Amber Rivero

Overview

Amber Rivero demonized Israel as an anti-Israel rally speaker, spread incitement and sponsored a resolution that opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

In 2021, Rivero engaged in activism with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Also that year, she was affiliated with the pro-terror activist group Within Our Lifetime (WOL).

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

During the 2020-2021 academic year, Rivero served as the student council president at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay), part of the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York, New York.

As of April 2024, Rivero’s LinkedIn profile said she served as vice chair of Senior College Affairs for the CUNY University Student Senate (USS) from October 2020 to October 2021. She engaged in anti-Israel activism during this time.

Also as of April 2024, Rivero’s LinkedIn said she was a freelance “Anti-Human Trafficking & Gender Based Violence Advocate/Liason” since January 2018.

As of the same date, Rivero’s LinkedIn said she was studying for a bachelor’s degree in political science and government at John Jay, slated to graduate in December 2024.

Also as of April 2024, Rivero’s LinkedIn said she was located in Brooklyn, New York.

5/28/2021 - Demonizing Israel at a WOL Rally

On May 28, 2021, Rivero was featured as a speaker at an anti-Israel WOL rally titled: “CUNY RALLY FOR PALESTINE.” The protest took place on the John Jay campus.

At the rally, Rivero addressed the crowd as the student council president and said [00:01:01]: “...John Jay is implicit [sic], CUNY is implicit [sic]…in this atrocious human rights abuse that’s happening right now, that’s happening in Palestine with apartheid.”

Rivero continued [00:01:18]: “But John Jay is explicitly implicit [sic] because John Jay has faculty who are not only former IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and Israeli police officers, but they are being paid to do cross-training between NYPD [New York Police Department] and IDF, as we speak.”

The accusation that Israeli law enforcement teaches American police brutal tactics during police exchange programs is used to demonize Israel. Participants in these programs have stated [00:02:14] that the training in Israel focuses [00:13:36] on public policy, counterterrorism and leadership training in the form of lectures and discussions.

The rally took place about one week after the end of an Israeli operation against terrorist groups in Gaza.

In May 2021, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists fired over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at major population centers in Israel. Israel responded by launching “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

Spreading Incitement

In May 2021, the same month as OGW, Rivero signed a pro-BDS statement titled: “CUNY community statement of solidarity with the Palestinian people.” The statement was created by the CUNY4Palestine activist group and published on the anti-Israel site Mondoweiss.

The statement read: “We, members of the City University of New York community, stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine resisting the violence and oppression of Israeli settler colonial and apartheid rule.”

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.

The statement further stated: “We condemn the forced removal of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah…designed to advance the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem. We oppose the raiding of the al-Aqsa mosque, and the de facto annexation of East Jerusalem, which is illegally occupied territory.”

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 7-10, 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound, following claims that Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger. The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy Al-Aqsa has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.

Opposing the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism

On April 8, 2021, while serving as vice chair of Senior College Affairs of CUNY USS, Rivero sponsored a USS resolution that urged [p. 3] “all CUNY schools clubs, and organizations to reject and reverse the adoption of IRHA definition [of anti-Semitism].”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights multiple forms of contemporary anti-Semitism related to Israel, including “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.

The IHRA also highlights another form of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.”

The resolution was co-authored by CUNY Law SJP and CUNY Law Jewish Law Students Association (CUNY JLSA), another anti-Israel group.

The resolution said [p. 3]: “antisemitism is not an exceptional form of bigotry.” The resolution also stated [p. 3]: “THEREFORE BE IT / RESOLVED: That the University Student Senate shall not adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism.”

In April 2021, Rivero signed an open letter titled: “Open Letter to the CUNY Community Re: USS IHRA resolution.”

The letter stated: “We, the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) at CUNY Law, and our allies, write to convey our concern and alarm over the recent introduction on 3/14/21 of the University Student Senate (USS) Resolution ‘Condemning Anti-Semitism and Supporting the CUNY Jewish Community.’ We respectfully oppose this resolution, and urge the USS and our CUNY community to do the same. / This resolution adopts a definition of antisemitism put forth by the the [sic] International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).”

On April 11, 2021, CUNY USS posted a Zoom meeting on Facebook where they debated adopting two different definitions of anti-Semitism.

During the meeting, Rivero voted [04:54:30] to pass the anti-IHRA resolution.

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.

WOL

Within Our Lifetime (WOL) is a pro-terror activist group in New York City dedicated to Israel’s destruction within the lifetime of its members.

Acts of violence and physical confrontations with police have frequently occurred at WOL protests and marches. WOL uses harassment campaigns to target pro-Israel organizations or companies that do business with Israel, making it a part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Multiple activists who have either burned Israeli flags or led chants at WOL rallies were later jailed for violent anti-Semitic hate crimes, including Saadah Masoud and Waseem Awawdeh. In Masoud’s case, he received 18 months in jail for an anti-Semitic assault at an April 2022 WOL rally and two other anti-Semitic assaults in 2021.

WOL promotes “resistance” against Israel “by any means necessary,” calls to “Globalize the Intifada,” spreads incitement and idolizes [00:34:06] Palestinian terrorists like Leila Khaled and others at rallies and online events.

WOL was founded by Nerdeen Kiswani and Dan Cione in 2015. Kiswani is a frequent speaker at WOL rallies where she has promoted terrorism against Israelis and called for the death of Zionists. She has also provided support for Masoud and other activists following their arrests.

WOL began as the New York City chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), going by NYC SJP, but changed its name in 2018. The group is not found to be registered in any U.S. state as a nonprofit organization under its official name. Nor is there any listing for WOL under its name on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website for tax-exempt organizations.

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.