Alex Franzblau

Overview

Alex Franzblau has spread hatred of Zionism, demonized Israel, engaged in anti-Israel activism and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of July 2022, Franzblau indicated on Facebook that he was studying for a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Florida International University (FIU), slated to graduate in 2024.

Also, as of July 2022, Franzblau was listed as an employee for the Division of Student Affairs at FIU.

As of the same date, Franzblau’s Facebook said he was located in Plantation, Florida.

As of the same date, Franzblau used the handle “mangosocialism” on Twitter and Instagram.

Hatred of Zionism

On November 27, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “...zionism is the true threat.”

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 May 13, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “...zionism is anti-semitic.”

On February 22, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “...i don’t really care about arguing if zionists are ‘valid’ when we should be demonstrating how zionism is violent and destructive.”

Demonizing Israel

On December 5, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “...[Israeli Prime Minister] Naftali Bennett engages in ethnic cleansing with approval from the Israeli left.”

On November 16, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “i successfully pushed them [Zionists] to explain how they justify the original Nakba and recent illegal settlements, at which point they just go straight genocide denialist…”

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.

On May 21, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “i don’t know what this will lead to, but if the ‘ceasefire’ comes to an end we know Israel is responsible.evil.”

On May 21, 2021, clashes erupted outside of the Al-Aqsa compound after Palestinian worshippers threw rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli officers. Thousands of worshippers had gathered at the compound in solidarity with Gaza, following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

On May 13, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “so we see this gradual escalation in fascistic, racist ideology in Israeli society as the state needs to justify it’s violent oppression of Palestinians. the political landscape has moved right, and Labor Zionism and the two-state solution are discredited.”

The two-state solution envisions a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by dividing the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea into an Israeli Jewish state and a Palestinian Arab state.

On May 10, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “...tbh [to be honest] an oversimplified ‘palestine good, israel bad’ view of this situation is much more accurate and desirable than cowardly gobbledygook about how ‘complicated’ this is.”

On May 10, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “the concept of a ‘two-state solution’ has been made pretty much irrelevant, in terms of both support among Israeli political parties and the practical implementation of such a plan. the options appear to be a multiethnic, democratic Palestine and apartheid Israel.”

On April 28, 2021, Franzblau tweeted, accusing U.S. President Joe Biden of “support for apartheid Israel.”

On April 8, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “it’s not even that hard!condemn [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and attack on the issue of Israel not vaccinating Palestinians in the occupied territories.call for a reduction in aid!end the construction of settlements!”

Under the Oslo Accords [p. 5], the Palestinian Authority (PA) is responsible for providing health services to Palestinians under its jurisdiction. In December 2020, PA officials reportedly contacted Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) department to request the vaccine, which Israel agreed to provide.

Anti-Israel Activism

On May 22, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “hey guys check out the sign i made for a protest a few days ago.i’m mostly happy that i actually drew an okay outline of palestine without tracing it lol [laughing out loud].”

Franzblau’s tweet included a photo of his sign that read: “This JEW supports FREE PALESTINE.”

The sign featured a drawing of the map of the State of Israel entirely covered with the colors of the Palestinian flag.

Supporting BDS

On January 20, 2022, Franzblau tweeted: “there is no hope within Israel.there are a handful of brave people who stand up for the rights of Palestinians or refuse IDF [Israel Defense Forces] service, but they are a tiny minority.even the ‘left’ parties joined a coalition with Naftali Bennett. that’s why we need BDS: pressure from without.”

The tweet linked to a video from anti-Israel organization Breaking the Silence.

In July 2016, Breaking the Silence (BTS) was discredited by Israel’s investigative Channel 10 TV show, HaMakor (The Source). HaMakor presented a report revealing that a substantial number of BTS testimonies are untrue or distorted.

On December 5, 2021, Franzblau tweeted: “the only meaningful opposition to zionism in the Knesset [Israeli parliament] is the Joint List, and they will never be allowed in government or win a majority outright. this is why BDS is so important: pressure must come from the outside.”

The Joint List is a political alliance of four of the Arab-majority political parties in Israel, founded in 2015.

On February 2, 2021, Franzblau tweeted about Moumita Ahmed, a U.S. politician, saying: “other noteworthy details include that Bernie [Sanders] endorsed Moumita in this race, and that lately she’s been attacked for being ‘anti-semitic’ for her support of BDS and Palestine. let’s hope for a win :).”

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.