Miko Peled. Photo: Facebook.

An anti-Israel group at San Diego State University (SDSU) has cancelled a lecture by a prominent Israeli anti-Zionist activist — whose recent antisemitic comments prompted major controversy — despite its belief that his Jew-hating rhetoric does not reflect his morality.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at SDSU announced late Tuesday it had nixed a talk by Miko Peled — who has referred to Jews as “sleazy thieves” — just hours after The Algemeiner reported on his planned Thursday lecture.

“Our scheduled speaker, Miko Peled, had made offensive remarks on Twitter. After consulting with many Jewish and non-Jewish allies, they made it clear that the tweets were offensive,” the group said in a statement on Facebook. “Although we believe that these comments are not reflective of Mr. Peled’s principles or character, continuing to host the event without a resolution of this issue would not be appropriate.”

SJP SDSU added that in light of the cancellation, it is taking the opportunity to “make it clear we believe all too often, anti-Zionism is conflated with antisemitism” and will “continue to host individuals who stand up…and who are critical of the oppressive, apartheid state of Israel and its policies.”

Over the years, Peled has made repeated defamatory remarks about Israel and Jews, including likening the former to an “apartheid” state and advocating a “single-state solution.”

The most recent example was a tweet about the new military-aid deal signed between the US and Israel earlier this month.

As The Algemeiner reported, the offensive tweet prompted the Princeton Committee on Palestine (PCP) to cancel a lecture by Peled some three hours before he was scheduled to speak last week.

Following the cancellation, Peled responded on Facebook by doubling down on his offensive rhetoric. In a separate statement on Twitter, he attributed the cancellation to “Zionist pressure.”

Despite Peled’s language, SJP at Drew University upheld its own decision to host him on campus. The group wrote on Facebook that while it is “totally against antisemitism,” it wished “to continue with the event to address the topic that he is scheduled for and where his expertise lies.”

SDSU’s SJP event comes the same week another anti-Israel student group on campus, SDSU Divest, announced its return to the university. “We’re back. #SDSUDivest #FreePalestine,” the group said in a Facebook post.