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Omar Elsakhawy
Omar Elsakhawy [Mohammad Shanash] was the “coordinator” of a Penn student group that signed a statement supporting Hamas war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, carried out on October 7, 2023. Elsakhawy also attended a rally at Penn that expressed support for Hamas war crimes.
On October 11, 2023, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) anti-Israel group Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine (PAO) authored a statement in support of Hamas titled: “Statement of Solidarity with Palestine.” Four other groups co-signed the statement, which praised [slide 2] Hamas as “the Palestinian resistance.” The statement described [slide 4] Hamas’s war crimes against Israeli civilians, such as mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, as “resistance efforts.”
The statement began [slide 2]: “We, the undersigned, write this statement in support of Palestinians who are fighting to liberate their lands from the Israeli Occupation.” The statement also said [slide 2] the groups “unequivocally condemn” Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hamas, asserted [slide 5] that Palestinians had the “right to resist” Israel “by any means necessary” and claimed [slide 4]: “Israel bears sole responsibility for the violence” since Hamas invaded Israel.
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, approximately 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border with Gaza. They executed numerous war crimes on civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape of men and women, torture, kidnappings and mutilation.
Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ accounts for families to see. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” As of November 10, 2023, approximately 1,200 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were murdered during the attacks. Hamas kidnapped 242 Israelis, including at least 30 children. At least 3,500 people were wounded, many severely.
A terrorist detained by Israel admitted he raped an Israeli woman when he broke into a kibbutz house during the October 7, 2023 attack. In March 2024, a former hostage of Hamas publicly stated she was sexually abused and tortured while in captivity.
For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 7] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.
On October 18, 2023, Elsakhawy attended a rally at Penn in support of Hamas war crimes.
On October 18, 2023, the student group Penn Against the Occupation (PAO) at Penn organized a rally titled: “VIGIL & WALKOUT FOR GAZA.”
At the time of the October 2023 PAO statement, Elsakhawy was reportedly a “coordinator” of Fossil Free Penn (FFP) when the group signed the statement. He also held the position in September 2022.
As of October 2023, Elslakhawy went by “Mohammad Shanash” on LinkedIn and had listed FFP as one of his “Activities and societies” at Penn. As of the same date, his LinkedIn profile said he was a “Pre-Medical Student” at Penn.
As of October 2023, Elsakhaway was listed as a member of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE) at Penn for the class of 2026.
As of the same date, Elsakhawy’s LinkedIn said he had been working as a research assistant at the Palliative and Advanced Illness Research Center (PAIR Center) housed in the Department of Medicine at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine since May 2023 and as an emergency medical technician (EMT) with the Penn Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) since May 2023.
Also as of October 2023, Elsakhawy’s LinkedIn said he was studying health and societies at Penn, slated to graduate in May 2026.
Penn is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, as of October 2023, Elsakhawy’s LinkedIn said he was located in Orlando, Florida.
