The death of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh left American student groups, liberal activists, and media outlets reeling as they portrayed the terrorist leader as both a martyr and a politically pragmatic moderate working toward a ceasefire with Israel.
As news broke of Haniyeh’s death in Tehran on Wednesday, anti-Israel student groups flocked to social media to mourn the terrorist's "martyrdom." Some, including the University of California, Berkeley's Bears for Palestine, issued a call for action, posting statements that called on the group's followers to use the death of Haniyeh as "fuel for total victory." A second post said Haniyeh's death "only breeds more resistance."
"We are seeing the settler colony eat itself alive and burn itself to the ground in real time," the group wrote.
Anti-Israel activists reacted similarly, with Zahra Billoo, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations's San Francisco branch, writing, "Tonight we mourn Ismail himself but know his martyrdom is not in vain. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Rutgers University professor Noura Erakat quipped that Israel is "outdoing even itself" because the "assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran" came "w/o Iranian consent." Former Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) adviser Matt Duss labeled Haniyeh's death an act of Israeli "savagery."
For a number of mainstream media outlets, meanwhile, Haniyeh was not a terrorist who celebrated the slaughtering of Jews on Oct. 7 and called for more attacks in the following months. Instead, he was a diplomatic "moderate," a "sophisticated leader," and a "leading advocate for a Gaza cease-fire," as Haniyeh was described in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, respectively.
The positive portrayal of Haniyeh reflects the pro-Hamas sympathies seen in elite American institutions, including academia and media.
At Berkeley, for example, an anti-Semitic mob violently accosted an Israeli speaker who planned to address a Jewish group in March. The Post, which has received intense criticism for its coverage of Israel's war on Hamas, employs at least six people on its foreign desk who previously wrote for Al Jazeera, the Doha-based news outlet bankrolled in part by Qatar's government. Al Jazeera also called Haniyeh a "pragmatist" in a Wednesday piece.
The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal did not respond to requests for comment. The Times defended its reporting, which it said presented "reflections from recognized officials on the topic."
In addition to Bears for Palestine, which also rallied behind Iran's April attack on Israel, the school's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter shared several graphics on social media mourning the death of Haniyeh. "Until either victory or martyrdom," said one caption." Another said, "the gun is the only way to liberate Palestine."
Bears for Palestine and Berkeley's SJP chapter did not respond to requests for comment. Berkeley’s assistant vice chancellor of communications Dan Mogulof told the Free Beacon that the student groups "do not, in any way, speak for or represent the perspectives of the university."
Beyond the Times, Post, and Journal, Reuters's Tuesday evening piece on Haniyeh referred to the terrorist as "the more moderate face of Hamas." All four outlets were subject to online criticism over their coverage. The Journal responded on Wednesday by changing a headline on an article about Haniyeh's death from "Strike in Iran Kills Hamas's Leading Advocate for a Gaza Cease-Fire" to "Strike in Iran Kills Hamas's Chief Negotiator."
On Instagram, Columbia University’s SJP chapter shared a graphic condemning Israel for killing Haniyeh, claiming the Jewish state "wants all-out regional war." Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law SJP chapter shared a picture of Haniyeh alongside the caption, "Eternal glory to our martyrs."
Stanford University's SJP chapter and George Washington University's Student Coalition for Palestine posted graphics accusing Israel of "assassinat[ing] political leaders without provocation" and warning that "others will stand ready to take their place."
Long Island University SJP took its support further, calling for "escalation" and sharing details of an upcoming protest in New York City titled "Defend Palestine & Lebanon."
"Escalation for the late leader of Hamas, it's the bare minimum!!!"
Shortly before his death, Haniyeh attended the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Chants of "death to America" and "death to Israel" rang out at the ceremony, where Haniyeh was filmed embracing Pezeshkian. Haniyeh was killed just hours later through a reported strike on his luxury home in Tehran.
On Oct. 7, Haniyeh watched footage of the attack from a luxury building in Qatar, where he smiled and prayed with other Hamas terrorists. In the wake of the attack, he pledged to "continue the resistance against this enemy until we liberate our land, all our land."