Ohio’s “woke” Oberlin College has fired its so-called “professor of peace” after allegations of brutal crimes have emerged.
Former Iran regime official Mohammad Jafar Mahallati was removed from his position as the prestigious school’s religion professor over allegations of war crimes, anti-Semitism, genocidal rhetoric, and sexual misconduct.
Mahallati was ousted following a three-year pressure campaign from Iranian Americans who were appalled that he was employed in a teaching post at the college.
The group accuses Mahallati of helping to cover up the mass murder of at least 5,000 Iranian political prisoners in 1988.
Last month it emerged that Mahallati, Iran’s former United Nations ambassador, was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.
The investigation was launched after he was accused of subjecting Jewish students to harassment.
That harassment included defending the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas.
Less than a month later, the college scrubbed its website of Mahallati’s profile.
It also deleted a fact sheet, in which the college allegedly whitewashed Mahallati’s reported crimes against humanity, anti-Semitism, and genocidal rhetoric targeting the Baha’i community in Iran.
Due to his teachings on peace and friendship, Mahallati has reveled in his title as the “Professor of Peace” on the Oberlin campus.
The ostensible ouster of Mahallati marks a stunning admission by Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar that her three-year defense of Mahallati was no longer tenable.
Ambar and her administration have been reeling from a series of Mahallati scandals since 2020.
One allegation includes his alleged endorsement of a fatwa to murder the American-British author Salman Rushdie.
The California-based Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA) spearheaded the high-intensity campaign to fire Mahallati.
Lawdan Bazargan, the lead organizer of the campaign, has crisscrossed the United States and some European countries to draw attention to Mahallati’s reported crimes against humanity.
Bazargan, whose brother Bijan was executed in the 1988 killings, said the college needs to do more than just fire Mahallati.
“It’s disheartening that it took Oberlin College three years to take this crucial step,” said Bazargan.
“We call upon Oberlin College to not only take these actions but also to meet with the family members of the victims to hear their voices and experiences,” she added.
“Furthermore, we urge the college to demonstrate its commitment to justice by creating a memorial for the victims,” Bazargan said.
“This is not just about accountability; it’s about honoring the memory of those who suffered in the 1980s and the 1988 massacre and ensuring that such atrocities are never forgotten.”
Simakis refused to comment on Oberlin’s plans to create a memorial for the victims of the 1988 massacre.
The human rights organization Amnesty International issued two reports regarding Mahallati’s alleged crimes.
One report in February 2023 outlined Mahallati’s alleged role in a vast Iranian regime coverup of the mass murder of 5,000 Iranian political prisoners in 1988.
Amnesty International declared that Mahallati “committed crimes against humanity.”
“This development, however, should not be mistaken for swift or decisive action by Oberlin College,” said Fatemeh Pishdadian of AAIRIA, whose parents were tortured and executed by Iran’s regime in 1981.
“It reflects a belated response to pressing demands for truth and justice which continued for years, echoing our call that those who shield the actions of oppressive regimes have no rightful place in our academic institutions,” she added.
The scandal-plagued Mahallati was also rocked by disclosures from Oberlin College graduate Melissa Landa last month on Fox Business.
Landa alleges that the “Professor of Peace” sexually harassed a student at Columbia University in the 1990s.
She also discussed her 2019 complaint with the Department of Education that sparked the agency’s investigation into allegations of widespread anti-Semitism on the Oberlin campus.
The court settlement between Columbia University revealed that the then-32-year-old Palestinian Christian woman was subjected to alleged sustained sexual harassment by her adjunct professor Mahallati.
The 1997 legal suit alleged Mahallati engaged in misconduct by demanding sex in exchange for good grades.
Mahallati, who was 43 years old at the time, was married and had a young son.
According to the legal documents, Mahallati “utilized his position as a professor to create and maintain a hostile environment of sexual harassment.”
The student asserted at the time that Mahallati “made repeated sexual advances.”
According to the legal documents, Mahallati “attempted to retaliate against her” after she stopped sexual relations with him.
Mahallati “defamed” her and “caused her significant emotional distress,” the documents stated.
He denied the woman’s accusations in 1997, however.
The court case was settled in 1998 for an undisclosed compensation package to the victim.
Oberlin College spokeswoman Simakis said in a statement:
“We learned of the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York against Mahallati from a media inquiry sent to us Dec. 5.
“We would not hire a faculty member whom we knew had a history of sexual assault, harassment, or abuse of anyone, including a student, colleague, or staff member.”
“We will not tolerate sexual offenses at Oberlin,” she added.
“We take all reports of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse extremely seriously.”
While Oberlin College faces allegations it tolerates anti-Semitism and defended Mahallati, the college paid the owners of a local bakery over $36 million in December 2022.
The bakery was falsely accused of racism by students and members of the school administration.
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