Professor in university ‘wellbeing’ faculty ranted about ‘Zionist lobby’ and promoted ‘intifada’ talk

A professor from Open University’s “wellbeing” faculty posted about the “Zionist lobby” and “false allegations of antisemitism” in an online forum for academic staff, the JC can reveal.

Linguistics Professor Kristina Hultgren claimed that the “Zionist lobby” was attempting to silence criticism of Israel and that “Palestinians resist, as would anyone in their situation” in January this year.

Hultgren – a senior academic who receives state funding for her work via the Future Leaders Fellowship – shared a flyer online on behalf of the university’s Friends of Palestine society promoting an event titled Global Solidarity – A New Year of Resistance.

Hultgren described the session as an opportunity to “discuss what it means to resist in our individual and collective capacities.”

The flyer advocated for “student intifada and direct action” and listed speakers including representatives from Palestine Action and SOAS Palestine Society President Haya Adam.

Tracie Farrell, a research fellow in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics faculty, also commented on the post, saying: “We're supporting students who have an understanding of injustice that relates to settler colonialism.”

When another staff member questioned Hultgren, asking, “Do you want to destroy Israel?” Hultgren accused him of “twisting my words and avoiding the issue.”

She asserted: “Israel has been created on Palestinian land and since then taken on more and more land that does not belong to it. This is the root cause of the problem, and without acknowledging this, there can never be peace.’

Hultgren suggested 'false allegations of antisemitism' are used to perpetuate injustice[Missing Credit]

She added that it was “not surprising that Palestinians resist, as would anyone in their situation”.

Hultgren then claimed that “false allegations of antisemitism” had been used to discredit her views. She again accused the “Zionist lobby” of attempting to suppress criticism of Israel, writing “Nice try [...] by the Zionist lobby to try to shut down criticism of Israel's innumerable violations of international law and human rights.”

Hultgren shared a poster for a session on 'resistance' and called on her OU colleagues to join the session, 'to discuss what it means to resist'[Missing Credit]

“Colleagues: please don't be fearful of speaking out against Israel's atrocities,” she urged.

“Most people committed to evidence and facts will thankfully be able to see right through the Zionists' so-called arguments to legitimise their decades-long and continuing settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing and now genocide.”

Hultgren continued: “People should never be afraid of speaking out against an oppressive genocidal apartheid regime, and they should not believe anyone who tries to tell them that by doing so, they are engaging in a 'campaign target[ing] Jewish colleagues’.” [sic].

Hultgren said she could 'see right through the Zionists' so-called arguments to legitimise their decades-long and continuing settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing and now genocide'[Missing Credit]

Farrell again chipped into the heated exchange and said that OU Friends of Palestine had hosted ten webinars on the topic. She wrote: “I would like to re-center the students, their anti-Zionist engagement and their desire for justice. This movement, which is multi-faith, multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and global is about how we want to live moving forward - and apartheid, surveillance, and colonialism (all of which can be evidenced) are not part of that vision.”

Farrell tried to 're-center' OU students' 'anti-Zionist engagement'[Missing Credit]

Hultgren and Farrell are both members of the OU Palestine Solidarity Group.

Indeed, Hultgren hosted a webinar for the group with the Jewish Network for Palestine (JNP) and International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) – a fringe activist group which shared an Instagram post calling Ismail Haniyeh a “martyr” and has organised controversial demonstrations in north London.

The OU Palestine Solidary Group also hosted a webinar with Ghada Karmi and Haim Bresheeth. The pair are regulars on the anti-Israel speaking circuit. Karmi used a January speech at the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHCR) to "pause and pay tribute to the people of the resistance and Hamas,” while Bresheeth used the same platform to say Israeli soldiers “should all commit suicide.”

Hultgren has shared anti-Israel posts, including one which depicts Israel as a boot stamping on the world, human rights and international law (Photo: X)[Missing Credit]

Part of the faculty of Wellbeing, Education, and Language studies, Hultgren has repeatedly called for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Sharing an image of protesters holding a banner bearing the word “genocide” she wrote on X: “Another victory for BDS. Hope you’re paying attention Open University.”

In another X post, she reshared a cartoon of a boot emblazoned with an Israeli flag standing on top of a stack of books titled “the world, the human rights, the international society”.

She has also called disgraced anti-Zionist professor David Miller a “pro-truth academic” and claimed that he had been “silenced, intimidated”, adding: “We must continue to fight no matter how exhausting.”

It comes after, in an investigation into the scale of prejudice against Jewish students across UK campuses last month, the JC revealed that a student at the OU feared they were being undegraded because of their Israeli nationality.

In response to our report on Hultgren, a spokesperson for the university said: “We condemn antisemitism. We would encourage any staff member or student who believes they have witnessed antisemitism to report the matter immediately to their line managers and tutors.

"Where breaches of our antiracism policies are found, we will take action using the definition of antisemitism as defined in both the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.”

The JC has approached the OU Palestine Solidarity Group, Hultgren and Farrell for comment.