Assistant Professor of Philosophy • University of Pennsylvania
Documenting a sustained pattern of organized campus agitation, normalization of unlawful conduct, and alignment with extremist rhetoric.
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Role: Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Status Announcement: 2026 Tenure Track
Leadership: Penn's Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP)
Co-Leadership: Huda Fakhreddine
Sukaina Hirji has utilized her academic position at Penn to promote divisive activism and align with extremist rhetoric, prioritizing political agitation over her foundational academic duties. Her record indicates a sustained pattern of organized classroom influence and direct involvement with outside activist networks.
Her actions extend beyond isolated speech, manifesting as systematic efforts to erode the boundaries between objective academic instruction and political indoctrination.
Timeline Monitoring: April – May 2024
Actively assisted students in setting up and maintaining Penn’s unauthorized Gaza encampments, violating clear university policies and creating an environment of direct intimidation for Jewish students.
Led "teach-ins" at the site on behalf of Penn FJP and explicitly acknowledged teaching students within her formal philosophy classroom that civil disobedience is a necessary component of protest.
Repeatedly labeled the encampment's actions as "just" while omitting documented expressions supporting terrorist organizations. Publicly expressed anger toward police efforts to restore order and campus safety.
Sustained coordination with radical campaigns, petitions, and collaborative workshops designed to leverage academic platforms for political extremism.
Signed a public philosophers' letter backing the academic and cultural boycott of Israeli legacy institutions under the guidelines of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
Co-hosted an on-campus "Resistance and Oppression" workshop that elevated specialized political language, explicitly framing systemic "resistance" as a morally validated framework for student activism.
Hirji maintains documented involvement with the Philadelphia chapter of Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG).
WAWOG has publicly disseminated content supporting known terrorist affiliates, including Ghassan Kanafani—the historical spokesperson for the PFLP who formally announced the group's orchestration of the 1972 Lod airport massacre.
By prioritizing radical activism over institutional accountability, Hirji wields wide-ranging faculty influence to foster fear instead of open dialogue, generating institutional division. Academic freedom does not provide a license to normalize extremism or compromise basic campus order.
Digital Dissemination Track
Amplification of Extremist Rhetoric