Michael Barnett

Michael Barnett is a George Washington University (GWU) professor who claimed that Hamas terrorists have a “right of resistance” while speaking on a GWU panel in December 2023.

The incident occurred following a series of Hamas terror atrocities and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, which were executed on October 7, 2023.

The Hamas terror attacks left over 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron,” which was going on when Barnett made his statement about Hamas.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. It is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has promoted antisemitism on religious grounds, and has called for a global caliphate and the destruction of the State of Israel.

Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians in mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has kidnapped children, families and the elderly, holding them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 7] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

As of December 26, 2023, Barnett was listed as a professor of International Affairs and Political Science at GWU in the Elliot School of International Affairs. He was also listed as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Barnett also goes by Michael Nathan Barnett.

On December 4, 2023, Barnett was a featured speaker on a panel titled: “Understanding the Conflict in Israel and Palestine.” The online event was hosted by the GWU Institute for Middle East Studies and The School of Medicine and Health Sciences Anti-Racism Coalition.

During the panel, Barnett said [video - 00:00:20]: “Israel rightly can claim self-defense, but I also wanna note here that Hamas and the Palestinians also have a right of resistance.”

Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.

On December 10, 2023, the New York Post reported: “Panelists referred to the Jewish state’s military operation in the Gaza Strip as ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide,’ while failing to discuss atrocities Hamas committed in its Oct. 7 attack against southern Israel, its designation as a foreign terrorist organization or that it is still holding more than 100 Israeli and US civilians hostage.”

The True Face of Anti-Israel Activism

12/4/2023 - Defending Hamas Terrorism at a GWU Panel

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