Asmer Safi

Overview

Asmer Safi was an activist in a Harvard anti-Israel group that organized a statement blaming Israel for Hamas war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, carried out on October 7, 2023.

Safi, who also goes by Asmer Asrar Safi, has expressed support for terrorists, promoted hatred of Israel and engaged in anti-Israel activism as a member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) at Harvard College (Harvard PSC). Safi was reportedly an organizer for Harvard PSC during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Harvard PSC organized the statement blaming Israel for Hamas war crimes in October 2023. PSC is an alternative name for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

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

In April 2022, Safi was an activist [slide 1] with Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), a BDS campaign launched by Harvard PSC in February 2020.

Three Harvard student groups where Safi has been an activist signed the PSC statement. In November 2023, Safi’s Twitter bio said he organized with Harvard South Asians for Forward-Thinking Advocacy and Research (SAFAR). In the 2020-2021 academic year, he held senior leadership positions in the Harvard College Pakistan Students Association (HCPSA) and the Harvard Pakistan Forum (HPF).

On October 11, 2023, after days of public outrage over the PSC statement, HCPSA issued a statement attempting to retract its initial support.

As of October 2023, Safi’s LinkedIn profile said he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social studies at Harvard and was slated to graduate in 2024. As of the same date, he was a leader for Harvard’s First Year International Program (FIP).

As of November 2023, Safi wrote on Facebook that he was located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Leader of a Group Blaming Israel for Hamas War Crimes

On October 8, 2023, Harvard’s Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) released on Instagram a “Joint Statement by Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups on the Situation in Palestine.”

The statement backed the war crimes, including beheadings of children, perpetrated by the terror group Hamas against Israeli civilians. It read: “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” The statement also claimed the atrocities “did not occur in a vacuum” and that “The coming days will require a firm stand against colonial retaliation.” The list of student groups that signed on to the statement was later removed following public outrage.

For more information on the complete list of Harvard students involved in signing the statement, see here.

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, an estimated 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border with Gaza. They executed numerous war crimes on civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape, torture, kidnappings and desecration of bodies. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”

Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ social media for families to see.

As of October 29, 2023, over 1,400 Israelis, the vast majority being civilians, had reportedly been murdered during the attacks three weeks earlier. Details are below. Hamas kidnapped an estimated 230 Israelis, including 30 children. Over 3,000 were wounded, many severely. As of the same date, over 8,000 missiles had been fired from Gaza at Israeli communities, with Hamas claiming 5,000 the day it launched the attack.

Hamas began by launching thousands of rockets at Israel and using motorized paragliders “to infiltrate Israeli territory and secure terrain.” Terrorist ground forces destroyed parts of the border fence with Gaza, murdering and kidnapping soldiers.

The terrorists then turned their attention to 22 communities around Gaza, where they went house to house to savagely murder, mutilate and kidnap anyone they found. They executed children in front of their parents and parents in front of their children. They also beheaded children and babies, and massacred entire families, burning some alive who hid in their homes. Hamas terrorists kicked around the heads of beheaded victims like soccer balls. Israelis between the ages of three and 85 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. Hamas has not allowed the Red Cross access to the hostages.

Over 260 unarmed young men and women were surrounded and slaughtered at one music festival alone. Bodies were publicly desecrated, with some dragged through the streets of Gaza, then beheaded. Women were raped next to the bodies of dead friends.

Forensic analysis of dead bodies showed evidence of torture and rape. Hamas terrorists said they were given explicit orders to carry out the atrocities, including chopping off victims’ legs and raping corpses. Hamas intentionally targeted youth centers and elementary schools to execute and kidnap children. They also took stimulant drugs to give added energy to murder and maim. Nazis also took drugs during World War II to fuel their anti-Semitic massacres.

The atrocities were acknowledged as the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, including by U.S. President Biden, who also compared Hamas to ISIS. Hamas attacked on the annual holiday of Simchat Torah, which that year was on Shabbat, the weekly Jewish Sabbath.

The Hamas atrocities against Israeli civilians are crimes against humanity according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The mass murder generated great sympathy for Israel from many countries but led to countless celebrations among Palestinians and anti-Israel organizations in America that back the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In addition, Hamas called the the October 7, 2023 terror attacks “Al-Aqsa Flood,” a reference to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the mosque has been a pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before Israel was founded in 1948. Such propaganda has led to multiple periods of violence against Israeli civilians.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 2] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

Support for Terrorists

Safi retweeted an October 7, 2023 tweet that read: “Palestinians have faced decades of colonial occupation at the hands of Israeli state. As the world ignored them, Palestinians witnessed the erasure of their territory & identity. The oppressed have the right to resist. There can be no peace without justice! #FreePalestine.”

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.

On October 11, 2023, Safi tweeted an image of terrorist leader Ghassan Kanafani and wrote: “Thinking about the words of Ghassan Kanafani as Harvard faces one of its most intense onslaughts of doxxing, intimidation and harassment. Here's to rejecting occupation and apartheid in the face of everything today…”

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.

Hatred of Israel

Safi signed [pg. 3] a 2022 letter demanding Harvard Kennedy School suspend the weekly study group led by Israeli Major General Amos Yadlin, titled: “Israeli National Security in a Shifting Middle East: Historical and Strategic Perspectives for an Uncertain Future.”

The letter alleged: “Harvard’s hosting of Yadlin as a senior fellow not only normalizes Israeli war crimes, but represents an act of violence against Palestinian students who face six decades of Israeli ethnic cleansing, settler colonialism, and apartheid.”

During Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW), Safi co-sponsored [pg. 7] a May 12, 2021, statement that claimed [p.1]: “The current escalation of violence against Palestinians in Palestine and in Israel follows years of systematic oppression and ethnic cleansing committed by the State of Israel.”

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 OGW, carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

The statement also alleged that “Forced evictions” in Sheikh Jarrah “are representative of Israel's systematic settler-colonial violence that serves to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from East Jerusalem.”

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.

The statement concluded by calling on the “Harvard administration” to divest from “companies that are involved in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise…”

On June 24, 2021, Safi authored an op-ed in the Crimson titled: “Progressive, Except for Palestine.” Safi referenced Israel’s OGW, claiming that on May 4, 2021, assaults began on “peaceful Palestinian protesters rallying against the impending eviction of Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah.”

He continued: “Days later, Israeli forces wounded over 300 worshipers at the Al-Aqsa mosque, where thousands of individuals were gathered for prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.”

In May 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound following claims the Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger. The subsequent incitement was a leading factor in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza into Israel later that month. Israel responded by launching “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza. Allegations of Jews “threatening” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque have been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews predating the State of Israel.

Safi later wrote: “Israel’s apartheid regime has imposed a hegemonic, authoritarian rule over Palestinians.” He also began the op-ed by referring to the creation of the State of Israel as “al-Nakba.”

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.

In the op-ed, Safi also endorsed the May 12, 2022, statement that he co-sponsored, writing that it “marks a promising start towards changing the narrative on Palestine and the Israeli apartheid regime — however, our work has not yet ended.”

Anti-Israel Activism (PSC, BDS)

On September 4, 2023, Safi reportedly disrupted Harvard’s annual Convocation Ceremony following an address by Harvard Dean Rakesh Khurana.

At the Convocation, Safi reportedly shouted: “‘Dean [Rakesh] Khurana, you talk about equity, you talk about justice, you talk about truth…Here’s the real truth — Harvard supports, upholds, and invests in Israeli apartheid, and the oppression of Palestinians.’”

Safi also reportedly disrupted Harvard’s 2022 Convocation Ceremony when he and Josh Willcox, another Harvard PSC member, held up a banner following Dean Khurana’s address that read: “Veritas? Here’s the real truth: Harvard Supports Israeli Apartheid.” Protesters also reportedly chanted: “free Palestine.”

On August 31, 2022, Safi featured in a Harvard PSC Instagram photo from the disruption. The post read: “Here’s the hard truth: Harvard supports Israeli Apartheid. How can anyone speak of justice, equity, and inclusion whilst making money off of ethnic cleansing and private prisons?”

On June 6, 2022, the anti-Israel publication +972 Magazine published an article that quoted Safi. Safi spoke in support of a display known as a “mock apartheid wall” that Harvard PSC erected during their Israel Apartheid Week (IAW). Safi was quoted describing the wall as “emotionally very powerful.”

The “mock apartheid wall” is a series of panels meant to represent Israel's security barrier, which was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks and in response to Palestinian sniper attacks. Panels feature misleading information and graphics intended to demonize Israel. The “mock apartheid wall” is often featured at Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) events organized annually by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters on many North American university campuses.

On April 21, 2022, during Harvard PSC’s IAW, Safi featured in a Harvard PSC Instagram photo posing in front of their “mock apartheid wall” with other activists.

Harvard PSC’s wall had a panel that said: “ZIONISM is RACISM SETTLER COLONIALISM WHITE SUPREMACY APARTHEID.” The wall also promoted BDS.

On April 7, 2022, Safi appeared [slide 1] in a HOOP Instagram photo protesting the “study group with ret. IDF [Israel Defense Forces] general Amos Yadlin.” In the same post, Safi featured [slide 2] in a video banging a drum and marching through a university building while protesters chanted [00:00:25]: “Yadlin Yadlin you can’t hide, we charge you with war crimes” and [00:00:51] “Yadlin supports a racist state.”

In the same Instagram post, Safi featured [slide 3] in another video with activists, this time outside of a building, banging the drum and chanting [00:00:08] “Yadlin supports a racist state.”

On February 8, 2022, Safi featured in a Harvard PSC Facebook photo holding up a sign that read: “SAY NO TO SABRA,” a reference to Sabra hummus The photo was from a pro-BDS rally that was organized by HOOP. The protest called on Harvard University Dining Services to“stop purchasing and providing Sabra in all its dining halls and cafes.”

Sabra Hummus is partially owned by an Israeli company, the Strauss Group.

Protesters at the rally also held signs that read: “Why does your Hummus Taste Like Apartheid?” and “Sabra supports a colonial occupation.” Protesters also reportedly chanted: “Don’t buy products laced with hate, Sabra funds a racist state.”

On May 3, 2021 the Crimson published an article titled: “Palestine Solidarity Committee Hosts Virtual Israeli Apartheid Week.” Safi reportedly emailed the Crimson a statement for the article that “this year’s virtual IAW marked a ‘vital continuation’ of the committee’s advocacy on campus prior to the Covid-19 pandemic… ”

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.