On October 12, the University of Michigan will be hosting a national student conference sponsored by pro-Palestinian groups, with the charming theme “Zionism is Racism.”

The Second National Student Conference on the Palestine Solidarity Movement, which is scheduled to begin on October 12, is being sponsored by pro-Palestinian and socialist groups. It aims to promote an end to US aid to Israel and to encourage divestment by universities and corporations from the Jewish state.

In the conference’s promotional material, organizers refer to “apartheid Israel”, and refuse to condemn Palestinian terrorism, stating, “As a solidarity movement, it is not our place to dictate the strategies or tactics adopted by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation.”

In addition to asserting that “racism” is “inherent to Zionism”, the organizers call for “the right of return and repatriation for all Palestinian refugees” as well as “an end to the Israeli system of Apartheid and discrimination.”

Panelists at the conference include Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a former Professor at the University of South Florida who was fired after reports surfaced linking him to Middle Eastern terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad.

Here is University President Mary Sue Coleman’s statement about the conference. And here is the announcement of the conference at (where else?) Nazimedia. The list of speakers reads like a who’s who of Arab terrorism supporters and apologists; Sami Al-Arian, Ali Abunimah, Diana Buttu, Hussein Ibish, and of course, Yasser Arafat’s boyfriend Adam Shapiro.