclusion and exclusion that are contrary to notions of civility and democracy.

  • Steve Chavez

    YEA SO! There are plenty of professors who do the exact same teaching against Islam, Mohammad, and Muslims!!!

    NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Disappointed

    I can't tell if this article is a joke or if the writer is simply a moron. Finkelstein's parents DIED in the holocaust and he never, EVER minimalizes it, he simply does not believe for a second that it should be used to justify the expulsion of another ethnic group from its native land. So if Finkelstein is assigned reading, how the hell can this professor be a denier of the holocaust?! The logic doesn't fit.

    Secondly, there were no Zionists BEFORE the 1940s. Of course that does NOT mean there were no Jews in Palestine (as it was known at the time) before then. They were there, they were always there. Only uneducated idiots deny that. Before the Allied powers started moving the holocaust survivors to Palestine, Jews and Muslims lived side-by-side in peace. There were even explicit laws that protected the Jews the Muslims made because both Jews and Christians are known as "Brothers of the Book" and the Jews have been famously mistreated as second class citizens before these laws. Zionism was a movement that was in the '40s originally meant to help the new survivors establish an identity and community in the strange land that they were unfamiliar with to ease the moving process. Now the ideology of Zionism has been twisted from a Pro-Jewish identity to an anti-Palestinian one.

    Thirdly, I'm so sick of people getting anti-semitism and anti-Israel confused. Not supporting Israel is NOT the same thing as hating Jews. Einstein did not support Israel policies toward Palestinians and he's one of the most famous and celebrated Jews in history who lived during the Third Reich and helped the Allied powers. Gandhi, the poster child of peace, did not support the actions of Israel. The Dalai Lama does not support the actions of Israel. I challenge you to call any one of these great men hateful, racist, or intolerant.

    As for the Palestinains, how the hell can you say that they left WILLINGLY?! If someone leaves their home willingly, then they aren't issued the status "refugee" and the UN (that organization that admitted Israel and that Shapiro loves to mention) certainly doesn't form AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION dedicated to helping people who one day decided they just needed a change of scenery! 4 million people have been displaced since the late 1940s and the Israeli government continues to bulldoze Palestinian homes in the West Bank (just YouTube it for videos) and you claim Palestinians leave on their own freewill? I am quickly losing my faith in humanity.

    The largest lobbying group in Washington is AIPAC, Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid, and 2nd in foreign aid is Egypt. Egypt is #2 because the US was essentially paying the country to NOT attack Israel. As we all now know Mubarak, the former tyrant of Egypt who enjoyed oppressing his own people with the methods of starvation, murder, and denial of allowing them democracy (you know that one thing us Americans take pride in so much? Freedom? Yeah they were denied that), was a strong ally of the US. So yeah, Israel DOES influence our foreign policy STRONGLY.

    Lastly if I were to ask "What was the US policy toward Mexico in 2005?" would that be considered biased and radical? Just because the answer to "What is the Israeli policy toward Gaza in 2005?" is one YOU don't like, doesn't mean it's radical or propaganda.

    Oh I lied, I have 2 fun facts for you all before ending this. Did you know that Muslims view Jesus Christ as a prophet of God and love him as much as they love the prophet Muhammad? And that the Qur'an talks about the mother Mary more than the Bible? Did you also know that Christian Palestinians are suffering as much as Muslim Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli government? Yeah there was a whole 60 Minutes special on it done by Bob Simon who served as CBS's Tel Aviv correspondent for 5 years. You should probably watch it.

  • Megan

    This article makes me sad. I have many of friends who have taken this mans class and they were horrified when they saw this article. Not everything you read is true.

  • Ghostwriter

    This guy is a creep. He should be thrown out of the university for what he has been doing.