The University of Washington on Friday reversed its decision to host far-left, antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, citing a flawed planning process.

Piker, who has an extensive history of antisemitic rhetoric — including justifying Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, calling Orthodox Jews “inbred” and asserting that America deserved 9/11 — was scheduled to appear in January as part of the school’s 2026-27 Speaker Series. 

On Friday, however, the public university in Seattle said that “it was determined that the process for organizing this event did not meet the necessary level of rigor for University-hosted events in the Speaker Series. As a result, this event will not be held.” 

“Going forward, procedures will be updated to ensure the standards we have for University-hosted events like the Speaker Series are met, particularly so that we can help elevate the level of dialogue on divisive topics during a polarized time in our country,” the statement said. 

The event listing, which has since been removed from the university website, described Piker as a “journalist and wildly popular content creator,” who has “become an authoritative voice for millennials and Gen Z,” and as someone who is “armed with sharp analysis and an irreverent wit.” It also asserted that Piker “has built a massive daily audience on Twitch and become an unlikely but authoritative voice for a generation hungry for honest political engagement.” 

The listing added that Piker has “sharp political insight and a characteristically irreverent sense of humor” and that he is “redefining what political commentary looks like in the digital age.” The university suggested attendees pay $10 per ticket, Jerusalem News Syndicate reported before the cancellation.

Miriam Elman, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network, a network of faculty and staff countering antisemitism on campus, told Jewish Insider that the school’s faculty and administration should work to ensure a similar incident does not occur in the future. 

“In general, universities shouldn’t be in the business of canceling speakers, provided they are invited through established processes. University officials should use their own voice to distance the school from hateful speech and to reiterate school values,” said Elman. “However, in this case, the university has alleged that protocols weren’t followed properly in organizing the event. It’s reassuring to hear that moving forward the university will work to ensure that standards for such university events are met — as clearly they weren’t in this case.” 

Elman called the description of the event, which lauded Piker, “an embarrassment.”

“In addition to tightening up standards and protocols for future guest speaker invitations, it’s also important for university officials to get to the bottom of the invite itself — who were the administrators and faculty who thought that Piker, a non-academic provocateur who has repeatedly supported U.S.-designated terror organizations, engaged in Holocaust trivialization and vilified Jewish-Zionist identity, would be the right speaker for this year’s series?” 

“Guest speakers come and go — it’s the faculty and staff who are the permanent stakeholders,” said Elman.  

Piker has recently been invited to speak at high-profile student events, including the Yale Political Union and the College Democrats of America’s convention.