Amanda Baraka
Overview
Baraka is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of August 2020, Baraka used the alias “Amanda Friend” on Facebook and "AmnaieRose" on her Instagram.
Spreading Hatred of Israel
On November 11, 2018, Barak claimed on her USCPR Facebook fundraiser page that Israel had uprooted 800,000 olive trees since 1967, affecting 80,000 families, and said "These olive groves symbolize the roots of Palestinian resistance: deep, strong, and entrenched in the land."
On November 16, 2018, Baraka posted in the USCPR fundraiser Facebook page: “As this most recent bombardment of Gaza reminds us, the horrors of colonization continue and the struggle is ongoing.”
Earlier in November, terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, prompting Israel to strike Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets inside the Gaza Strip.
Promoting BDS
During the hearing, Baraka stated [00:02:39]: “We...have the power and the responsibility to impact global human rights by aligning our investments with our values.”
Baraka also stated [00:01:57]: “Companies from around the world enable these egregious harms against Palestinians -- and against many more communities to whom we are linked as Boston residents. The good news is we have the power to divest.”
Leading a Workshop at the 2019 National SJP Conference
On November 3, 2019, UNR posted to Instagram a photo of Baraka andAria, leading a workshop titled: “From Palestine to Turtle Island: Food Sovereignty for all.”
The post said: “ur very own Amanda and Mina, presenting at the @nationalsjp conference about food sovereignty, from Palestine to Turtle Island. 🌱✊🏽✊🏾💐#NSJP2019 #Uprooted&Rising #foodsovereignty (Forgive our typo!).”
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:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010069471399Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/amanie_rose/ [Private]
