Ala Hamdan
Overview
Ala Hamdan [Ala’a S. Hamdan] has celebrated a terrorist, glorified violence and engaged in anti-Israel activism as president of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at the University of Calgary (UCalgary). SPHR is an alternative name for Students For Justice In Palestine (SJP).Hamdan was a student activist with SPHR Calgary from 2012 to 2015.
Hamdan is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and promoted BDS Action Calgary in 2014.
As of November 2023, Hamdan’s LinkedIn profile said she had been an education manager at Heritage College in Calgary, Alberta, Canada since January 2023. Hamdan was a team leader and program developer at The Reading Foundation from June 2013 to December 2022.
Also as of August 2023, Hamdan’s LinkedIn said she received a master’s degree in educational leadership from Yorkville University (YorkvilleU) and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Calgary (UCalgary).
As of the same date, Hamdan wrote on Facebook that she attended Yorkville U from 2016 to 2019.
In January 2014, Hamdan wrote on Facebook that she was the Calgary Representative for Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME).
As of November 2023, Hamdan wrote on Facebook that she lived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
In 2014, Hamdan went by the name “Ala’a Hamdan” on Facebook.
Celebrating a Terrorist
On December 23, 2013, Hamdan wrote on Facebook: “The Palestinian hero, Samer Issawi, has just been released! The symbol of Palestinian resistance, honour, dignity and braveness is now free!”
Samer Issawi is a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who received a 26-year prison sentence in 2002. During the second intifada, Issawi manufactured and distributed pipe bombs and, in several incidents, fired indiscriminately on Israeli civilian vehicles.
Glorifying Violence
On December 25, 2013, Hamdan reportedly wrote on Facebook: “I was born to become the next Palestinian fighter. In my mother’s womb I had a rock in my hand and a Palestinian flag in the other and now I’ve sworn that every breath I take is that of resistance.”Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.
In another Facebook post, Hamdan wrote to “a son”: “I will soak a koffiah with your blood and save it to show to your siblings. I will walk in the streets with my head up and high. I will be named the mother of the martyr…”
The keffiyeh is a Palestinian headdress traditionally worn by men, which has become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.
In a third Facebook post, Hamdan wrote: “I smile because I’m sacrificing my life on my land” and “I exist to resist…”
The Calgarians United With Israel advocacy group reportedly reported Hamdan’s Facebook posts to the police.
On January 6, 2014, Hamdan wrote on Facebook: “I am asking groups to share some of my pieces of writing, especially the three pieces I got called out on, to show some support.”
Anti-Israel Activism (SPHR, BDS)
On July 25, 2014, Hamdan reportedly spoke at an anti-Israel rally held at City Hall in Calgary. The protest was reportedly co-organized by SPHR Calgary and included a “die-in” that Hamdan claimed was “a very good visual representation” of lives lost during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014.Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
On July 18, 2014, Hamdan and SPHR Calgary reportedly co-organized an anti-Israel rally at City Hall that turned violent. One pro-Israel demonstrator at the rally was “dragged several feet by an Israeli flag tied around his neck. He was also bruised and scratched.” Other protesters yelled:“Kill the Jews” and “Hitler was right.”
Hamdan attended Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) at UCalgary in 2013 and 2014.
On March 6, 2014, Hamdan featured in an SPHR Facebook photo speaking at an event titled: “Palestinian Cultural Night” hosted by SPHR as part of IAW 2014.
On March 4, 2013, Hamdan featured in an SPHR Facebook photo “Join SPHR in a 24-hr Hunger Strike in Solidarity of Palestinian Prisoners.” The “Hunger Strike” event was hosted by SPHR Calgary as part of IAW 2013.
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.
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:https://www.facebook.com/people/Alaa-S-Hamdan/100010066800856Facebook 2:https://www.facebook.com/alaa.hamdan.524
Twitter:https://twitter.com/ala_hamdan
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ala.hamdan92 [Private]
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ala-hamdan-33b328179
ResearchGate:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ala-Hamdan-2
Photos & Screenshots
