The Lille Institute of Political Studies announced this week that it was canceling the admission of a student from the Gaza Strip after discovering posts on social networks denounced as “hateful,” “antisemitic,” and “an apology for terrorism” and “crimes against humanity.”
The Lille Institute of Political Studies (the Institut d’études politiques de Lille, usually called Sciences Po Lille) is a grande école, a specialized top-level educational institution that operates alongside the mainstream French public university system.
Nour Atalla, 25, arrived in France in February after leaving Gaza. She is accused of having shared content promoting the actions of Hamas. An account in her name posted a message on X, two days after the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, calling for the execution of hostages held by Hamas, specifying that they should be filmed in “high-quality,” and sent to universities and the Western media.
In September 2024, she reposted several posts glorifying Adolf Hitler’s actions against the Jews, going so far as to describe the German dictator as a “visionary.”
“After consultation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Rectorate, the management of Sciences Po Lille has decided to cancel this student’s planned enrollment at our institution,” the school wrote on its X account.
The content of some of this student’s publications on social networks over the past two years “runs directly counter to the values espoused by Sciences Po Lille, which fights against all forms of racism, antisemitism and discrimination, as well as against any type of incitement to hatred, against any population whatsoever,’’ it stressed.
The Union of French Jewish Students (UEJF) accused Atalla of having called for the “extermination of the Jews” and having “congratulated Hitler.
“Sciences Po Lille cannot be a gateway for neo-Nazi discourse,” the union said.
The school told Agence France-Presse that it had admitted Atalla at the suggestion of the French Consulate General in Jerusalem.
“She came to France via French diplomacy,” the school added. “The young woman was given temporary accommodation in the home of the director of Sciences Po Lille, where he no longer lives, while awaiting the university accommodation reserved for her.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X: “The screening carried out by the relevant departments of the ministries concerned clearly did not work.”
Barrot said that he had “asked for an internal investigation to be carried out so that this can never happen again.”
‘Referred the matter to the public prosecutor’
Philippe Baptiste, minister for higher education and research, wrote, “Whether they come from Gaza or elsewhere, international students making or relaying such remarks have no place in our country.
“I have already referred the matter to the public prosecutor under Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” he said.
(Article 40 places a legal obligation on individuals, especially public officials, to inform the Public Prosecutor about any crime or offense they learn about in the course of their duties.)
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau stressed on X that he had “asked for this hateful account to be closed down, and instructed the prefect to take the matter to court,” insisting that “Hamas propagandists have no place in our country.”
It is expected that Atalla will be expelled from French territory.
Originally published by the European Jewish Press.
