Abire Sabbagh

Abire Sabbagh [Abire Sabbagh-Asmar] moderated a pro-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) panel at Rutgers University in 2022, and co-authored an anti-Israel divestment resolution that promoted BDS at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), in 2014. Sabbagh was an activist with anti-Israel student group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), at UC Davis (SJP at UC Davis) in 2014. 

As of February 2023, Sabbagh’s LinkedIn page said she had worked as a “Community Outreach and Palestine Education Director” at the Palestinian American Community Center since July 2020. She was also a program coordinator for the MultiCultural Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)since September 2018.

Also as of February 2023, Sabbagh’s LinkedIn said she had been pursuing a PhD in “Higher Education/Higher Education Administration” from Rutgers University New Brunswick campus (Rutgers-New Brunswick) since September 2022. 

Sabbagh graduated from UCSB with a master's degree in global studies in 2019 and from UC Davis with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Middle Eastern and South Asian studies in 2016.

As of the same date, Sabbagh’s LinkedIn said she served as the “External Affairs Commission Chair” of the Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD) for the 2014-2015 academic year. Also according to Sabbagh’s LinkedIn, she had been the president of the Arab Student Union (ASU) at UC Davis since September 2014.

As of February 2023, Sabbagh’s LinkedIn page said she was located in Clifton, New Jersey.

On November 18, 2022, Sabbagh moderated [00:00:07] a panel at Rutgers titled: “Divestment From Israeli Apartheid At The University Level.” The panel was organized by SJP Rutgers-New Brunswick and the Endowment Justice Collective (EJC).

The panel included, among other speakers, Iman Abid, director of Advocacy and Organizing at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), and Wassim Abedrabbo [Wassim Kannan], vice-chair of the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) New Jersey chapter (AMP NJ).

One of the panelists reportedly said: “what the BDS movement has shown is that the problem is the presence of a racist, settler colonial, Zionist regime…Someday soon, we’re gonna see the toppling of the apartheid regime.”

Abid reportedly said during the panel: “The more that we use language like white supremacy when we talk about Zionism, is really critical [sic].” Abedrabbo said: “Israel is a European outpost in the Middle East. Israel is a white supremacist effort in its inception.”

One way that anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is to claim [00:06:46] that Israeli Jews, particularly Ashkenazi Jews, do not descend from the ancient Israelites.
In April 2014, Sabbagh co-authored an anti-Israel divestment resolution at UC Davis, which was introduced to the ASUCD by fellow BDS activist at UC Davis, Robyn Huey.

The resolution was titled: “ASUCD Senate Resolution #20 (SR#20)” and called on the University of California to divest from companies it suggested “aid in the Israeli occupation of Palestine and illegal settlements in Palestinian territories.”

SR#20 failed on May 9, 2014, with the student senate vote evenly divided and the ASUCD Vice President abstaining from breaking the tie, resulting in a 5-5-3 vote. 

On January 29, 2015, a student senate hearing was held to present an expanded version of the 2014 resolution. The 2015 version was titled: “ASUCD Senate Resolution #9 (SR #9).” The expanded version was authored by SJP activist at UC Davis, Saliem Shehadeh.

Following speeches for and against the resolution, the anti-divestment students, who reportedly constituted “about a third of attendees,” walked out [00:06:51] of the room.

As they left, a large group of pro-divestment students chanted [00:00:05] “Allahu Akhbar!” [God is the Greatest]. The January 2015 SR#9 resolution passed, with a vote of 8-2-2. 

A week after the resolution passed, unidentified vandals spray-painted two large swastikas on a house belonging to the Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi).

UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi issued a statement that the January 2015 resolution to divest did not reflect the position of UC Davis or the University of California system. The Board and Office of the President had earlier issued a statement affirming the Board’s position that student calls to action would not be entertained. UC Davis’ investment policy is set by the UC Board of Regents.

The January 2015 resolution was overturned as unconstitutional by the university’s Court of Associated Students, on the grounds that it was "primarily a political document" with insufficient relevance to student welfare on campus. 

In May 2015, SJP at UC Davis responded by proposing a new resolution, titled: “ASUCD Senate Resolution #17 (SR #17).” The May 2015 resolution was written by then-SJP at UCD president Marcelle-Alexandra Obeid and co-authored by former SJP at UCD president Diyala Shihadih. 

SR#17 alleged that “enabling Israel’s occupation of Palestine compromises the integrity of students’ education.” The May 2015 resolution passed 10-0-2but was later ruled unconstitutional by the ASUCD Judicial Council in May 2019.

The Council further noted that the resolution also violated the ASUCD Bill of Student Rights, because its passage “led to the discrimination and harassment of students whose ethnicity, national origin or political beliefs are in opposition to the content of the Resolution.”

Anti-Israel Activism

On July 21, 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE), Sabbagh co-hosted a “Candlelight Vigil for Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza.”

Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

The event’s Facebook description said: “Join us for a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Israeli brutalities against the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.”

On July 5, 2014, Sabbagh changed her profile picture on Facebook to an image calling for the commemoration of Yousef Abu Zagha, with the text “#PalestineUnderAttack.” 

Zagha was identified by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a Hamas operative who was shot several days earlier, during an arrest-raid as he attempted to hurl a grenade at Israeli troops.

Sabbagh’s updated Facebook profile picture was a photo from an event Sabbagh hosted a day earlier, titled: “SJP @ UC Davis: Their Lives Matter Too #palestineunderattack.” 

That event’s Facebook description said: “Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Davis invite you to join us in changing our profile pictures to one of ourselves holding a sign...that has the name of a Palestinian that has been killed/murdered/kidnapped etc, and the date it happened.”

Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/abire.sabbagh 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abire_likeabeer

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abire-sabbagh-11a577bb/

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