Little did I know that “Palestinian anarchist fighters” existed, but I learned as much while reading about how a Yale dance troupe encouraged people to donate to the cause.

You learn something new every day.

During weekend shows, a Mexican Folklore Dance group at Yale boosts fundraiser for "Palestinian anarchist fighters," i.e., Fauda, a self-described "anarchist movement in Palestine" that the linked Instagram account says associates itself with Hamas.https://t.co/9Gj8m727Ic

— Nicholas A. Christakis (@NAChristakis) November 14, 2023

The Palestinian anarchist organization is called Fauda, and they are fighting alongside Hamas against “settler colonialism” and have even posted videos of attacks on Israel and Israeli soldiers.

During at least two of Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Yale’s three fall showcase performances this past weekend, the dance group included a QR code labeled “Support Palestine” on its on-stage projection screen, alongside a separate QR code for the show’s program. The “Support Palestine” QR code directed audience members to a three-slide Instagram post by the account @desolasol.colectiva, with a title slide that reads “Collection of resources to aid Palestine.” The second slide listed donation information for four groups — the Middle East Children’s Alliance, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Gaza Mutual Aid Collective. The third and final slide is a graphic with the heading “Support Palestinian anarchist fighters.”

The last slide listed a Venmo handle — which, as of Monday night, appears to no longer exist — and also tags another Instagram account called @abolishtheusa. That account features a handful of posts from this month showing support for Fauda, a self-described “anarchist movement in Palestine” that the account says associates itself with Hamas, which the United States recognizes as a terrorist group. According to the account, a Fauda member in an interview described the organization as one of “15 anti-Zionist resistance groups in Palestine” — specifically including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Kitab al-Aqsa — that are “all together” and “follow the same goal.”

The Yale Daily News reported on the story, and as you might guess the members of the dance group freaked out since they were violating American law. This is what is known colloquially as sending money to f**cking terrorists.

Aid Request for Palestinian Anarchist Resistance Fighters.https://t.co/13U9GPPuUS
Voices from the Front Line Against the Occupation: Interview with Palestinian Anarchists.https://t.co/4iW59XAcbl pic.twitter.com/jbPu76t6mV

— ★𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧★ (@alexpunx1977) October 22, 2023

It is also known colloquially as against the law. You can go to jail for doing this.

In an email sent to Ballet Folklórico members yesterday at 4:14 p.m., the co-presidents wrote that they made the decision to include the QR code hours before the first show “without consulting the board or membership,” which they called a “substantial oversight.” They apologized to members who were “unwillingly and unknowingly aligned” with the statements.

“We realize this post brought considerable damage to the Jewish community,” Ballet Folklórico’s four co-presidents wrote in the email. “We should have been more prudent with our choice of platform and should have looked beyond the resources provided on the second slide and noted the damaging material on the third. We would also like to emphasize that we condemn antisemitism as well as any form of violence committed against any community. Our rash decision did not appropriately reflect the values we wish to represent. Although we stand behind efforts to aid and bring attention to this crisis, linking this post was a grave error.”

This is what panic looks like. Telling people to donate to a terrorist organization goes far beyond the now pale-seeming statements from other Leftist organizations that were merely disgusting antisemitic attacks on Jews. This was about sending money to support the murder of Jews.

Oops. Not a resume enhancer. The leaders have suggested that members hide their association with the dance group to avoid being associated with terrorism.

Yeah, but… Yale students aren’t idiots. Yale is arguably the top university in the country, graduating the cream of the crop. We are talking presidents, Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress, and the leaders at the top echelon of American society. Are you telling us that these college students are so stupid that they can’t figure out that “supporting anarchist fighters” means supporting, you know, fighters?

The Palestinian anarchists, Fauda, are putting pressure on the Settler state of Israel from the West Bank.

This video is of liberation fighters setting fire to the Zaytouna checkpoint near the town of Al-Eizariya, east of Jerusalem.

Their Telegram:https://t.co/stLW4qx1TL https://t.co/0FWqNGcbPr pic.twitter.com/gmr6BslALu

— فدراسيون عصر آنارشيسم Federation of Anarchism Era (@asranarshism) October 10, 2023

The “Floreciendo” fall showcase took place in the Morse/Stiles Crescent Theatre and aimed to celebrate Mexican culture through the art of dance, according to the event’s YaleConnect page. One show took place on Friday, Nov. 10 and the other two on Saturday, Nov. 11, with 210 people registered to attend across all three shows.

The dance group is a Yale student organization that strives to preserve traditional Mexican dances, according to its listing on the Yale College Arts website.

It is perhaps plausible that members of a student dance group dedicated to Mexican folk dances might know precisely nothing about the complexities of Middle Eastern politics, but that might be a good reason to keep your mouths shut and not a great excuse for promoting a genocidal war to eliminate Jews.

Just sayin’.