Yale students who fundraised for terrorists at a school-sanctioned event were not disciplined by the school.
A recent report from the United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce found students who shared a link to a Venmo account that claimed to support Palestinian terrorist groups faced no consequences from the school.
The event in question was a performance that took place on campus on November 10, 2023. The dance group, Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Yale, projected a QR code labeled “Support Palestine” on the stage.
According to Yale Daily News, the QR code sent people to an Instagram post with a slide that had the words “Support Palestinian anarchist fighters.” That slide had a link to the now-defunct Venmo handle @abolishtheusa, and tagged an Instagram account with the same name.
The post, which was made by the account @desolasol.colectiva (De Sol A Sol Colectiva), is no longer on Instagram.
abolishtheusa used to run an Instagram page titled State Subversive Mutual Aid, which had an upside-down red triangle—a symbol that is used by Hamas and its supporters—in the page’s name. Several Instagram accounts have solicited donations for a supposed Palestinian anarchist group called FAUDA, which means “chaos” in Arabic. It is also the name of a popular Israeli TV series.
Even though it’s Instagram and Venmo accounts were deactivated, abolishtheusa still has accounts on Reddit, Linktree and X, formerly Twitter.
abolishtheusa posted an interview with three anonymous members of FAUDA on The Anarchist Library and Linktree. In that interview, a FAUDA member describes the group as one of 15 “anti-Zionist resistance groups in Palestine,” including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The person states, “All resistance groups are together and follow the same goal.”
They claim FAUDA fights with and fundraises for Palestinian terrorist groups, and that FAUDA members committed a series of guerrilla attacks during the month of Ramadan. One of the three members interviewed made a list of essential equipment that the organization needed help purchasing. This list included: gas masks, walkie-talkies, smartphones, computer cables, “identities and documents”, “flags and clothing that represent the anarchist movement,” and “money for hospital(sic) and other expenses, whether for anarchists or to help some needy people and poor Palestinians.” There are also several items that have been “redacted” from the list, including several items categorized as “tools for self-defense during protests.”
It is unclear if any money has been sent to abolishtheusa or FAUDA, or if FAUDA is a real organization.
abolishtheusa is an anonymous account. On its Reddit page, it claims that they did not graduate high school, were homeless for large parts of their life and in recent years had a medical emergency that left them broke.
abolishtheusa could not be reached for questions.
The co-presidents of Yale’s Ballet Folklorico at the time apologized for displaying the QR code during the dance. They told the Yale Daily News they decided to include the QR code hours before the performance and did not see the entirety of the post. The link to abolishtheusa’s Venmo account was on the third slide of a post.
The first slide on the post had the words “Collection of resources to aid Palestine,” and the second slide had donation information for four groups: the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Gaza Mutual Aid Collective.
Yale University’s communications department could not be reached for questions about this incident or the university’s protest policies.
The Committee on Education and Workforce study found pervasive antisemitism at many elite universities in the United States, including Yale.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, two students were put on disciplinary probation and 23 students have been reprimanded.
“University administrators overwhelmingly failed to impose meaningful discipline for those who engaged in antisemitic conduct,” a press release from the committee states.
Was this article helpful?
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
OK, so perhaps more details are needed, but from the content of this article the headline is misleading. The organizers apologized for the mistake. They obviously should have been more careful. The article states it is unclear if money was sent. The four relief organizations listed are reputable. This highly charged subject needs to be treated more accurately.
Hey Fred. Thank you for writing in and for reading Inside Investigator. I’ll keep your comment in mind for future headlines. Our understanding comes from the Committee on Education and Workforce report, which I think used even stronger language in their accounting of school official’s response to antisemitism. So, while I stand by the headline being accurate, I don’t take this lightly and will try to strike that balance between “Yes you should click and read!” and “this highly charged subject needs a cooler head to prevail.” Please feel free to call, email, or comment here – this kind of conversation is helpful as we work to serve and we’re always trying to improve.
No shocker here. I think Yale is breeding this stuff. This is what our prestigious Yale is sending out in society.