Ahmad Ibsais

Overview

Ahmad Ibsais has justified violence, whitewashed Hamas terrorism, glorified terrorists and promoted incitement. He has also demonized Israel, spread hatred of America and Zionism and engaged in anti-Israel activism.

Ibsais is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In 2021, Ibsais expressed solidarity with Yasmeen Mashayekh, a graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Senator who tweeted her desire to “kill every motherf**king Zionist.”

As of December 2021, Ibsais’s LinkedIn page said he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Progress, Sociology and International Affairs at the University of Florida (UF), slated to graduate in 2023.

As of the same date, Ibsais’s LinkedIn said he was a “Writer” at the Florida Political Review from September 2019 to April 2021 and an “Op ed Journalist” at CNN from February 2019 to February 2021. Ibsais also wrote that he has authored pieces for Teen Vogue, Al Jazeera and the United Nations.

As of December 2021, Ibsais’s LinkedIn said he was a Research Analyst at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, D.C. from August to December 2020.

As of the same date, Ibsais’s LinkedIn said he was a “Care Coordinator” at UF Health from January 2020 to January 2021 and a Research Assistant at UF’s College of Medicine from September 2019 to September 2020 and that he received certification in Psychological First Aid from Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins) in July 2020.

As of December 2021, Ibsais indicated he was located in Sarasota, Florida.

As of December 2021, Ibsais was an Organizer for We Exist Too, “a coalition” he founded, “focused on mobilizing youth to voice their opinions for Palestinian rights.” The group is supported by anti-Israel organizations American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

In April 2021, Ibsais was affiliated with IfNotNow (INN)’s Los Angeles chapter (IfNotNow LA).

Justifying Violence

On December 28, 2021, Ibsais shared to Twitter a New York Post tweet that read: “Jewish man says he was slugged in Brooklyn for wearing Israeli military hoodie.” Ibsais commented: “It’s because he’s a zionist…I’m sure if he wasn’t supporting a genocidal organization it wouldn’t have happened.”

On December 26, 2021, two Jewish college students, Blake Zavadsky and Ilan Kaganovich, were reportedly assaulted by two men outside a Foot Locker in Brooklyn, New York. Zavadsky, who was wearing an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sweatshirt, waspunched in the face by one of the assailants, who called Zavadsky and Kaganovich “dirty Jews.”

On December 4, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “We exist BECAUSE we resist.”

On November 26, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “1) Palestinians have EVERY LEGAL and MORAL right to resist apartheid by ANY means necessary 2) NOTHING that Palestinians do or say will ever match the brutality of our oppressors and ethnic cleansing 3) Palestinians can say whatever we want about our oppressors.”

On October 9, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “For Palestinians, it’s impossible to be unarmed when it’s our identity and connection to the land that they fear.”

On March 13, 2020, Ibsais featured in an interview by John Iadarola on The Damage Report, in which Ibsais claimed [00:01:48] Palestinian children had been “wrongfully incarcerated,” because he said [00:02:16]: “...a child was just throwing rocks at a soldier and to me that’s a completely reasonable response…”

Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.

On March 5, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Decolonization wasn’t meant to [be] peaceful; it was meant to be revolution.”

Whitewashing Hamas Terrorism

On December 11, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Everything you could say about Hamas 10x would not match the oppression of Palestinians by the colonial pigs.”

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 2] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

On October 29, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “‘Hamas’ this ‘Hamas’ that, not ‘73 years of ethnic cleansing and genocide at the hands of white imperialists.’”

On May 20, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “If Hamas didn’t exist, Palestinians would still be ethnically cleansed. This time, without the excuse of ‘terrorists.’”

Glorifying Terrorists

On September 7, 2021, Ibsais posted a video to TikTok of himself with the words “The Great Escape.”

In his video, Ibsais said [00:00:03]: “...Yesterday, six Palestinian escaped from one of Israel’s highest security prisons…”and went on to claim [00:00:28]: “These Palestinian men were pretty much all imprisoned for life, for just being Palestinian. There’s no formal charge against them except for being Palestinian, and yet they’ve somehow found the will and ability to gain their freedom on their own.”

On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa Prison in Israel. The escaped prisoners were convicted members of the terror organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who were jailed for their involvement in attacks carried out during the second intifada. All were recaptured by September 19, 2021, by Israeli authorities.

On January 10, 2021, Ibsais posted three videos promoting Ghassan Kanafani and commented: “No justice no peace.”

Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the terrorist organization’s early years. Kanafani announced the PFLP’s responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre of May 1972 and was linked to the airport attackers. The attack killed 26 people and wounded 80 others.

Promoting Incitement

On May 7, 2021, Ibsais posted on Instagram: “Palestinians are being murdered as illegal settlers encroach on their homes…” and included [slide 10] a photo of a man holding a sign that read: “F**k your settler colonial ‘justice’ system. #SaveSheikhJarrah.”

In May 2021, Palestinian violence erupted in anticipation of an Israel High Court ruling on eviction proceedings concerning over 70 Palestinian tenants illegally residing in Jewish-owned properties in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

On May 7, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “The only reason Palestinians are in #SheikhJarrah is because they were originally displaced from their homes in Haifa after the first invasion. It’s been ethnic cleansing on top of ethnic cleansing.”

On June 27, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “This is the nakba happening in real time #SaveSilwan.”

The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.

Jewish owners who sought to reclaim their property rights to lands in Silwan, a Jerusalem neighborhood also known as Shiloach, have been frequently met with Palestinian violence. Many Jews and Palestinians possess conflicting deeds to the same properties, with Jews holding deeds that pre-date those held by Palestinians.

Demonizing Israel

On June 9, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Israel is an illegitimate state with no legal, social, historical, or moral right to exist.”

On March 20, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “...The I*F [IOF] is a terrorist organization.”

“IOF” stands for Israeli Occupation Forces, a derogatory name used by anti-Israel activists to demonize Israel’s army in place of its official name, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

On January 14, 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic, Ibsais posted a video to TikTok of himself saying [00:00:01]: “The medical apartheid of Palestine has created the perfect trap for Israel to kill Palestinians.”

On January 8, 2021, Ibsais posted a video to TikTok of himself saying [00:00:01]: “Let’s talk about the terrors the IDF commits against Palestinians every single day” and went on to accuse the IDF of brutalizing Palestinians and [00:00:14] “shooting and killing their children, shooting and killing their men, women and children…”

On December 17, 2020, Ibsais tweeted: “2) The IDF has imposed a military policing system where they shoot to kill, or permanently disable, innocent civilians just for being Palestinian.”

Hatred of America

On November 18, 2021, Ibsais posted a video to TikTok of himself wearing a keffiyeh, with the words: “When the white people tell you ‘go back to your country’ forgetting that the US bombed and destroyed the Middle East for 20 years searching for oil.”

On August 28, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “The problem isn’t [U.S. President Joe] biden. It’s American imperialism. Every US President is a war criminal, and every US President has committed genocide.”

On August 23, 2021, Ibsais posted a video to TikTok of himself [00:00:02] with a map purportedly indicating “every place the U.S. has bombed, entered, or in some way influenced their affairs…” Ibsais commented: “Revolution.”

In the video, Ibsais accused [00:00:28] the U.S. of “white supremacy” and claimed [00:00:32]: “When the U.S. entered the places or terrorized these places, they often looted them of their natural resources and looted their people of their land and freedom.”

On February 11, 2020, Ibsais published an op-ed titled: “How Racism and Colonialism are the Cause of the Climate Crisis,” in which he wrote: “Racism is built into the fabric of America…the promise of America has never been fulfilled.”

Hatred of Zionism

Ibsais retweeted a November 28, 2021 tweet that said: “...Zionism clings onto Judaism as a lifeline the same way white supremacist in the KKK [Klu Klux Klan] cling onto Christianity to gain credibility. Don’t be fooled.”

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.

On June 3, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Palestinians are the only ones allowed the define Zionism because we are the only ones impacted by it ethnic cleansing, racism, and genocide.”

On January 30, 2021, Ibsais posted a video to TikTok of himself looking at the camera, with the words: “Zionism is a racist and Islamophobic institution.”

On December 21, 2020, Ibsais tweeted: “...Pack up Zionism. It’s racist, colonialist, and costing American lives.”

Solidarity with Yasmeen Mashayekh

In November 2021, Ibsais tweeted multiple times in support of Mashayekh who was [00:11:08] in the middle of a national controversy over anti-Semitism she spread on social media that year.

In October 2021, Mashayekh was listed as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Senator for USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering (Viterbi). In May 2021, she tweeted: “I want to f**king kill every motherf**king Zionist.” She also tweeted: “yel3an el yahood [curse the Jews]

.”

Mashayekh has also spread violent hatred of Israeli Jews, called for the destruction of Israel and America, expressed support for Hamas and glorified terrorists.

Mashayekh was condemned after Canary Mission exposed her anti-Semitic tweets.

On November 26, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “If you consider yourself an ally to the Palestinian cause, I urge you to stand in solidarity with Yasmeen Mashayek, who is a student at @USCViterbi being targeted by a Zionist-led harassment campaign. Make a tweet tagging @USCViterbi and let them know you support Yasmeen!”

On December 2, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “We will win, they know it,” in response to another tweet by Mashayekh that read: “The obsession these racist have with Palestinians because of how unstoppable we are is unreal.”

Anti-Israel Activism

In 2019, Ibsais founded[00:01:26] We Exist Too, an organization whose mission is to“ center youth voice in the discussion around children living under occupation and displaced children globally” and “promote human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation.”

In March 2020, Ibsais helped organize a “National Strike 4 Palestine” in Washington, D.C. to promote H.R. 2407, legislation that would condition American military assistance to Israel. The anti-Israel organizations Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and Within Our Lifetime (WOL) were among the groups listed as the “Cohosts” of the event.

The Facebook event description referred to H.R.2407 as “a bill that would protect the human rights of Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation.”

NGO Monitor reported that the bill was “based largely on the lobbying efforts and accusations of Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P).” DCI-P was later included in the list of terrorist groups by the Israeli government.

In October 2021, Israel’s Ministry of Defense declared six Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be “terror organizations” operating “as an arm” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group. The six NGOs were accused of funneling donor aid to militants and employing senior PFLP members, “including activists involved in terror activity.”

On April 7, 2021, IfNotNow (INN)’s Los Angeles chapter (IfNotNow LA) posted to Instagram: “thank you @ahmad.ibsais for working with me on this post!” and included a visual titled: “Palestine Children Facts + Figures” with Ibsais’s name at the bottom.

Supporting BDS

On September 9, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Y’all BDS.”

On July 15, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Ben and Jerry’s has been silent since the Palestinian uprisings against imperialism and ethnic cleansing silence speaks louder than words. BOYCOTT. DIVEST. SANCTIONS.”

On July 19, 2021, ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s announced it would stop all product sales in “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The BDS movement celebrated the decision, calling on the ice cream company to boycott the State of Israel in its entirety. However, company owner Unilever overrode the subsidiary’s decision after multiple US states decided to divest public funds from Unilever.

On July 19, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Continue to boycott Ben and Jerry’s until they cut ALL ties with the occupation.”

On March 2, 2021, Ibsais tweeted: “Fight Nazis, not BDS.”

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.

JVP

JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.

JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).

Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”

JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish value.”

The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”

According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”

IfNotNow (INN)

IfNotNow (INN) is an anti-Israel organization founded in 2014, in response to Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas.

INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”

INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.

INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.

INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.

One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.

INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.

INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).