Abby Reyes

Overview

Abby Reyes has opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and was affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Florida State University (FSU) in 2020.

As of June 2021, Reyes’s LinkedIn page said she was an “FSU Grad Seeking Marketing Roles” and that she graduated from FSU in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.

Reyes’s LinkedIn page also said she was the Treasurer of FSU’s Hispanic Latino Student Union, from June 2018 to May 2019.

FSU SJP - Opposing the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism

Reyes signed a July 2020 open letter, written by FSU students and alumni, that called for fellow students and alumni to oppose FSU’s 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59.In December of 2019, FSU SJP launched a campaign to combat the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

On December 16, 2019, FSU SJP posted on Facebook “Proud to co-sign ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻” and linked to a National SJP statement condemning then-U.S. President Trump’s executive order on combating anti-Semitism.

National SJP’s statement said they “explicitly condemn” the Trump administration’s “adoption of the IHRA [anti-Semitism] definition, which conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.”

Several examples of anti-Semitism given in the IHRA’s definition relate to Israel, however the definition states: “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

The IHRA’s definition was adopted by the U.S. State Department in 2016. Canada, Australia, Israel, Argentina and twenty-eight European countries have also adopted the definition.

Trump’s “Executive Order On Combating Anti-Semitism,” issued on December 11, 2019, stated that the IHRA anti-Semitism definition would be considered when enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as protection for Jews discriminated against based on ethnic, racial or national characteristics.

On July 7, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook urging students to oppose FSU’s 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59 that would recognize the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. The Facebook post called for students to join a Student Life & Academic Affairs (SLAA) committee Zoom meeting to express their opposition to the resolution.

The Facebook post also linked to a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) letter that urged “governments, municipalities, universities and other institutions to reject the IHRA definition” of anti-Semitism.

Later on July 7, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook that the resolution passed through the SLAA. The post said: “Settler-colonialism is racism. Apartheid is racism. Zionism is racism.”

On July 8, 2020, FSU SJP posted to Facebook a “call-to-action email toolkit” to urge FSU student senators to vote no to the resolution.

FSU SJP’s call-to-action toolkit claimed that implementing the IHRA definition “legitimizes the silencing and blacklisting of Palestinian students, allies and solidarity organizations” and that the definition’s examples of anti-Semitism related to Israel is “a way to shut down any criticism of Israel’s racist policies.”

On July 14, 2020, FSU SJP promoted on Facebook an open letter by FSU students & alumni that called for the resolution to “Replace the IHRA definition with a serious analysis of antisemitism that affirms the centrality of ending white supremacy in the struggle to end all related systems of oppression.”

On July 15, 2020, the FSU student senate held another Zoom meeting to vote on the 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59 which passed, with 26 votes in favor and 14 against resolution.

Following the passage of the resolution on July 15, 2020, FSU SJP wrote on Facebook the FSU senate “affirms… the censorship of pro-Palestine speech on campus.”

SJP Activity

Reyes featured in a July 5, 2020 FSU SJP Instagram photo, taken from an event titled “Day of Rage (Tallahassee).” FSU SJP co-hosted the event with the Dream Defender (DD)’s chapter in Tallahassee.

The Instagram post read: “Thank you so much to everyone heeding the call for international solidarity with Palestine. We love you and we WILL get free together in this lifetime

#NoToAnnexation #FreePalestine.”

In the spring of 2020, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli sovereignty would be applied to certain areas of the West Bank. The annexation plan was postponed in August 2020.

The Facebook event description page accused the U.S. police departments of participating in the Deadly Exchange.

In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.

The Facebook event page description concluded: “We must demand an end to US complicity in Israeli apartheid by renewing the call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions [the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement] against companies and institutions that profit from land theft and human rights abuses.”

On May 17, 2021, during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW), Reyes promoted a May 18, 2021 FSU SJP event on her Instagram stories. The event was titled “Speak up for Palestine.”

In May 2021, during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW), Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades website publicized some of its long-range missile capabilities, known to include a variety of deadly rockets. The rockets have killed and injured civilians, and damaged homes.

At the event, FSU SJP activist Bana Habash promoted [00:04:14] BDS, saying [00:04:14] “Divesting, following the BDS movement, that is the most critical thing that we could be doing… there’s so many alternatives… you can very easily not directly fund the Israeli...like the IDF [Israeli Defense Force] military.”

FSU SJP - Promoting Conspiracy Theories

On July 5, 2020, FSU SJP co-hosted an anti-Israel protest titled “Day of Rage.”

The Facebook event page description said: “our police departments continue participating in the Deadly Exchange: learning ‘counter-terrorism’ strategies from the IDF to militarize Black and brown communities here, and teaching stop-and-frisk strategies to the Israeli police to harass Black and brown communities in occupied Palestine.”

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign in 2017. The campaign claimed that American Jewish organizations promoted human rights abuses. A video for the campaign by JVP accused American Jewish organizations of planning programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance “racist policies.”

On September 23, 2019, FSU SJP hosted a meeting titled “ICE vs. IDF: Detention, Deportation & Family Separation.” An event flyer said: “ICE & THE IDF HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.” The meeting also included a presentation about the “deadly exchange.”

On June 17, 2019, FSU SJP tabled on campus to educate about “pinkwashing” and promote anti-Israel materials. One of the items FSU SJP promoted was a booklet titled “Israel’s Worldwide Role in Repression.”

The booklet was published by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), which claims to “struggle against Zionism” and accuses Israel of the “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

The booklet claimed that Israel’s military campaigns “serve as an [sic] laboratory
to develop weapons, surveillance technology, and tactics of population control that are then marketed across the globe.” It also alleged Israel was “at the forefront of a global industry of repression” and that “In the Middle East, Israel is the primary aggressor.”

FSU SJP - Spreading Hatred of Israel-Supporters

On March 11, 2020, FSU SJP posted a photo on its Facebook page of pro-Israel students tabling on campus and wrote that “The Zionist Organization of America… is a right-wing, Islamophobic org… The normalization of Zionism on campus = normalization of the alt-right. Why are they tabling at Market Wednesday?”

The policy of “anti-normalization” aims to ensure that all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians align only with the Arab agenda, including ending the occupation and a full right of return for Palestinians, which is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. The policies are shared with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

FSU SJP - Defending FSU SJP Activist Embroiled in Anti-Semitism Controversy

On June 12, 2020, FSU SJP shared a statement on Facebook defending SJP activist Ahmad Daraldik following calls for his removal as FSU Student Senate President, after it was discovered that Daraldik shared anti-Semitic content on social media.

Daraldik, who was appointed Student Senate President at FSU in June 2020, faced calls for his removal when his social media posts and website were publicized. Daraldik retained his position after a vote by student senators at FSU.

Daraldik had assumed the presidency of the student senate on June 6, 2020 after presiding over an inappropriate student senate vote of no-confidence against fellow student Jack Denton, who was then Senate Student President.

The FSU SJP statement claimed that the calls for Daraldik to be removed as Senate President were “racially and politically motivated to smear and silence Palestinian students and critics of the state of Israel” and “rooted in anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.”

The statement continued: “If SRR [FSU Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities] and/or Student Government staff take disciplinary action against Ahmad, Florida State University will be legitimizing anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia as well as weaponizing antisemitism to stifle free speech.”

On July 24, 2020 BDS Report tweeted that Daraldik had “just shared a new video on his Instagram story claiming that the problem with Jews is they make everything about themselves.”

The video Daraldik shared on his Instagram story featured a man claiming: “And most Jewish people, when talking about this conflict, it's you guys always want to shift the focus back to you. It’s always anti-Semitism, it’s always anti-Jew. Everything has to be about you guys.”

In October 2020, FSU’s Student Supreme Court ruled that the no-confidence vote, which targeted Denton for his statements of religious conviction, made in a Catholic Student Union’s private group chat in his capacity as a private citizen, violated Denton’s rights to Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Exercise Religion under the Student Body Constitution and Statutes, as well as the Constitution of the United States and of Florida.

FSU SJP - Promoting BDS

On February 1, 2021 the FSU Student Life Academic Affairs Committee (SLAA) voted against a BDS bill written and sponsored by FSU SJP member Ahmad Daraldik. that called on FSU to divest from a number of companies doing business with Israel.

On December 3, 2019, FSU SJP held a meeting about launching a divestment campaign against Israel. The event description said: “We are preparing to launch a campaign to pressure Florida State University to divest from companies that knowingly profit off of Palestinian oppression. Please come out to our new weekly Divestment working group meetings to strategize and build together!”

On November 26, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “Divestment Working Group Meeting.” The Facebook description for the event said participants would “research Divestment campaigns on other North American campuses, including the language of their Divestment resolutions and what tactics they employed to win student support.”

The event description also said “It's going to be a long and difficult road to introducing and passing a Divestment resolution to the Student Senate this year, but we think it's possible if we all do our part!”

On November 13, 2018, FSU SJP held an event promoting BDS. The event description said: “Come get your BDS shopping list of all the products & brands that you should be boycotting NOW! Boycott Israel, bring down the occupation!”

SJP

SJP is a student organization engaged in anti-Israel activity on North American college and university campuses.

The first chapter of SJP was founded in 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley by Professor Hatem Bazian. Bazian has spread classic anti-Semitism, reportedly promoted religious anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group. In 2004, Bazian called for “intifada” in America.

SJP organizes anti-Israel campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks, often in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Muslim Students Association (MSA) campus chapters.

SJP has been a major force in pushing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Chapters have initiated dozens of BDS resolutions in student governments, which have been proposed on or around Jewish holidays, a time when many Jewish students are off-campus.

SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, disrupted pro-Israel campus events and demonized pro-Israel campus organizations.

Chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for numerous terrorists and whitewashed terrorism.