Radboud University, lecturer Pettit part ways after Pettit’s pro-Hamas remarks
British social geographer Harry Pettit is leaving Radboud University after months of uproar over his comments on Hamas and Israel. The university confirmed that both sides reached an agreement to part ways following a “months-long intensive process.” Pettit announced his resignation Monday on X, saying he has taken a new job, though he did not disclose where.
The decision comes after a series of inflammatory social media posts by Pettit, who repeatedly voiced support for Hamas and condemnation of Israel.
In October 2023, he called Hamas’s deadly attacks in Israel “a legitimate act of resistance” and “in some respects, ingenious.” He also described the date of the assault as “a day of celebration” and referred to Hamas’s leader as “a hero.”
More recently, in October 2025, Pettit wrote that it was “time to finish what the Palestinians began on October 7” and that Israel “must be destroyed forever.”
Radboud University said Pettit’s statements “were not in line with the university’s code of conduct.” Pettit countered that his posts were expressions of free speech and that the university “monitored his private social media for ten months,” pressuring him to delete certain messages. “Radboud has caved to institutions that support Zionist genocide,” he wrote in his statement, adding that his remarks were “never in violation of the code."
The controversy triggered deep divisions within the university community. In October 2023, 113 current and former students, professors, and staff members signed an open letter demanding that Radboud take legal and disciplinary action against Pettit “so his statements can be assessed for potential criminal offenses.” Weeks earlier, another group of more than 400 signatories urged the university to protect Pettit’s right to speak freely.
The uproar soon reached national politics. Caretaker Education Minister Gouke Moes of the BBB party publicly called on Radboud to file a criminal complaint against Pettit, saying his statements were “punishable.” During a television interview on Café Kockelmann, Moes warned that if the university failed to act, he would “take steps up the escalation ladder.” Pettit later filed his own complaint against the minister, accusing him of abusing his authority. Legal experts in de Volkskrant criticized Moes’s stance, saying he placed political pressure on the university.
According to Pettit, Radboud threatened to fire him unless he retracted his statements about Gaza and Israel. He said he then began negotiating his exit. The university did not confirm that account but reiterated that it considered Pettit’s conduct incompatible with its values.
Pettit’s outspoken views also extended beyond social media. He supported pro-Palestinian student occupations on campus and protested a planned visit by BBB leader Caroline van der Plas in early October, calling her a “Holocaust enthusiast.” Van der Plas canceled her appearance after activists announced it online.
When controversial Palestinian activist Mohammed Khatib was barred from entering the Netherlands in October 2024, lecturer Harry Pettit, the organizer of the event at Radboud University in Nijmegen, spoke out in his defense. “He will not be silenced,” Pettit wrote on X, referring to the Dutch government’s decision to block Khatib’s entry.
Khatib, who lives in Belgium, is controversial for expressing support for the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Dutch government cited security concerns in issuing the entry ban. Despite this, Khatib still addressed the audience remotely during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in front of Radboud University’s Spinoza building, with Pettit overseeing the event.
