Anais Amer

Overview

Anais Amer has glorified terrorists, spread an anti-Israel conspiracy theory, promoted hatred of Israel and demonized Zionists.

According to an August 2020 “Palestinian Letter to Congress,” Amer was the president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Wellesley College (Wellesley).

As of September 23, 2020, Amer was the president of Arab Women Organization, based in Cairo, Egypt.

Amer is a supporter of the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of November 2020, Amer was a member of the Alpha Kappa Chi Society, the Wellesley College History Society. In October 2018, Amer was a senator in the Wellesley student government.

As of March 2021, Amer was listed as a 2021 Fellow at the Albright Institute, as well as a junior majoring in Middle Eastern Studies, slated to graduate in 2022.

As of November 2020, Amer used her name in Arabic “ أنايس عامر” on Facebook.

As of March 2021, Amer’s Twitter banner displayed a picture of terror organization Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) members, holding assault weapons.

Glorifying Terrorists

On September 22, 2020, Amer served as a panelist (under the name “Anais Mohamed”) for a YouTube webinar held to promote Leila Khaled in advance of a speech she was scheduled to give on Zoom later that week, which was then cancelled. Other panelists included anti-Israel activist Amer Zahr as well as anti-Israel professor Rabab Abdulhadi.

Zahr asked Amer what she knew about Khaled growing up and Amer answered [00:22:50]: “Seeing an icon like that as someone to be revered and to see her resilience and understand it on my own… being able to interact on an intellectual level with her biography ...from many perspectives, you know, the ones that villainize her and vilify her and the ones that revere her and admire her.”

Khaled is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of PFLP's Political Bureau.

Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

The PFLP claimed credit for the 2014 Har Nof Massacre where six people were murdered during morning prayers in a Jerusalem synagogue. The PFLP also claimed credit for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.

Amer continued [00:23:32]: “She has definitely demonstrated to me and to many other young Arab, Palestinian women that a woman’s place is in the fight for liberation.”

Zahr later asked [00:51:01] what Amer hoped to take from Khaled’s Zoom event to “bring back to campus.” Amer responded [00:51:34]: “The resilience of Leila Khaled and her unwillingness to compromise, and to, you know, bow down to these Zionist attacks … I think we can all learn a thing or two from Leila.”

On November 9, 2020, Amer posted a video to TikTok of herself looking at the camera with the words “People who have radicalized me for the better *and should radicalize you*” and showed several pictures of different people on screen, including Leila Khaled and Assata Shakur.

Assata Shakur was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper and wounding another in 1973 while a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). She escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba in 1984, where she resides today. She is listed on the FBI Most Wanted Terror List under her legal name, Joanne Deborah Chesimard.

Amer captioned the video: “#greenscreen #imperialism #biden2020 #kamala #freepalestine #warcriminal #capitalism #communism #leftists #leftisthypehouse #socialism #socialist #fyp.”

On November 7, 2020, Amer posted a video on TikTok, titled: “What my family thinks when I tell them I’m a leftist vs what I actually mean.” Amer showed pictures of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Amer then switched to photos of Ahed Tamimi, George Habash and Ghassan Khanafani, as well as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.

Ahed Tamimi has a long history of physically attacking Israeli soldiers. Tamimi is the daughter of Bassem Tamimi, who is known for exploiting young children as political props in staged confrontations with Israeli soldiers.

George Habash, who has been called“the godfather of Middle East terrorism,” founded the terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In 1970, Habash was the mastermind behind the hijacking of four Western airliners known as the Dawson Field hijackings. In 1972, the PFLP collaborated with Japanese Red Army terrorists to massacre 24 people at Israel's Lod International Airport (renamed Ben Gurion International Airport).

Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the terrorist organization’s early years. Kanafani announced the PFLP’s responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre of May 1972 and was linked to the airport attackers. The attack killed 26 people and wounded 80 others.

In September 2020, Amer signed a Change.org petition, written by Wellesley SJP, titled: “Support Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice, & Resistance: A conversation with Leila Khaled.”

The petition claimed: “AMED [Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diaspora] Studies at SFSU [San Francisco State University] is under attack from the ultra-right-wing Zionists for hosting a conversation with Palestinian freedom fighter, Leila Khaled. Leila Khaled is a powerful, inspiring figure. She’s more than just a freedom fighter.”

The petition concluded: “SIGN BELOW TO SUPPORT ACADEMIC FREEDOM ON PALESTINE AND LEILA KHALED'S ROLE IN MARKING PALESTINIAN HISTORY AND LIBERATION.”

On September 24, 2020, the online video conferencing platforms Zoom and YouTube reportedly canceled the broadcastings of Khaled’s event, with Zoom citing Khaled’s “affiliation or membership in a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization” as grounds for cancellation.

In a September 24, 2020 press release from the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Amer was highlighted for her contribution to the Khaled online event, joining Professors Abdulhadi and Tomomi Kinukawa in the “online virtual classroom.”

JVP described Amer as “president of Arab Women Organization and leader of Students for Justice in Palestine at Wellesley College.”

Spreading an Anti-Israel Conspiracy Theory

In August 2020, a TikTok video made by Amer was reposted on the social media platform. The video showed a massiveexplosion in Lebanon from earlier that month. Amer captioned the footage: “This is clearly not an accident. Israel

Bombed

lebanon.”

On August 4, 2020, an explosion at the port in Beirut, Lebanon killed over 150 people and injured thousands of others. Lebanese officials explained that the cause of the explosion was ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse.

Anti-Israel outlets later spread a conspiracy theory that Israel was behind the explosion. Independent fact-checkers ascertained that Israel was not involved.

Promoting Hatred of Israel

In an October 2020 TikTok video saved to a web cache, Amer looked closely at the camera which had Israeli flag emojis posted across the screen and wrote: “Wait why is there s**t on my screen

.”

Amer captioned the video: “Squeaky cleann

#freepalestine #palestine #fyp.”

On October 3, 2020, Amer posted a video on TikTok where she stared at the camera, with the Palestinian National Anthem playing in the background and these words on the screen: “Can we normalize the fact that Palestinians don’t want peace, we want LIBERATION.”

The anthem contains the lyrics: "My country, my nation, the nation of eternity. With my determination, my fire and the volcano of my revenge …

Amer commented: “This isn’t about peace. It’s about Liberation.” Amer captioned the video: “#freepalestinefromzionism #freepalestine #fyp #arab #palestinian #palestiniantiktok.”

In October 2020, Amer signed a letter of support for Professor Ariella Azoulay, who was reportedly criticized for giving “a biased, anti-Zionist presentation” titled: “Palestine is There, Where it Has Always Been,” during a Cornell University (Cornell) lecture series called “Into the Desert: Questions of Coloniality and Toxicity.”

In her lecture, Azoulay featured photos of Jews, the early pioneers of the modern State of Israel, who Azoulay referred to as “those who destroyed Palestine.”

After pushback from observers of the lecture, Cornell reportedly offered a counter lecture in the future.

On August 24, 2020, Amer posted to Facebook an article from Democracy Now, headlined: “Israeli Military Attacks Gaza for 10th Consecutive Day.” On August 15, 2020 Israel directed airstrikes at Hamas targets in Gaza, in response to incendiary balloons and rockets launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza that caused fires in Israel.

On August 20, 2020, Amer shared a Facebook post written by anti-Israel lawyer, Lamis Deek. The post featured a tweet announcing that five Israel “settlers” were wounded by “retaliation rocket fire.”

Deek wrote: “After 72years of ethnic cleansing, 14yrs of siege while caged in a ghetto under incremental massacres, calorie restriction, public assasination- and 4 days of israeli bombing, #Gaza responds with an attempt to deter Israeli violence, to exact some sort of accountability for Israeli criminal (sic), and admittedly genocidal, behavior.”

On August 20, 2020, Palestinian militants fired 12 rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip and Israel responded with three airstrikes on Hamas targets.

Demonizing Zionists

On November 4, 2020, Amer posted a video on TikTok where she danced in front of the camera to the soundtrack of a song called: “F**k Joe Biden.”

Amer showed a photo ofU.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amer wrote on the screen: “An

American Zion*st

is still a Zion*st. #greensc___reen whoever wins they’re both clearly Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian. #freepalestine #muslim #fyp #biden2020 #election2020 #fyp.”

On October 27, 2020, Amer posted a video on TikTok where she lip-synced to an Arabic song behind the words “Zionists don’t phase me. Death to Zionism.” Amer added the Arabic words: "Every Zionist is a dog."

Amer commented: “Going private for a bit” and soon after, her profile and video were inaccessible. When her profile became public again on November 5, 2020, the video was gone.

In a screenshot of the comments section of her video, someone wrote: “Death to zionists all of them!!!” Amer responded: “All of them.”

On October 14, 2020, a TikTok video made by Amer was posted on YouTube. Amer wrote on the screen: “POV [point of view] I find out you’re an Arab ‘Zionist’

,” while an Arabic song played in the background.

Amer counted on her fingers while mouthing the words to the song: “kuss ukhtak 3ala kuss ummak 3ala zubbi m'arras 3ala zebb [your mother's c**t on your sister's c**t on my mother's c**tmy grandma's c**t who f**ked your mom who gave birth to you.]”

In a September 22, 2020 panel interview on YouTube with Amer Zahr, Anais Amer complained [00:39:18] about “suppression” on her campus due to her SJP chapter becoming “unconstituted” and therefore unable to receive student funding.

Amer said [00:39:28] “the rumor has it that there were some Zionist donors that complained about the organization and they shut it down - unconstituted it” and added [00:40:27] about Zionist students “ … anything about Palestine, they feel threatened.”

Zahr asked why the aforementioned students felt threatened and Amer responded [00:41:20]: “because our existence is resistance and so they are directly threatened by that.”

In response to Zahr suggesting that Zionist students are not currently equipped to debate the issues, Amer said: [400:42:25] “… We know our stuff. We’re reading the right things … We have the Truth on our side… Fighting for justice shouldn’t be based on lies. And so that, to them, is a threat.”

On August 13, 2020, Amer posted a video on TikTok where the backing track calls different things “f**ked up.” Amer showed photos of then-U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris shaking hands with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amer wrote on the screen: “BIDEN AND HARRIS SUPPORT ISRAEL

. She is a cop. And a Zionist.”

Amer captioned the video: “disgusting #freepalestine #bidenharris2020

.”

Anti-Israel Activism

On September 24, 2020, Amer was featured in a photo posted by Suzanne Adely as a panelist at the YouTube panel event titled“Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice and Resistance: A conversation with Leila Khaled.” The video of the event was removed by YouTube for violating its terms of service.

On July 16, 2020, Amer was credited on Facebook by Within Our Lifetime (WOL) Palestine for providing the photos for a July 1, 2020 “Day of Rage'' rally the group hosted in Brooklyn, NY. The photos showed participants at the rally displaying PFLP flags and signs that read: “From U.S. to Palestine ABOLISH THE SETTLER STATE” and “END ZIONISM.”

In February 2018, NYC SJP was renamed Within Our Lifetime (WOL).

On July 10, 2020, Amer was credited on Facebook by the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) for providing the photos for a July 3, 2020 rally titled: “NO to the ANNEXATION,” in North Bergen, NJ.

On December 17, 2019, Amer launched a Facebook fundraiser in honor of her birthday with proceeds going to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF).

PCRF has been financially linked with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) which was shut down by the United States government for funneling donations to a terrorist organization.

Five individuals associated with the HLF were indicted and convicted for funneling funds to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid and sentenced in 2009 to federal prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.

PCRF also lists Islamic Relief, also known as Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), as one of its partner organizations. IRW was declared illegal by Israel for funneling donations to Hamas. In 2016, HSBC Bank reportedly cut ties with the group “over fears of terror funding.”

In an interview for the July-August 2020 issue of “Against the Current,” with Abdulhadi, Amer was thanked “for her assistance in preparing links for the online article. In the article, Abdulhadi compared “the U.S. settler colonial nation-state and Israel, South Africa and other settler states.” Abdulhadi then lauded JVP’s “Daily Exchange” campaign.

In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.