In May, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told JNS that Xavier Becerra, the department secretary, “misspoke” when he seemed to recognize a state of “Palestine.” On Dec. 12, Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, handed a diploma to Husham Abu-Aisha, a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, who was identified as coming from “Ramallah, state of Palestine.”
Abu-Aisha was identified as coming from the “Preventive Security Organization,” part of the Palestinian Authority. Front Page Magazine reported that he liked a video praising Saddam Hussein on social media. “The FBI used to fight terrorists,” Front Page reported. “Now it seems to aid and abet them.”
“Here is the FBI recognizing a student from ‘Ramallah, the state of Palestine.’ I’ve met with Chris Wray in Israel, and he knows damn well that the United States does not recognize a ‘state of Palestine,’” wrote David Friedman, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel. “Kash Patel can’t arrive soon enough to clean up this mess.”
On Nov. 19, the FBI National Academy Associates shared a photo of Abu-Aisha on Facebook. “Meet Husam Abu-Aisha, one of our incredible international students from Palestine,” it stated. “We love our international students, and Husam is a shining example of why. His happiness and positive energy are truly a treasure to be around.”
The FBINAA is a “nonprofit, international organization,” whose more than 14,000 members are graduates of the “FBI’s prestigious National Academy Program.” (JNS sought comment from the FBI.)
StopAntisemitism shared a photo that appeared to show a “state of Palestine” table at an event of the academy with “the Palestinian flag covering the entire country of Israel.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) recently introduced a bill to ban the U.S. government from referring to Judea and Samaria as the “West Bank.” The United States does not recognize “Palestine” as a state.