The University of Washington projects $956 million in federal-sponsored research next year, and the state appropriated $518 million for it in 2027. Still, the public school hopes that people will dip generously into their pockets and pay $10 each to attend a public lecture sponsored by the school on Jan. 21 with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
“The whole thing stinks to high heaven—$10 or no $10,” Randy Kessler, executive director of StandWithUs northwest, told JNS.
Piker has called Orthodox Jews “inbred,” minimized the Holocaust, said America deserved the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and frequently expresses support for U.S.-designated terror organizations, the Anti-Defamation League says.
“Inviting Hasan Piker to speak with students lends legitimacy to someone who has openly and repetitively praised terrorist organizations, and exposes students to views that endorse political violence and denigrate Jewish and Zionist people,” Ariel Novick, regional director for the Pacific northwest of the ADL, told JNS.
Attendees are advised to shell out $10 to hear Piker, per the event listing, which notes that registration begins on Dec. 9. It is scheduled to take place in person at Town Hall Seattle and online and is sponsored by the Jackson School of International Studies and the Graduate School.
Daniel Bessner, associate professor of American foreign policy at the university, is slated to moderate the event, whose listing calls Piker “not your typical political commentator.”
“Armed with sharp analysis and an irreverent wit, he has built a massive daily audience on Twitch, and become an unlikely but authoritative voice for a generation hungry for honest political engagement,” the public university states, of Piker.
It adds that Piker has “sharp political insight and a characteristically irreverent sense of humor” and that he is “redefining what political commentary looks like in the digital age.” The public university also says that Piker is a “journalist and wildly popular content creator,” who has “become an authoritative voice for millennials and Gen Z.” It does not say that he is an antisemite.
Regina Sassoon Friedland, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Seattle regional office, told JNS that the public university “should carefully consider what message it sends by hosting and legitimizing Hasan Piker as a featured guest,” at a “time when Jewish students are experiencing unprecedented levels of antisemitic incidents.”
“The issue isn’t in challenging the rights of freedom of expression,” she told JNS, but that the school “is providing him a prestigious platform to share his rhetoric and the climate and consequences that follow.”
“A university department, and especially faculty entrusted with educating students, should ask whether inviting someone with a well-documented history of inflammatory remarks and hostility toward Jews advances scholarship or simply rewards dangerous provocation,” she said.
The university has faced ongoing scrutiny from the Trump administration for its response to Jew-hatred on campus.
The U.S. Department of Justice initiated a compliance review in April. Late that month, Noa Cochva, Miss Israel 2021, canceled an appearance on campus over safety concerns.
Kessler, of StandWithUs, said the university should “unequivocally condemn purveyors of hate like Hasan Piker.”
“Hasan Piker has a well-documented history of using offensive language about Jews and Zionists, glorifying Hamas and excusing or minimizing violence against Israelis,” Kessler told JNS.
“Why would the University of Washington, and particularly the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, choose to promote an appearance by someone with views like that?” he said.
Victor Balta, assistant vice president for communications at the University of Washington, told JNS that “the Office of Public Lectures selects its speakers independently.”
“UW executive leadership does not provide input,” he said. “Annually, the Office of Public Lectures hosts speakers representing a broad range of perspectives, and it is important to note that an invitation to speak does not constitute an endorsement of any speaker’s views by the University of Washington.”
JNS asked if Piker was receiving a speaker fee.
“Speakers receive a nominal honorarium and travel reimbursement,” Balta told JNS. “These costs are funded entirely through Office of Public Lectures endowments and are not supported by state funds.”
Democratic state representative Roger Goodman, co-chair of the legislative Jewish caucus, told JNS that “this might be a misstep on behalf of the university to be inviting such a divisive speaker, understanding that free speech is important and students need to be exposed to all sorts of views.”
