Robin D.G. Kelley is a radical professor at UCLA who has used his academic platform to honor terrorists, promote violent ideologies, and spread conspiracies rooted in antisemitism. His long track record of affiliating with extremist groups and legitimizing political violence makes him one of the most dangerous figures in academia today.
Honors Terrorists and Defends Violent Criminals
Kelley openly celebrates individuals responsible for brutal acts of terror and murder. In 2019, he served as a judge for the “Resistance Arts Scholarship” named after Ghassan Kanafani—a senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Kanafani publicly claimed responsibility for the 1972 Lod Airport Massacre, in which 26 people were killed and 80 wounded.
Kelley has also defended Mutulu Shakur, a member of the Black Liberation Army convicted for his role in the 1981 Brinks robbery that left two police officers and a security guard dead. He promoted campaigns for Shakur’s release and even moderated a public webinar honoring him in 2023.
Affiliations with Extremist and Antisemitic Movements
Kelley has long been entrenched in a network of radical organizations. As of 2023, he was an advisory board member of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott (USACBI), a group tied to the global BDS movement. He’s also sat on the advisory board of Palestine Legal, which offers legal support to some of the most aggressive campus activists and protest organizers.
His ties extend to campus groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which has led efforts to disrupt campus life, and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), known for targeting Jewish institutions and demonizing Jewish advocacy groups. He has also aligned with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a group notorious for glorifying “resistance”—a term often used to justify political violence.
Incites Violence and Glorifies Unrest
Kelley doesn’t just defend those who commit violence—he actively spreads rhetoric that fuels it. During the May 2021 Hamas attacks, Kelley shared an open letter labeling Israeli countermeasures as “eliminatory violence” and urged people to support anti-government actions. He described participation in the coordinated “general strike” that same month as part of a broader resistance effort.
He has minimized the violence of Hamas-led riots, describing weaponized border clashes and infiltration attempts as peaceful “protests.” In 2018, while serving on the board of Palestine Legal, he released a statement accusing the military of a “deadly rampage on unarmed protesters”—ignoring the explosives, grenades, and armed assaults that actually occurred.
Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories and Hate Speech
Kelley’s worldview is saturated with antisemitic narratives. He has smeared the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), calling it a U.S. arm of a foreign government and accusing it of orchestrating police violence against minority communities. In a 2021 webinar, he falsely claimed that U.S. police departments were being militarized through foreign “training programs” designed to suppress Black and Indigenous people.
He has publicly blamed “the Israel lobby” for controlling university presidents and once described Jewish self-determination as a form of white supremacy. In 2014, he described a defensive war against Hamas as a “genocidal tsunami,” and compared security measures in Gaza to a concentration camp—an offensive and antisemitic distortion condemned by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
A Threat to Campus Safety and Academic Integrity
As a professor at UCLA, Kelley isn’t just influencing students—he’s indoctrinating them. His books, lectures, and public appearances promote a worldview where violence is resistance, facts are optional, and hatred is framed as justice. From his classroom to activist networks, Kelley has positioned himself as a champion of political extremism and a direct threat to the values of free, safe, and inclusive education.
