Aya Ghanameh

Overview

Aya Ghanameh has threatened violence against Zionists, justified terrorism against Israeli civilians, expressed support for violence, honored a terrorist leader and called for Israel’s destruction. 

Ghanameh has denied the Jewish connection to Israel, spread anti-Semitism, glorified terrorists, whitewashed terrorism and promoted hatred of Israelis and Zionists. She has also spread hatred of Israel, demonized Israel and Zionism, expressed support for violent protesters and engaged in anti-Israel activism.

As of March 2023, Ghanameh’s LinkedIn profile said she was the “Founder and President” of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), known as RSJP, from August 2020 to June 2021.  

Ghanameh designed the logo for the 2023 National SJP (NSJP) conference flier. The conference was held in Los Angeles, California, from February 17-19, 2023. 

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

In 2021, Ghanameh expressed solidarity with Yasmeen Mashayekh, a graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Senator who tweeted her desire to “kill every motherf**king Zionist.”

In October 2022, Ghanameh engaged [00:14:28] in activism with Within Our Lifetime (WOL), an anti-Israel activist group in New York City. One of WOL’s “Points of Unity” states: “We defend the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation by any means necessary.”

As of March 2023, Ghanameh’s LinkedIn said she graduated from RISD with a bachelor’s degree in Illustration in June 2021. She was listed as a “Research and Education Coordinator” who “worked with RISD’s administration as a Social Equity and Inclusion Advocate” from September 2020 to June 2021.

In March 2023, Ghanameh’s website said she planned to publish her first children’s picture book, “These Olive Trees,” in 2023. She was also listed as the illustrator for another children’s picture book, “Dear Muslim Child,” that was scheduled to be published in 2024. Her LinkedIn said she had been a “Children's Books & Gifts Design Fellow” at Chronicle Books from July 2021 to June 2022. RISD Rhode I. School Design.

On May 25, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted that she was offered a freelance job, after saying that the offer had initially been rescinded “because of my views on Palestine.” She tweeted that the job was “needed for my visa app” since she was “not a US resident.”

As of March 2023, Ghanameh’s LinkedIn said she lived in Brooklyn, New York.  

Threatening Violence Against Zionists

On May 17, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “wanna fight zionists irl [in real life] find me on risd's campus im ready.”

On May 10, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “if a zionist breathes near me today i will destroy you.”

On January 25, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “if i were tall the zionists would not stand a chance.”

Justifying Terrorism

On October 7, 2023, Ghanameh tweeted: “BDS (boycotting israel) is illegal in 32 US states. 223 Palestinians were killed when Gazans tried to peacefully protest at the border to demand their freedom. when you criminalize non-violence you will be met with violence. Gaza has breached the concentration camp’s walls.”

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, approximately 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 of men and women, torture, kidnappings and mutilation. Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ accounts for families to see. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”

As of November 10, 2023, over 1,200 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were murdered during the attacks. Hamas kidnapped 242 Israelis, including at least 30 children. At least 3,500 people were wounded, many severely.

As of December 25, 2023, Hamas had fired over 10,600 missiles from Gaza at Israeli communities, with Hamas claiming 5,000 the day it launched the attack. While Hamas was the main group involved, members of other terror groups also joined in the atrocities.

Many Palestinian civilians, including women and children, also participated in the attack. In several instances, Gazans who worked in the targeted Israeli communities gave intelligence to Hamas on where to strike.

In a December 2023 poll, 57% of Gazans and 82% of Palestinians in the West Bank supported the terror attacks. 42% of Gazans were supportive of Hamas rule, up from 38% before the attacks, and 44% in the West Bank supported Hamas, up from 12%.

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.

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.

Terrorists 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 as young as an infant of nine months and as old as 85 were kidnapped and taken forcibly to Gaza. Hamas has not allowed the Red Cross access to the hostages.

Over 360 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. Some were raped and then shot in the head. Others, including young girls, were raped and murdered or mutilated in other ways. Israeli officials opened an unprecedented investigation into the widespread sexual assault. Forensic analysis of corpses showed evidence of torture and rape. Hamas terrorists said they were given explicit orders to carry out the atrocities, including chopping off legs and raping the corpses of murdered victims.

A terrorist detained by Israel admitted he raped an Israeli woman when he broke into a kibbutz house during the October 7, 2023 attack. In March 2024, a former hostage of Hamas publicly stated she was sexually abused and tortured while in captivity.

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 Joe 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.

Hamas called 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.

On January 27, 2023, on the day of a terror attack targeting civilians in Jerusalem, Ghanameh tweeted: “resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

On January 27, 2023, on the evening of the Jewish Sabbath, Palestinian terrorist Alqam Khayri opened fire on Jewish civilians in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of Jerusalem. Khayri killed seven people and wounded three before he was shot and killed by the police.  

In the same thread as her tweet above, Ghanameh tweeted: “when they pretend to be shocked it’s always so funny like what.”

In the same thread, when asked if it was good to shoot at civilians, Ghanameh tweeted: “it’s a good thing settlers aren’t civilians.”   

Supporting Violence

On April 9, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “yeah i support violent resistance and what about it? liberation by any and all means necessary. …” 

On the same day, Ghanameh tweeted: “you can't be neutral or pro peace when that isn't already the status quo. palestinians are fighting for something and your words are offensive. liberation by any means necessary as stipulated by international law.”

Ghanameh’s tweet was objecting against a statement condemning terrorism and mourning victims of a terror attack in Tel Aviv where a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a crowded bar, killing three and wounding more than a dozen civilians.

Also on April 9, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “‘israeli civilians’ don’t exist. militant settler armed society who r all drafted = everyone is a soldier. even if they’re not officially in the army, they are a militia as a society. this isn’t even a hot take it’s true. no all lives mattering resisting a settler superpower.”

On April 10, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “resistance by any means necessary and i stand by everything i said! ...”

On April 11, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “understanding and not delegitimizing violent resistance is not the same as ‘celebrating’ death… we’re way past the point of giving a s**t & palestinians are doing whatever they can and unfortunately for us more than anyone else, it works.”

Honoring a Terrorist Leader

On December 22, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “some days the liberation of palestine feel hopeless. was reading leila khaled's autobiography from 1973, and everything has truly gotten worse. f**k the americans, zionists, and arab governments. long live the revolution.”

Leila Khaled is a leading member 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 [00:36:07] for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.  

On September 23, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted against the decision by Zoom to cancel an event featuring Khaled. She wrote: “leila khaled has every right to speak and we have every right to hear her. f**k zoom, facebook, and youtube for deplatforming this event and censoring palestinians.”

On the same day, Ghanameh tweeted: “the way leila khaled don’t give a f**k.”

Calling for Israel’s Destruction

On June 18, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “...i will always stand by everything i’ve ever said. it’s not my fault if you’re on the wrong side of history. death to israel❤️‍🔥.”

On June 18, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “saying ‘death to israel’ is perfectly normal & acceptable & it’s funny that zionists get mad. states are not people. states do not have rights. you cannot threaten ‘violence’ upon a state as an average person. wishing for the dismantlement & ‘death’ of a colony is good, actually.”

On July 5, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “death to israel❤️‍🔥.”

On March 16, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted an image of a sticker and poster she designed for sale on Etsy, with text that said: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” is a chant used [00:02:47] to call for the elimination of the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. In April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the chant as antisemitic.


On January 14, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “zionists think ‘from the river to the sea’ is antisemitic bc [because] it calls for the ‘destruction’ of israel... decolonization is the point. if you’re not advocating for abolishing the settler state and a free palestine for all with refugee right of return, you’re anti-palestinian.”

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.


On November 16, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “…israel is a settler-ethnostate built on palestinian blood, it should not exist, and everyone expelled has the right to return.”

Denying the Jewish Connection to Israel

On February 19, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “my mentions are full of creepy zionists bc [because] i said you ugly colonists are not indigenous to palestine. guess what? you’re still not indigenous to palestine♥️ cry about it somewhere else.”

One way anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is by denying [00:17:45] Jewish history, with the aim of delegitimizing restored Jewish sovereignty, attacking Israel’s legitimacy and portraying Jews as foreign to the Land of Israel.

On August 18, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “the z*onist argument that jews indigenous to palestine makes no sense lol [laughing out loud]. there are jews native to yemen, to bulgaria, and even to palestine but to say ALL jews are ‘indigenous’ to palestine is to racialize a religion that’s been multi-ethnic and cultural for a millennia.”

On the same day, Ghanameh tweeted: “y’all look stupid saying your white a** is native is palestine.”

Spreading Anti-Semitism

On April 9, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “isaac if ur gonna stalk me and repost my tweets u could unblock me and not be a zio coward😩.” Ghanameh’s tweet was in response to a re-post of a 2022 Ghanameh tweet that supported “violent resistance.”

The term "Zio" is a common derogatory reference to Zionists, as well as an often-used anti-Semitic slur among white supremacists.


On March 30, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “why are mutuals liking this dudes post? in case y’all don’t know he’s a zio and talks to uglies like blake!”

On March 29, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “omg i’ve been featured in a video now next level fame. stay bothered zio rats.”

On August 26, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “normalize calling zionism out as a form of racism, just as insidious as any other form of racism.”

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.


The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “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.” 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.
On December 21, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “that j*wishoncampus IG [Instagram] account is a cancer their recent post about the Tufts SJP referendum has me losing my mind…”

Ghanameh’s tweet included screenshots of an Instagram post by an account called Jewish On Campus. The post took issue with Tufts SJP promoting the slogan “From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free” and with a map that labeled all of Israel as “OCCUPIED TERRITORY.” 

Jewish on Campus is a movement of young Jewish people seeking “to end antisemitism on college campuses and beyond.”

On January 15, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “risd has an ‘anti-racist’ coalition of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and People of Color] that started in the summer that i am a part of. we released a demands doc [document] to the institution in late june. one of my contributions was…cutting ties with our shared Hillel with brown.”

Hillel International is a Jewish campus organization serving college students at 850 universities worldwide.

Brown RISD Hillel describes itself as “the center for Jewish life at both Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design.”

Support for Terrorists

On January 6, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted her approval that “hisham abu hawash ended his 141 day hunger strike.”

In October 2021, six prisoners affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)'s armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, chose to prolong their hunger strike in protest of their administrative detention by Israel. The six men were Kayed al-Fasfus, Miqdad al-Qawasmeh, Alaa Aaraj, Hisham Abu Hawwash, Shadi Abu-Akr and Ayyad Hureimi.  

On September 6, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “all prisoners in the west bank incarcerated by israel are illegally incarcerated…the escape of 6 palestinian prisoners last night is a huge win and must be celebrated! #FreeThemAll.”

On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa Prison in Israel. The escaped prisoners were convicted members of the terror organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who were jailed for their involvement in attacks carried out during the second intifada. All were recaptured by September 19, 2021, by Israeli authorities.

On June 23, 2020, Ghanameh shared a Facebook post eulogizing Ahmad Erakat.

Ahmad Erekat [Ahmad Moustafa Erekat; Ahmed Erakat] was killed by Israeli security forces after he accelerated and rammed his car into soldiers at a checkpoint. One female soldier was injured. The incident was captured on video.  

Whitewashing Terrorism

On July 4, 2023, during an Israeli counterterrorism operation in the Jenin refugee camp, Ghanameh tweeted: “some of you need to take a step back and consider why you come on here to discuss how people should have empathy for settlers affected by palestinian resistance over talking about the literal raiding bombardment and murder of palestinians in jenin.”

In early July 2023, Israeli forces launched a two-day counterterrorism operation in the Jenin refugee camp. Its goal was to target terrorists and dismantle the terror infrastructure of organizations such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). By the end of the operation, the Israeli army had reportedly dismantled “hundreds of explosives, weapons caches and underground tunnels.”  

On December 3, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “hamas is a political party and resistance is not about ‘killing jews’ it’s about fighting an occupying power, a settler state with billions of $ in military advantage & power...”

Hamas is a designated terrorist organization by the European Union, Canada, Australia, the United States and Israel.

Hamas's founding charter calls for the murder of Jews, while the terror group’s “summer camps” have taught children how to wage war.  

On July 7, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “...hamas is not a threat to israel’s grade A military and does not excuse the continual assault on gaza.”

Hatred of Israelis

On February 28, 2023, Ghanameh tweeted: “white settler from connecticut moves halfway across the world to join the occupying military in palestine, and dies at the hands of the indigenous population fighting for liberation. he died for a racist ethnonationalist ideology. his memory will be anything but a blessing.”

Ghanameh was responding to a February 28, 2023 tweet that said: “We are shattered by the loss of Elan Ganeles, a US-Israeli citizen & IDF vet murdered today by Palestinian terrorists. He volunteered in his local community & sought to better the world. May his memory be a blessing.”

On February 27, 2023, during a wave of Palestinian violence against Israelis, U.S. citizen Elan Ganeles was shot to death by a terrorist while driving near Jericho.  

On April 20, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “‘where would the settlers go’—most israeli settlers have dual citizenship. last may, when the uprising started, many quickly packed up & left. i don’t think settlers would want to be governed by palestinians so a free palestine (not a jewish ethnostate) wouldn’t be ideal for them.”

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. 

On February 7, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “its not a case of attacking systems it’s a case of attacking people and if we ignore their role we ignore their culpability. israeli settlers r all complicit, all serve in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces], all vote for fascist gov. etc. and their identity itself is a colonial one.”

Hatred of Zionists

On January 21, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “y’all are stupid if you think being a person of color means you can’t be a colonizer. colonialism is a system of control it’s not always about whiteness. looking at you, zionist settlers *from the middle east and north africa*”

On November 13, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “i think you being a zionist speaks for the racist part on its own...”

On March 19, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “...zionism is racism and all zionists are racist ethnonationalist genocide deniers🥰.”

On February 18, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “zionists shut the f**k up challenge.”

On January 27, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “can the TL [timeline] go back to fighting zionists rather than fighting each other? i volunteer j*wishoncampus to cyberbully…” 

On January 23, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “apparently it’s a hot take for palestinians who’ve been victims of zionism in every capacity in israel and in america to assume a white american jew related to a zionist policy maker probably hates us and harbors hatred against us. this isn’t antisemitism it’s called trauma.”

On October 11, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “f**k gal gadot zionist idf scum💗.” Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and former IDF soldier.

Hatred of Israel

On February 6, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted: “If israel has a million haters im one of them. If israel has 5 haters I'm one of them. If israel has 1 hater that one is me. If israel has no haters I’m no longer alive. If the world is against israel | support the entire world. Till my last breath, i’ll hate israel.”

On August 13, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “f**k you, f**k the UAE [United Arab Emirates], and f**k israel,” in response to a tweet by U.S. President Trump announcing the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

On June 5, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “f**k israel. all my homies hate israel.”

Demonizing Israel

On September 4, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “... people know your ‘state’ [Israel] is an illegitimate nuclear parasite built on palestinian graves that continues to grow on palestinian graves. israeli student families settled on occupied land and benefit from our ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

On August 19, 2020, Ghanameh also tweeted: “crazy how many replies are using blood quantum & race science and continue to appropriate indigenous language to justify the israeli ethnostate and ethnic cleansing of palestine.”

On July 4, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted a graphic she made that accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” “dispossession of the indigenous Palestinian people” and of establishing an “ethnostate by means of settler-colonialism.”

Also on July 4, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted another graphic she made that called for “dismantling and overcoming Israel’s apartheid regime… by adopting effective measures, including economic sanctions.”

On June 4, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted a graphic promoting BDS and urging to “support Palestinian liberation through boycotting companies working here complicit in Apartheid.”

On May 27, 2020, evoking the “Deadly Exchange” narrative, Ghanameh tweeted: “israel 🤝 america training cops together to police and kill poc [people of color] under systems of white settler colonial violence.”

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.

Demonizing Zionism

On February 8, 2022, Ghanameh tweeted that “zionism is white supremacy and ethno-nationalism.”

On December 3, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted: “… zionism is an ideology premised around my erasure …”

On July 4, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted that Zionism was “an ideology premised around ethnic cleansing and settler-colonialism.”

On June 3, 2020, Ghanameh tweeted: “get out of occupied palestine then i’ll believe you’re really trying to dismantle white supremacy. zionism is a white settler colonial institution!”

Supporting Violent Protesters

On March 28, 2020, on the second anniversary of the “March of Return,” Ghanameh posted to Instagram a graphic depicting the Gaza March of Return riots, with text that said: “LONG LIVE THE MARTYRS OF THE GREAT RETURN MARCH #RETURN WITHIN OUR LIFETIME” 

On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “March of Return.” The violent demonstrations were instigated by Hamas on the Israeli-Gaza border. Participants declared their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”

March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Rioters also made numerous attempts to breach Israel’s border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.

Agitators also threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires. 

Solidarity with Yasmeen Mashayekh

In November 2021, Ghanameh tweeted in support of Yasmeen Mashayekh who was [00:11:08] in the middle of a national controversy over anti-Semitism she spread on social media that year.

In October 2021, Mashayekh was listed as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Senator for USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering (Viterbi). In May 2021, she tweeted: “I want to f**king kill every motherf**king Zionist.” She also tweeted: “yel3an el yahood [curse the Jews]😌.” 

Mashayekh has also spread violent hatred of Israeli Jews, called for the destruction of Israel and America, expressed support for Hamas and glorified terrorists. She was condemned after Canary Mission exposed her anti-Semitic tweets. 

On November 5, 2021, Ghanameh tweeted at USC Viterbi: “...Yasmeen is Palestinian— she has every right to criticize state violence, speak up about the colony occupying her, the ideology erasing her existence, and her experiences. Shame on you.”

Anti-Israel Activism

On October 14, 2022, Ghanameh participated [00:14:28] in an anti-Israel rally in Times Square that was co-hosted by WOL. Ghanameh stood [00:18:21] behind a banner that said: “We Will Free Palestine Within Our Lifetime.” 

WOL co-founder Nerdeen Kiswani spoke at the rally and claimed [00:18:24] that Israelis are “settler colonialists” and “white Jewish supremacists in the so-called state of Israel.” Protesters at the rally chanted [00:01:06]: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.  

The second intifada (2000-2005) was characterized by more than 120 suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes.

On October 9, 2022, Ghanameh participated in a WOL protest that targeted financial institutions invested in Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense technology company. She held a sign that read: “Shut Elbit Down.” In an Instagram post promoting the protest, WOL accused Elbit investors of “profiting off of the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”
 
On August 28, 2020, Ghanameh posted to Instagram: “For the last few weeks I’ve been working with RISD [Rhode Island School of Design] and a group of students to establish @risdsjp [SJP chapter in RISD].”  

On the same date, Ghanameh posted on Facebook “please follow us here, and on instagram @ risdsjp♥️” and linked to an RSJP [RISD Students for Justice in Palestine] form, which said: “At RISD, we organize our own independent teach-ins that range from info-sessions to solidarity workshops, as well as partner with Brown University's SJP and JVP chapters to organize guest speakers and events.”

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) is an anti-Israel organization active on American campuses.  

On August 30, 2020, Ghanameh shared a Facebook post by RISD SJP and said: “Fill out the link to the interest form attached to either support our work, or to join our RSJP team!”

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.


Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aya.ghanameh   

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ayaghanameh  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayaghanameh/

Instagram 2: https://www.instagram.com/ayaillustrates/



Aya Ghanameh
Status:
Professional
University:
Rhode-Island-Design
Organizations:
BDS,
SJP

Related Profiles:

Last Modified:
06/23/2025

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Infamous Quotes

“wanna fight zionists irl [in real life] find me on risd's [Rhode Island School of Design] campus im ready.”
“if a zionist breathes near me today i will destroy you.”
“yeah i support violent resistance and what about it? liberation by any and all means necessary…”
“resistance by any means necessary and i stand by everything i said! ...”
“some days the liberation of palestine feel hopeless. was reading leila khaled's autobiography from 1973, and everything has truly gotten worse. f**k the americans, zionists, and arab governments. long live the revolution.”
“y’all [you all] look stupid saying your white a** is native is palestine.”
“...zionism is racism and all zionists are racist ethnonationalist genocide deniers 🥰.”
“If israel has a million haters im one of them. If israel has 5 haters I'm one of them. If israel has 1 hater that one is me. If israel has no haters I’m no longer alive. If the world is against israel | support the entire world. Till my last breath, i’ll hate israel.”
“...i will always stand by everything i’ve ever said. it’s not my fault if you’re on the wrong side of history. death to israel❤️‍🔥.”
“saying ‘death to israel’ is perfectly normal & acceptable & it’s funny that zionists get mad…wishing for the dismantlement & ‘death’ of a colony is good, actually.”