Ala'a Salem
Overview
Ala’a Salem [Kiki Salem] has spread anti-Semitism, whitewashed violence and expressed supportfor terrorists. Salem has also spread hatred of Israel and was active with the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at the University of Chicago (UChicago) in 2019-2020.While in high school, Salem also spread anti-Semitism, mocked the Holocaust, expressed support for Hamas and promoted hatred of Israel.
Salem was an organizer and administrator for the SJP chapter at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2017.
She attended the National SJP Conference in 2016 and again in 2019.
Salem is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of August 2020, Salem indicated on Instagram that she was the “Head of Threads” and designed and made “Prints| Patterns| Apparel” through her company “Punk A** Arab.” As of January 2017, Salem’s Facebook said she worked as a teacher at The Kids Table. As of August 2020, Salem’s Facebook was deleted.
As of August 2020, Salem indicated on her LinkedIn that she was a “student” at SAIC from 2013-2017, studying for a bachelors of fine arts in “Fiber, Textile and Weaving Arts.”
In July 2020, Salem indicated on Instagram that she was located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Anti-Semitism
On September 9, 2013, Salem tweeted a photo with text that read: “I do not recall a Jewish home without a book on the table.” Salem commented: “Cool. Now go f**k yourself.On November 11, 2013, Salem tweeted: “No I have to leave early and go to a different building before class cause the Jewish place my class is in is too cheap to let us print.”
On January 19, 2014, Salem tweeted: “Well this is a f**king dumb show all of them are Asian or jewish. Which almost always automatically makes them rich kids.”
On January 16, 2014, Salem tweeted: “Think about how many Palestinian women were raped by the yahoos [Jews] back in 48. S**t got me thinking my great great granddaddy was a Jew.”
On December 26, 2015, Salem tweeted: “Israel: a national homeland, stolen from Palestinians, to cater to the wants of rich white people. Masked as a Jewish state. Created in 1948.”
On January 18, 2016, Salem tweeted: “I got into a social media squabble with someone once about Israel and it's hauntingly Nazi-ish policies against Palestinians.”
Whitewashing Violence
On June 3, 2020, Salem posted to her Instagram page a poster that stated: “Palestinians support the Black Intifada” and likened the ongoing riots to Palestinian Intifada.On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a black man, was arrested and killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Following Floyd’s death, demonstrations and protests were held in over 400 American cities, as well as internationally. Many of the demonstrations devolved into riots, resulting in injury and deaths of civilians and police officers, as well as widespread destruction and looting of property.
Salem then wrote on her Instagram post: “INTIFADA is an Arabic word used by Palestinians to resist the colonial/white supremacist/hyper militarized/fascist state of Israel and its financial and political supporters.”
She also wrote: “It doesn’t mean riot, it doesn’t mean resistance, it doesn’t mean revolution, though all of those can come with the action of intifada,” and added: “The intifada takes courage.”
The second intifada (2000-2005) was characterized by more than 120 suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes.
Support for Terrorists
On September 20, 2017, Salem appeared in a photo with terrorist Rasmea Odeh and fellow SJP activist and promoter of anti-Semitism, Samer Alhato.
That same day, Salem posted to her Instagram: “Carry on the fight’ is what she asked of the crowd as we chanted her name. God bless you Rasmea Odeh, in a perfect world there would be no borders or deportation. We will carry on the fight to see that perfect world. #HonorRasmea#RasmeaOdeh.”
Odeh was a key military operative [00:02:08]with the terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In 1969, Odeh masterminded a PFLP bombing that killed two college students in a Jerusalem supermarket. Odeh also attempted to bomb the British consulate.
Odeh confessed, in a highly detailed account, the day following her arrest. In a 2004 documentary, one of Odeh’s co-conspirators directly implicated [00:10:53] Odeh as the mastermind.
In 1970, an Israeli court tried and convicted Odeh for her involvement in both bombings and sentenced her to life imprisonment. However, Odeh was released 10 years later, in a prisoner swap and emigrated to the United States.
On November 10, 2014, a Michigan federal jury convicted Odeh for immigration fraud because she failed to disclose her prior conviction and life sentence on her immigration application. On March 12, 2015, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In 2017, after an appeal and a lengthy court battle, Odeh admitted to immigration fraud, was stripped of her U.S. citizenship, deported to Jordan and banned from re-entering the U.S.
On November 18, 2014, Salem tweeted: “Its almost as if everyone forgot the constant use of brutality and force that Israel has been imposing on Palestinians in the Aqsa all month.”
Salem published her tweet on the same day that Palestinian terrorists murdered six people in a Jerusalem synagogue with a gun, axes and a butcher knife, during morning prayers. Salem also tweeted that day: “I see a third intifada coming soon.”
Spreading Hatred of Israel
On January 8, 2019, Salem posted to her Instagram stories a video of Israeli soldiers singing with the caption: “IDF soldiers singing like everything is fine and they’re not part of a terrorist organization.”On December 23, 2018, Salem posted to Instagram a photo of Israeli hills, with the comment: “The beauty of my homeland, air pollution, development, unobtained finishes, and a Jim Crow style highway all in one pic. Welcome to Palestine.”
On June 23, 2018, Salem posted to Instagram that she would be designing the flyers and merchandise for the 2018 Chicago Dyke March. She also defended the 2017 Dyke March from accusations of anti-Semitism, labeling criticism of the march “a Zionist smear campaign.”
On December 26, 2015, Salem tweeted: “Israel WANTS our money. And when Israel WANTS something from Americans, we pull down our pants and bend over for them. No questions asked.”
On December 28, 2015, Salem tweeted: “#Turkey threatening diplomatic ties with #Israel just to get humanitarian aid to Gaza only serves to highlight the evil that is #Zionism.”
On July 16, 2014, Salem tweeted: “Ramadan breath is actually the worst thing to ever exist on the face of this earth after Zionism.”
Promoting BDS
On April 2, 2016, Salem changed her Facebook profile picture to support a BDS campaign at the University of Chicago (U of C) called: “UofC Divest.”On March 28, 2016, the campaign called on U of C’s College Council to support divestment from companies doing business with Israel and urged students to sign a petition supporting a divestment resolution.
On April 14, 2016, after a contentious debate, the College Council passed the resolution, titled: “RESOLUTION TO DIVEST UNIVERSITY FUNDS FROM APARTHEID,” in an 8-4-3 vote.
Supporters reportedly chanted: “Free, free, Palestine,” as they left the room after the vote. Audio recordings and photography of the proceedings were reportedly prohibited.
High-School Anti-Semitism
On February 13, 2012, Salem tweeted: “My spanish teacher I an old blind jew #CrustyA**Bi**h.”On February 17, 2012, Salem tweeted: “‘@WhatTheFFacts: A 41 year old woman married a dolphin in Israel.’ Dumba** kyke.”
On January 10, 2012, Salem tweeted: “If you piss me off, you are automatically counted as a #jew in my book.”
On January 7, 2012, Salem tweeted: “#iAlwaysSay kus im il yahood [F**k the Jews].”
On January 2, 2012, Salem tweeted: “I have never met someone more jewish than my sister. She is legit crying over $1.50 #cheapa**.”
On January 1, 2012, Salem tweeted: “I always do it big, likee a jewish nose! Haha.”
High-School Holocaust Mockery
On February 17, 2012, Salem tweeted: “I could be outside enjoying the weather. But instead I have to hear about how millions of jews died #ohgoody.”On April 19, 2012, Salem tweeted: “Holocaust Rememberance Ray? How about Palestinian Occupation Everyday? Ill feel bad fot the jews when they start feeling bad for my people.”
On October 18, 2012, Salem tweeted: “Why did Hitler commit suicide?........ He saw the gas bill. Pahhahaha.”
On November 14, 2012, Salem tweeted: “In my opinion the holocaust was tinycompared to Israels occupation on Palestine. Saddest part?The holocaust victims started the occupation.”
High School Support for Hamas
On June 29, 2013, Salem tweeted a picture of a youngster whom she labeled her “cousin in Palestine” — dressed as a Hamas terrorist.On April 4, 2013, Salem tweeted: “Tomorrow will begin as a regular day for us, and a historic day in Palestine #3rdintifada April 5th 2013.”
On April 24, 2013, Salem tweeted: “Real talk. F**k Israel.”
On November 12, 2012, Salem tweeted: “A big, giant, gargantuan F**K YOU to Israel & its supporters.”
On that same day, Salem tweeted: “Why has Israel been bombing Gaza all week? Oh you know just to test that their WMD's work. On innocent people. Like it's something casual.”
On October 3, 2012, Salem tweeted: “People like to classify themselves as democrats or republicans. My political views? Middle finger to Zionism.”
Attending the 2019 National SJP Conference
On that same day, Karmel Sabri also posted a video to her Instagram stories featuring Salem and other National SJP Conference attendees dancing.
The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.
2019 National SJP - Supporting BDS
The Conference website called to capitalize on shifts in the political climate, represented by the elections to the U.S. Congress of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who both support BDS. National SJP speakers also reportedly drew attention to Rep. Omar’s support for the BDS movement as the Representative for UMN’s Congressional district.During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”
The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.
2019 National SJP - Rejecting Israel and Zionism
The 2019 National SJP Conference website indicated that the goal of their “solidarity movement” was to push for policies that “demanded the end of” the state of Israel, referred to as “the Israeli occupation.”The website clarified that “the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, extends beyond the confines of 1967, and well before the Nakba,” and was based on the rejection of Jewish national self-determination in Israel.
Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
2019 National SJP - Heightened Secrecy
The 2019 National SJP Conference required attendees to be “verified and vouched for” by an SJP chapter to which they belonged and required each chapter to register as a group. The conference also required each group to be verified by a “reference––someone who is NOT going to this conference but who is or has recently been a part of your SJP.”2019 National SJP - Partnering Organizations
National SJP partnered with other anti-Israel organizations to table, sell merchandise and lead workshops, including CODEPINK, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Palestine Legal, Watan Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project.Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.
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: www.facebook.com/1142943394 [Deactivated]Twitter: https://twitter.com/low_key_ki [Deleted]
https://twitter.com/Key_Keeks [Deleted]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/low_key_ki/
https://www.instagram.com/Punk_ass_arab/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaa-salem-6282a517a
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- Art-Institute-Chicago
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- SJP
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- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
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