Sebastian Gorka’s Ex-Students Write Open Letter Denouncing Islamophobic Teachings
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More than a decade after they took study abroad courses with now-White House adviser Sebastian Gorka, eight alumni from the University of San Francisco are denouncing the controversial aide for his alleged Holocaust denial and disdain of Muslims.
“Not many Americans have personally met Mr. Gorka, but we have. Not many people know who he is, but we do. He may use his bravado and condescension to try to discredit our concerns, but we speak out because we take seriously our university’s call to amplify the voices of the most vulnerable,” the signers wrote.
Between 2001 and 2002, students in the group said they had taken classes with Gorka while on study abroad at Péter Pázmány Catholic University, where he was then a lecturer. According to them, he refused to incorporate the Holocaust – in which half a million Hungarian Jews perished – into his account of modern Hungarian style and taught in a rude style reminiscent of how he now speaks to reporters.
The letter noted some of the reasons his choice as a national security adviser to the Trump White House has been so controversial. As the Forward has reported, Gorka often frames the war on terror as a conflict between the West and Islam, and in the past he has worn a medal associated with a Nazi-related group in Hungary.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
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