Gazan student expelled from top French university over antisemitic posts leaves France amid criminal probe

Last week, the university announced it had revoked Atallah’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

The Palestinian student who was recently expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille over antisemitic social media posts has left France shortly after being placed under investigation for praising Adolf Hitler and inciting violence against Jews online.

On Sunday, French authorities confirmed that 25-year-old Nour Atallah, a Palestinian student from Gaza, has departed France for Qatar to continue her education.

“The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, stressed the unacceptable nature of the comments made by Ms. Nour Atallah, a Gazan student, before she entered French territory,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“Given the seriousness of the situation, Ms. Atallah was unable to remain in France. She left France today to go to Qatar to continue her studies,” the statement read.

Atallah’s lawyer explained that she “made the decision … to continue her studies in another country as a gesture of conciliation and to ensure her safety,” while firmly denying all accusations against her.

“The reported incidents are mainly based on retweeted posts, detached from any context,” he said, according to French media.

Atallah arrived in northern France in early July to begin her master’s in law and communications at the Institute of Political Science in Lille after being awarded a scholarship to support her studies.

Last week, the university announced it had revoked Atallah’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.

In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

She is now facing a criminal investigation, as the public prosecutor in Lille confirmed the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”

The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.

On Friday, Barrot announced the suspension of all further evacuations from Gaza to France pending a comprehensive review of the backgrounds of those already evacuated, including the student under investigation.

Atallah is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.

Like many countries around the world, France has seen an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The local Jewish community in France has consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.

The total number of antisemitic outrages in 2024 — 1,570 — was a slight dip from 2023’s record total of 1,676, but it marked a striking increase from the 436 antisemitic acts recorded in 2022, according to a report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews,

In late May and early June of last year, antisemitic acts rose by more than 140 percent, far surpassing the weekly average of slightly more than 30 incidents.

The report also found that 65.2 percent of antisemitic acts last year targeted individuals, with more than 10 percent of these offenses involving physical violence.

Recently, three synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in Paris were vandalized with green paint, and the city’s Holocaust memorial was defaced twice. In Lyon, swastikas and hateful slogans were found on the walls of a primary school, which was also set on fire.