Abigail Drach
Overview
Abigail Drach has opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, spread hatred of Israel and shown support for anti-Israel agitators. Drach also opposed the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (AAA) and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of March 2020, Drach was an activist with the Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) chapter at McGill University (McGill), a group that has reportedly promoted Holocaust denial and has been accused of peddling “antisemitism under the guise of radical anti-Zionism.” The group has also promoted BDS.
Drach was an activist with the #returnthebirthright initiative, launched by the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organization against the Birthright Jewish heritage tour.
As of March 2020, Drach’s Linkedin page said she studied Theatre Literature, History and Criticism and Gender Studies at McGill, and was slated to graduate in 2021.
Her LinkedIn also said that she was an “Actor and writer based in New York City and Montreal [Canada],” and that she was an intern for the 12th Women Playwrights International Conference in the Montreal area, since October 2019.
As of March 2020, Drach used the name “Abigail Ch” on Facebook.
Opposing IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism
On February 24, 2020, Drach narrated a video produced by IJV Canada calling to reject the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which had been adopted by the governments of 24 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada, as of that date.In the video, Drach claimed [00:00:12] that the IHRA definition was “an organized effort to conflate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of Israel” and that the definition could have “disastrous consequences” for people who stand for Palestinian human rights.
Drach also alleged [00:00:55] that the IHRA definition sought to “stifle legitimate criticism of Israeli state policy,” and claimed [00:01:53] that the definition actually “makes Jews… more vulnerable” by “conflating real anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of Israel.”
Drach concluded [00:02:42] that “it is essential to stop the weaponization of anti-Semitism,” and recommended [00:02:52] IJV’s definition of anti-Semitism instead of the IHRA’s. Drach also stated [00:03:02] that IJV defined Anti-Semitism as a “form of bigotry linked to White Supremacism and Islamophobia."
As of March 2020, the IJV definition of anti-Semitism said: “It is essential to recognize that antisemitism is not an exceptional form of bigotry.People who hate, discriminate and/or attack Jews, will also hate, discriminate and/or attack other protected groups – including racialized people, Muslims, LGBTQ2+, women, Indigenous peoples.”
Spreading Hatred of Israel
On February 18, 2020, Drach signed an open letter published in the McGill Tribune, titled “Open Letter Against the Face to Face Trip,” an “all-expenses-paid” trip to Israel offered by Hillel Montreal. The trip was offered to a “select group of student leaders” with “student leadership experience” at McGill.The authors claimed that the trip was “funded by an explicitly anti-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) political interest group” and that this “sends the message that propoganistic and opaque attempts to influence our campus are tolerated.”
The authors condemned all student councillors for participating in the trip, and justified the anti-Semitic bullying of Councillor Jordyn Wright, who was also a participant.
In a February 25, 2020 McGill Tribune article titled: “Holocaust survivor condemns McGill’s handling of anti-Semitism allegations,” Drach reportedly said, “[It] is not a coincidence that the Palestinian Boycott, Divest, Sanction National Committee released a statement in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en land protectors.
She continued: “These struggles do not exist in isolation, but are rather part of the vibrant fights against settler-colonialism that have been going on since the European conquest.”
Drach retweeted a November 8, 2019 tweet that suggested Israel blocks Palestinians from receiving cancer treatments.
On September 27, 2019, 2019, Drach featured in an Instagram photo by IJV McGill, with a caption that read: “Freeing Palestine and working against settler-colonialism around the world are essential for climate justice… settler-colonial domination is the reason we are facing a climate crisis. And it is colonized peoples from Palestine to the Amazon who are paying the biggest price.”
Support for Anti-Israel Agitators
Drach retweeted a November 15, 2019 tweet from anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour which said:“I have every right and all the responsibility to defend the Palestinian people living under a brutal occupation and being strangulated by an illegal blockade. My parents did not immigrate to America so I can be silent. My people count on my voice and they should. Free Palestine.”The United Nations approved [pp. 39–41] the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza in 2011 as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade, with at least one flotilla initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.
Linda Sarsour has frequently used the word “Zionist” as a pejorative and has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism.” She has aligned with noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, dismissed [00:07:45] those who see her alignment with Farrakhan as problematic and slammed the “Jewish Media” for calling attention to it.
At Farrakhan’s 2015 #JusticeOrElse March, Sarsour asserted [00:00:36]: “The same people who justify the massacres of Palestinian people and call it ‘collateral damage’ are the same people who justify the murder of young black men and women.”
Drach signed a November 18, 2018 petition condemning CNN for firing Marc Lamont Hill.
In November 2018, Marc Lamont Hill was fired from his position as a contributor to CNN (Cable News Network) following controversial comments he made during a meeting held at the United Nations for an “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”
During the meeting, Hill reportedly whitewashed Palestinian violence and accused Israel of “state violence and ethnic cleansing.” He also called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
In September 2018, during a U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) conference, Hill insinuated [00:31:01] that Israel poisons Palestinian water and seemingly approved [00:30:34] of violence against Israelis.
Opposing the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act
Drach signed an April 3, 2019, JVP-authored petition that opposed the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (AAA) of 2019.The AAA was introduced to the U.S. Senate in March 2019 and directed the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to use the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism when evaluating hostile environment complaints.
JVP’s petition described the bill as the “the Silencing Students Act."
JVP’s petition urged the U.S. Senate to reject the bill and “instead to take meaningful action to combat anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and other forms of bigotry."
Condemning Jewish Heritage Tour
On April 15, 2018, Drach participated in a Return the Birthright protest outside the Taglit Birthright Gala in New York City. The protest, titled “Boycott Birthright: All Out for Gaza & Protest Sheldon Adelson,” condemned pro-Israel philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, who received an award from Taglit-Birthright for helping finance the program.The Facebook event page said: “We'll be outside Birthright’s gala to say loud and clear- Boycott Birthright, end the Gaza massacres and let Palestinian refugees return home!
The event page also said: “As proud young Jews, we are outraged at Israel’s murder of nonviolent Palestinian protesters in Gaza.”
On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “March of Return.” The March of Return was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border to spotlight the demand of Palestinians to “return” to Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Participants also attempted to breach the border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
Agitators threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires.
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during a May 14 protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
Drach featured in a photo taken at the April 15 ,2018 protest and posted to IJV McGill’s Facebook page, holding a sign that read: “IJV returns the Birthright.” The caption on the photo said: “Repping at the JVP #ReturntheBirthright Protest outside the Birthright Gala honoring Sheldon Adelson.”
On March 29, 2018, Drach appeared in an IJV McGill Facebook photo, participating in a “#ReturntheBirthright Passover Day of Action.” The photo was posted by IJV McGill in a post that urged people to sign a JVP-produced pledge condemning the Birthright program.
The Return the Birthright Day of Action Facebook event page said it was held “to learn more about Jewish Voice for Peace's #ReturntheBirthright campaign!” Attendees were encouraged to “take the pledge to not go on birthright and participate in our photo campaign or talk with us about other ways to engage with this work!”
Return the Birthright Campaign
In September of 2017, JVP issued its #ReturntheBirthright campaign manifesto, calling on American Jews to boycott the Birthright Israel (Birthright) program. Birthright was founded by Jewish philanthropists “in 1999 to address the growing divide between young Diaspora Jewish adults and the land and people of Israel.”After decades of demographic decline in the American Jewish community, Birthright set out “to strengthen Jewish identity, build a lasting bond with the land and people of Israel, and reinforce the solidarity of Jewish people worldwide.” The program offers “the gift of a life-changing, 10-day trip to Israel to young Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26.”
JVP’s anti-Birthright campaign was launched precisely to coincide with “the very moment that college students across America are returning to campus and registration for Birthright winter visits are underway.”
The #returnthebirthright manifesto accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and alleged “the modern state of Israel is predicated on the ongoing erasure of Palestinians.”
The text claimed: “We reject the offer of a free trip to a state that does not represent us, a trip that is only ‘free’ because it has been paid for by the dispossession of Palestinians.”
The manifesto concluded: “And as we reject this, we commit to promoting the right to return of Palestinian refugees… Israel is not our Birthright… Return the Birthright.”
On June 22, 2017, just prior to the launch of JVP’s #returnthebirthright campaign, JVP received a $140,00 two-year grant for general support for its operations from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF).
Since 2015, JVP has received $280,000 from RBF, which has a history of supporting anti-Jewish causes, including BDS campaigns and various organizations that promote BDS campaigns throughout the United States.
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:www.facebook.com/100009515464320Twitter:https://twitter.com/AbigailDrach
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/abigaildrach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-drach-b27306153/
Personal Website:https://abigaildrach.cargo.site/
