Middle East

Seton Hall University invites supporters of continued destruction and impoverishment of Syria

31/10/2021

Seton Hall University, a well-known U.S. Catholic university, is today sponsoring a presentation by the Syria Emergency Task Force (SETF), which many of you know is one of the chief lobbyists for regime change, war and sanctions against Syria, and which supports takfiri and Wahhabi terrorists whose motto is “Christians to Beirut and Alawites to the grave.” Sadly, this is also the voice of the U.S. government and its western and petroleum monarchy allies, who provide the financial and logistical support for these terrorists.

Seton Hall needs to hear from us, as many as possible, and especially clergy and other leadership for peace and justice, including both Syrian and non-Syrian voices. We are not trying to prevent or discourage Seton Hall from hearing SETF or similar groups. All views should be welcome, especially in an academic setting.

Rather, we wish to encourage Seton Hall to invite alternate views of Syrians and their supporters who see a different reality in Syria. As a Catholic institution, Seton Hall might be interested in hearing from speakers about this reality – a reality that they will not hear from the speakers on October 28. Instead, they will hear these speakers make claims about alleged abuses in Syria (now known as the “Caesar” story) which have proven to have little evidentiary basis and which may very well have been fabricated to justify continued intervention in Syria and crushing sanctions which are leading Syria down the path to starvation. The National Catholic Reporter has an excellent story about just how brutal these Caesar sanctions are and, in addition, how the US was quick to back brutal sectarian forces in Syria which attacked minority populations such as the Christians there. Again, it may be worth exposing students to these facts as a counterpoint to the presentation of the Oct. 28 speakers who have long advocated for war in Syria and for sanctions that are killing the innocent in that country. Many of us can provide such voices and can help to organize a presentation of our own at the Seton Hall campus, so that students, faculty and other attendees can hear other viewpoints that need to be heard.