Vassar College is declining to comment about a group of students who are selling t-shirts portraying a terrorist in order to raise funds for the "Palestinian resistance," according to a university spokesman.
The Vassar chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, an anti-Israel organization that has been banned at some colleges for disseminating anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda, announced recently on Facebook that it is selling t-shirts featuring Leila Khaled, a convicted Palestinian terrorist and airplane hijacker.
The profits will help the anti-Israel students fund Palestinian resistance efforts against Israel, according to the group’s Facebook page.
An original version of the posting, which has since been updated to sanitize the language, urged supporters to purchase "sweet fucking anti-Zionist gear." All of the profits, the group claimed, "goes towards organizing Palestinian resistance."
The updated Facebook posting states: "Check out our friends at Existence is Resistance!!! They will be selling sweet anti-Zionist gear at our events," the Facebook page states. "100% of profits goes towards Existence Is Resistance."
When asked via email if the college has a comment on this activity, Vassar spokesman Jeff Kosmacher said, "No." Kosmacher did not respond to a subsequent email seeking further clarification.
Vassar has been home to other anti-Israel efforts.
The college came under criticism in October for ordering its dining facilities to stop serving Sabra hummus, an Israeli food brand. Supporters of the decision hailed it as a victory for the anti-Israel Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment movement, which seeks to economically isolate the Jewish state.
Vassar ultimately reversed it decision under pressure from pro-Israel groups.