Entry ban for controversial speaker at Palestine event at Radboud

The controversial speaker Mohammed Khatib will not attend a meeting on Palestine at Radboud University Nijmegen. The government has ruled he may not enter the Netherlands.

To some, he is a hate preacher inciting violence; others view him as a freedom fighter who ‘isn’t afraid to say things that may be provocative’. Khatib had been invited to speak at Radboud University on Monday by university staff.

Samidoun

Khatib lives in Belgium and is the European leader of Samidoun, a pro-Palestinian organisation banned in some Western countries (but not in the Netherlands). He described Hamas’s 7 October attack as a natural response from an oppressed people and claims the state of Israel has no right to exist.

The Nijmegen university community was sharply divided over the announcement of the lecture, sparking controversy beyond campus as well. Newspaper De Telegraaf called the event ‘a low point for antisemitism’. One organiser told the independent Radboud magazine VOX, “I’m an expert on European forms of racism and Jewish myself, and I can say he is not an antisemite”.

Samidoun

The university’s board was troubled by the situation. The reactions to Khatib’s visit were ‘at times very intense’, a statement said. However, there were no legal grounds to block the invitation.

Thus, the event was set to proceed, though the university imposed various security requirements. “Naturally, incitements to break the law or commit violence are not allowed”, the statement emphasised, a sentiment also echoed on the organisers’ poster.

Cancelled

The government has now decided to impose an entry ban. While the event might have been held online, the university has confirmed it has been cancelled.