A well-known Palestinian writer and activist harshly criticized the two individuals killed in the DC Jewish Museum shooting, labeling them as “genocide cheerleaders” in a series of inflammatory tweets, and expressed surprise that such a violent act hadn’t “occurred sooner.”
Susan Abulhawa, the director of the contentious 2023 “Palestine Writes” festival at the University of Pennsylvania, posted several messages that appeared to endorse the alleged actions of suspected shooter Elias Rodriguez, just hours after the tragic incident which claimed the lives of two staff members from the Israeli embassy.
Victims Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, who were a couple soon to be married, were participating in an American Jewish Committee conference aimed at promoting peace when they were tragically killed on Wednesday.
“Now we’re supposed to feel bad for two genocide cheerleaders after watching these colonizer baby killers slaughter people by the hundreds every day for two years,” Abulhawa wrote on X the following day.
“I’ve seen the inside of too many children’s skulls to give a crap about the human garbage who get off on mass murder,” she raged.
Earlier that day, Abulhawa, who has written extensively about Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, indicated that the shooting was retribution for the pain Israel has been inflicting on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
“Natural logic: when governments fail to hold Israel accountable for an actual holocaust being committed before our very eyes, no genocidal Zionist should be safe anywhere in the world,” Abulhawa wrote.
“What Mr. Rodriguez did should come as no surprise. In fact, I’m surprised it has not happened sooner. Human beings with a conscience literally cannot bear to witness such evil day and day out being inflicted upon the bodies, minds, and futures of an utterly defenseless people, by such a hateful, racist, colonial state.”
The posts drew widespread backlash, with numerous other users calling on the FBI to investigate what they say was a call to violence.
“@FBI this is a direct call to violence,” wrote Eyal Yakoby, a UPENN student and Israeli activist.
Another user piled on, saying: “The “woe is me, the poor Palestinians” routine is getting old. The Nazi ghoul inside you is starting to show. Sorry, I’m fresh out of f—ks for 2 million terrorists obsessed with killing us.”
Another simply said: “You’re a truly awful person.”
A phone number listed for Abulhawa was not in service when The Post attempted to reach her. She did not respond to emails requesting further comment.
The Palestinian author has long been vocal about her hatred for Israel, especially since the outbreak of its war with Hamas, incited by the terror group’s deadly attack on Israel.
Abulhawa served as the director of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival that took place at UPenn in 2023 — weeks before the war broke out.
Numerous donors at the Ivy League retracted their funds, claiming the speakers at the event had a long history of antisemitic statements.
They also demanded that the school’s president, Liz Magill, resign, a move she ultimately made two months later.
Rodriguez’s alleged violence marked an escalation of the Palestinian protest efforts outside of the Middle Eastern warzone — after he was arrested for the bloodshed, he reportedly shouted “free, free Palestine” and told cops he “did it for Gaza.”
The 31-year-old from Illinois pulled out a red keffiyeh when police arrived to the scene.
