Former murderer teaching at Penn praised Hamas and other terrorist groups

Robert Saleem Holbrook, sentenced to life for a first-degree murder in 1991 and freed in 2018, currently serves as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and heads the Abolitionist Law Center, an organization that advocates abolishing prisons and defunding police. During his time in prison he became a member of the Nation of Islam and its paramilitary unit, the Fruit of Islam. In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas assault that killed over 1,000 Jews, Holbrook described Hamas and Hezbollah as "the most rational actors in the Middle East" and justified the attack as a reaction to imprisoning an entire nation.

He has also lauded the late Assata Shakur, a convicted police killer, and received a "Citizen of the Year" award in 2024. Opponents, referencing former Penn president Liz Magill’s remarks on anti-Israel protests, argue that his presence reflects a growing trend of far-left extremism on college campuses.