It's not clear whether the appellation, "Palestinian professor", originated with UPI or with the chairman of the USF Board of Trustees, however I thought that Al Arian was born in Kuwait. While I don't have a map in front of me, the last time that I looked at one, Kuwait was far, far away from Palestine. So, is this another example of UPI's "fact checking", or is there really a valid reason to call him a "Palestinian professor"?
Well, Al Arian is such a lying slimeball, it’s hard to tell. I believe he immigrated here from the Palestinian territory, and has consistently represented himself as Palestinian. The indictment may be the first indication of where he was actually born.
The UPI isn’t alone in the error, either. The New York Times refers to him as a “Palestinian professor” in this article, and so does Steven Emerson in “American Jihad.”
CBS however, refers to him as “an American” in this 48-Hours piece. Fortunately, he was never naturalized.