Dagmawi Woubshet, also known as Dag Woubshet, is a professor who gained attention for his involvement in a pro-Hamas rally following the group’s attack on Israeli civilians in October 2023. The attack by Hamas, which has been classified as a terrorist organization by multiple countries including the U.S., Canada, and the European Union, resulted in the murder, torture, rape, beheadings, and kidnappings of civilians. The incident, which occurred on October 7, 2023, left approximately 1,200 people dead, hundreds taken as hostages, and thousands more injured. Israel’s military response to this attack was named “Swords of Iron.”
In January 2024, Woubshet also took part in an anti-Israel die-in and vigil at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). His stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is further highlighted by his support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) movement. In 2016, he signed an “Open Letter” urging the Modern Language Association to adopt a resolution supporting the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
As of February 2024, Woubshet was reportedly associated with Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine (PFJP), a group that aligns itself with the national Faculty for Justice in Palestine, which was established in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack. PFJP, described as a collective of faculty, lecturers, staff, and graduate employees at Penn, issued a statement on January 18, 2024, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against occupation, warfare, and displacement.
