Who Loves Abu Obaida?

On April 30, I was present at UC Irvine observing the pro-Hamas encampment on that campus. One of the photos I took was the one above showing the words, “Abu Obaida” with a heart next to it, scrawled with chalk on the sidewalk a few feet outside the encampment.

Abu Obaida is the nom de guerre of the spokesman of the al-Qassem Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. On October 25, after the horrific attack by Hamas upon Israeli civilians on October 7, the Jerusalem Post reported on Abu Obaida, identifying him as Hudhahfay Khalot, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. There are variations of this name, and I’m not sure this identity has been positively confirmed. The name Abu Obaida, however, is well known to Hamas supporters, including at UC Irvine, apparently.

As UCI Chancellor, Howard Gillman, says at the end of his messages to the UCI community, “Fiat Lux“, which means in Latin, “Let there be light”, which in turn, can be found here: