Benjamin Safran
Overview
Benjamin Safran has demonized Jewish organizations and a Philadelphia philanthropist, engaged in anti-Israel activism and endorsed an anti-Israel agitator. Safran is also a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.Safran was a member of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Philadelphia (JVP Philly) in 2018-2019 and was affiliated with JVP Philly in 2017 and 2021.
As of April 2022, Safran was listed as the Academic Programs Coordinator at the Cogut Institute for the Humanities at Brown University (Brown).
As of April 2022, Safran’s Facebook page said Safran was a Former Adjunct Faculty at Temple University (Temple) from August 2013 to May 2021.
As of the same date, Safran’s personal website said Safran had taught courses in music history, theory, and race and diversity studies at Temple.
As of the same date, Safran’s LinkedIn said Safran graduated from Haverford College (Haverford) with a bachelor’s degree in Music, Education and Urban Studies in 2013, and graduated from Temple with a Ph.D. in Music in 2019 .
As of April, 2022, Safran’s LinkedIn said Safran was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Demonizing Jewish Organizations
In 2017, Safran participated in two JVP Philly protests against the ADL as part of JVP’s “Deadly Exchange” campaign. On November 8, 2017, JVP Philly held a protest outside the Philadelphia offices of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as part of JVP’s “Deadly Exchange” campaign.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign in 2017. The campaign claimed that American Jewish organizations promoted human rights abuses. A video for the campaign by JVP accused American Jewish organizations of planning programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance“racist policies.”
JVP Philly tweeted from the protest: “‘we're gonna rise up, rise up till it's gone!’” JVP Philly also tweeted a photo from the protest and wrote: “JVP Philly members try to deliver our petition to @ADLPhiladelphia, but are told no one will speak to us.”
JVP’s petition for the Deadly Exchange campaign said: “Do not host another National Counter Terrorism Seminar or Advanced Training School. Dispatching US law enforcement to trade tactics with Israeli police and military agents defends and deepens Israel's systems of military occupation, and exacerbates the existing crisis of police violence in the US.”
On October 22, 2017, JVP Philly held a protest against the ADL outside the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference (IACP), where the ADL was a participant. JVP Philly posted to Facebook that the protest was staged in order “to demand that the ADL stop funding police exchange programs between the U.S. and Israel...”
The Facebook event page for the protest said: “These exchanges exacerbate racist police violence, militarization, and surveillance both here and in Israel/Palestine...”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign in 2017. The campaign claimed that American Jewish organizations promoted human rights abuses. A video for the campaign by JVP accused American Jewish organizations of planning programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance“racist policies.”
JVP Philly tweeted from the protest: “‘we're gonna rise up, rise up till it's gone!’” JVP Philly also tweeted a photo from the protest and wrote: “JVP Philly members try to deliver our petition to @ADLPhiladelphia, but are told no one will speak to us.”
JVP’s petition for the Deadly Exchange campaign said: “Do not host another National Counter Terrorism Seminar or Advanced Training School. Dispatching US law enforcement to trade tactics with Israeli police and military agents defends and deepens Israel's systems of military occupation, and exacerbates the existing crisis of police violence in the US.”
On October 22, 2017, JVP Philly held a protest against the ADL outside the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference (IACP), where the ADL was a participant. JVP Philly posted to Facebook that the protest was staged in order “to demand that the ADL stop funding police exchange programs between the U.S. and Israel...”
The Facebook event page for the protest said: “These exchanges exacerbate racist police violence, militarization, and surveillance both here and in Israel/Palestine...”
Demonizing a Philadelphia Philanthropist
In September 2021, Safran participated in a JVP Philly protest held on the Jewish festival of Sukkot, outside the private residence of Philadelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass. The protest was part of a JVP Philly campaign of harassment against Yass. On September 23, 2021, during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, JVP Philly activists erected a tent on the private lawn of Jeffrey Yass to protest his funding of various causes in the United States and Israel.
JVP Philly protesters gathered there with signs that said: “YASS FUNDS FASCISTS” and “YASS FUNDS ISRAELI APARTHEID,” as well as “YASS CASH HARMS OUR PLANET” and “YASS CASH HARMS OUR SCHOOLS.”JVP Swarthmore also participated in the protest.
A JVP Philly Facebook post about the protest claimed: “...his money is making the world a more dangerous, violent, and unequal place…But we are watching…His neighbors are hearing about it. His employees are hearing about it. The word is out. #AllEyesOnYass 🧿.”
JVP Philly passed out a flyer to Yass’s neighbors that claimed Yass was financing “Israeli apartheid policies which cause great harm to Palestinians and any possibility of peace in the region.”
The flyer also said: “TIRED OF SEEING US HERE? TELL JEFF HIS CHOICES ARE NOT JUST HARMING THE WORLD, THEY’RE BUGGING HIS NEIGHBORS TOO. MAYBE THAT WILL MAKE HIM CHANGE HIS WAYS!”
The protest reportedly marked the launch of JVP Philly’s “All Eyes on Yass” campaign, following two other protests they had held earlier that year against Yass.
On June 4, 2021, JVP Philly held a protest with around 100 participants outside Yass’s home. JVP Philly accused Yass of funding “the displacement and murder of Palestinians” and demanded that he stop his support of pro-Israel initiatives.
Protesters stood in Yass’s front yard holding [00:00:24] a large sign that said: “ISRAELI APARTHEID FUNDED HERE” and shouted [00:01:30] “shame” while banging on tables.
In a Facebook live stream of the protest, Elana Baurer, a JVP organizer, said [00:00:35] the protesters were calling on Yass to “stop participating in the ongoing Nakba.”
At the protest, Alissa Wise, a JVP leader, said [00:11:30] into a megaphone: “last week we were at his office…this week we’re at his house because his employees, his staff, his colleagues, his neighbors, they know what he’s doing,” and continued [00:12:20]: “we must build outrage in everyone in his community until we get what we want.”
On May 21, 2021, JVP Philly held a sit-in at the lobby of Yass’s office in Philadelphia. Protesters held anti-Israel banners outside the office and accused [00:00:40] Yass and his business partner, Arthur Dantchik, of “funding genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing” in Israel, as they chanted [00:00:52]: “Israeli apartheid is funded here, Jews say Free Palestine.”
JVP Philly activists also placed flyers on employees’ cars that accused Israel of “the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians…and violent murder and destruction.”
The protest ended with JVP Philly leader Alissa Wise leaving a voicemail on Yass’s personal number, saying [00:21:08]: “what you’re doing to the Palestinian people is a shande [disgrace]...we’re really disgusted by what you’re funding and we want to urge you to cease funding it now...and we’ll keep coming back as long as it takes.”
JVP Philly protesters gathered there with signs that said: “YASS FUNDS FASCISTS” and “YASS FUNDS ISRAELI APARTHEID,” as well as “YASS CASH HARMS OUR PLANET” and “YASS CASH HARMS OUR SCHOOLS.”JVP Swarthmore also participated in the protest.
A JVP Philly Facebook post about the protest claimed: “...his money is making the world a more dangerous, violent, and unequal place…But we are watching…His neighbors are hearing about it. His employees are hearing about it. The word is out. #AllEyesOnYass 🧿.”
JVP Philly passed out a flyer to Yass’s neighbors that claimed Yass was financing “Israeli apartheid policies which cause great harm to Palestinians and any possibility of peace in the region.”
The flyer also said: “TIRED OF SEEING US HERE? TELL JEFF HIS CHOICES ARE NOT JUST HARMING THE WORLD, THEY’RE BUGGING HIS NEIGHBORS TOO. MAYBE THAT WILL MAKE HIM CHANGE HIS WAYS!”
The protest reportedly marked the launch of JVP Philly’s “All Eyes on Yass” campaign, following two other protests they had held earlier that year against Yass.
On June 4, 2021, JVP Philly held a protest with around 100 participants outside Yass’s home. JVP Philly accused Yass of funding “the displacement and murder of Palestinians” and demanded that he stop his support of pro-Israel initiatives.
Protesters stood in Yass’s front yard holding [00:00:24] a large sign that said: “ISRAELI APARTHEID FUNDED HERE” and shouted [00:01:30] “shame” while banging on tables.
In a Facebook live stream of the protest, Elana Baurer, a JVP organizer, said [00:00:35] the protesters were calling on Yass to “stop participating in the ongoing 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.
At the protest, Alissa Wise, a JVP leader, said [00:11:30] into a megaphone: “last week we were at his office…this week we’re at his house because his employees, his staff, his colleagues, his neighbors, they know what he’s doing,” and continued [00:12:20]: “we must build outrage in everyone in his community until we get what we want.”
On May 21, 2021, JVP Philly held a sit-in at the lobby of Yass’s office in Philadelphia. Protesters held anti-Israel banners outside the office and accused [00:00:40] Yass and his business partner, Arthur Dantchik, of “funding genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing” in Israel, as they chanted [00:00:52]: “Israeli apartheid is funded here, Jews say Free Palestine.”
JVP Philly activists also placed flyers on employees’ cars that accused Israel of “the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians…and violent murder and destruction.”
The protest ended with JVP Philly leader Alissa Wise leaving a voicemail on Yass’s personal number, saying [00:21:08]: “what you’re doing to the Palestinian people is a shande [disgrace]...we’re really disgusted by what you’re funding and we want to urge you to cease funding it now...and we’ll keep coming back as long as it takes.”
Anti-Israel Activism
On July 10, 2021, Safran participated in a protest titled: “Philly for Palestine: March Against Israeli Apartheid.” The protest was co-sponsored by the Philadelphia chapters of JVP, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and IfNotNow (INN).Protesters at the rally reportedly chanted: “We don’t want your ‘two states,’ we want all of ‘48.” They also held [slide 8] a flag with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) logo. One protester held a PFLP poster with a quote that said: “VICTORY TO THE INTIFADA AND ALL WHO RESIST ZIONISM.”
The PFLP is a designated terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Canada and Israel.
Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.
Endorsing an Anti-Israel Agitator
On December 1, 2018, Safran posted a comment in support of Marc Lamont Hill, under a letter published by Lamont Hill apologizing for the language he used in his controversial comments.In November 2018, Hill was fired from his contributor position at CNN (Cable News Network) after he gave an anti-Israel speech at the United Nations. He called [00:20:47] for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” a phrase associated with demands to dismantle the State of Israel. Hill also accused [00:16:19] Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” as well as [00:17:49] “white supremacy” and [00:17:56] “settler colonialism.”
Safran wrote that Lamont Hill “should not have had to apologize” and added: “I am far more upset by the way members of the Temple Board would deny his right to free speech. From the river to the sea, Palestinians living in occupation must 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.
Supporting BDS
In May 2018, Safran participated in a protest as part of a BDS campaign to stop the Philadelphia Orchestra from playing in Israel.On May 28, 2018, Safran published an article supporting the disruption of a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra as part of the campaign. In the article, Safran wrote: “But yes, in the words of the Philly Don’t Orchestrate Apartheid commenter: ‘Screw the sanctity of the concert hall.’”
On May 19, 2018, two protesters for the campaign disrupted a Philadelphia Orchestra performance by playing a pre-recorded message that accused [00:01:05] the orchestra of complicity in “carnage” by Israel and of collaboration [00:01:39] “with that murderous gangster state.”
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish values.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
JVP Philly Chapter Overview
JVP Philly whitewashes terrorism, shows support for terrorists, demonizes Jewish organizations and actively promotes the BDS movement. In 2021, JVP Philly led a campaign of harassment against a Philadelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass and organized a series of anti-Israel protests.JVP Philly - Promoting BDS 2018
On April 4, 2018, JVP Philly posted to Facebook a link to the campaign page to stop the Philadelphia Orchestra from playing in Israel. JVP Philly wrote in their Facebook post that they had “signed onto this coalitional effort to uphold the #culturalboycott. Tell the Philadelphia Orchestra to cancel their upcoming trip to Israel.”On May 19, 2018, two protesters for the campaign disrupted a Philadelphia Orchestra performance by playing a pre-recorded message that accused [00:01:05] the orchestra of complicity in “carnage” by Israel and of collaboration [00:01:39] “with that murderous gangster state.”
On May 31, 2018, JVP Philly posted to Facebook that they had held weekly protests against the orchestra for three months and that anti-Israel protesters in European cities were also protesting wherever the orchestra was playing. JVP Philly wrote in their post: “Now, more than ever we must call for #culturalboycott and #BDS…”
JVP Philly - Promoting BDS 2021
JVP Philly signed a May 19, 2021 statement by Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine (PAO) that called on the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to “divest from companies that profit from and/or are complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”The statement accused Israel of the “ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” a “massacre of Gaza” and of having “genocidal intentions.” It also urged Penn students, faculty, staff and alumni to “call on the US government to place sanctions on Israel.”
JVP Philly - Spreading Incitement 2021
On May 15, 2021, JVP Philly co-hosted an event with other anti-Israel groups, including Philly BDS and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at Temple University and Drexel University in Philadelphia, titled: “PHILADELPHIA: #SaveSheikhJarrah.”Incitement around Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel’s major centers on May 10-21, 2021. In response, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.
Protesters held signs that said: “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED” and “WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW… RESISTANCNCE (SIC) BECOMES A DUTY!!!” Other signs said “F**K ISRAEL,” claimed that “ZIONISM IS GENOCIDE” and called to “END ZIONISM.”
Zionism is the belief in the right to self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. The word Zion originates in the Bible, where it refers to the land of Israel and Jerusalem.
Demonstrators also displayed signs that read: “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE” and “HANDS OFF OF OUR LAND.”
The chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. It is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel.
The cover photo on the Facebook page of the event JVP Philly co-hosted was a flyer featuring a graphic of Palestinians armed with rifles and text that read: “RESISTING COLONIALISM SINCE 1948.”
The Facebook event description called for protesters to “march against the state-sanctioned violence, settler-colonialism and apartheid occurring in Sheikh Jarrah and all of Occupied Palestine” and accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
JVP Philly - Whitewashing Terrorism 2019
On May 6, 2019, JVP Philly shared a Facebook post by anti-Israel agitator Linda Sarsour that said: “...Friday, Israel gunned down 4 Palestinians peacefully protesting. No condemnations. No one saying how immoral it is to kill Palestinians…”On May 3, 2019, two Israeli soldiers, patrolling near the Gaza border, were shot and injured from sniper fire in Gaza. In response, the Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas base nearby, killing two members of Hamas’s armed wing. Two other Palestinians were killed while participating in riots along the Gaza border.
On March 30, 2019, JVP Philly held a “GreatReturnMarch Memorial and Teach-In.” The Facebook event description claimed: “Since March 30th, 2018 tens of thousands of Palestinians have marched peacefully every Friday along the Gaza/Israel border…” A JVP Philly email promoting the event described it as “A Martyrology Inspired Memorial Teach-In.”
Approximately 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border on March 30, 2018 as part of the “March of Return,” which was organized and funded by Hamas. This was used as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
JVP Philly retweeted a January 30, 2019 tweet by JVP that said: “Another day, another Palestinian child murdered Samah Mubarak was killed by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] at a checkpoint for an alleged ‘knife attack’...”
On January 30, 2019, 16-year-old Samah Mubarak attempted to stab an Israeli security officer and was shot by Israeli Security forces.
JVP Philly - Glorifying Violent Protesters 2018
On May 21, 2018, JVP Philly held a protest in support of the March of Return outside the office of U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle. JVP Philly posted to Facebook that they urged Boyle to “#standupforgaza.”In May 2018, terror group Hamas instigated violent riots on the Israeli-Gaza border. Thousands of rioters attempted to breach Israel’s border fence, declaring their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
At JVP Philly’s protest, a JVP Philly activist read from poetry by Dareen Tatour and led [00:00:20] the other JVP Philly protesters in chanting Tatour’s words: “resist, my people, resist them; resist, my people, resist them.”
In October 2015, Tatour was placed under house arrest for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization on social media. Tatour had supported the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and posted to Facebook: “I am the next shahid [martyr].”
JVP Philly tweeted from the May 21, 2018 protest, saying: “We mourn the deaths of all the Palestinians who have been murdered by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] since the beginning of the #GreatReturnMarch. #Gaza.”
The majority of Gazans who died from March 30, 2018 to April 6, 2018 were confirmed as terror operatives, killed while rioting against Israeli forces, carrying out terrorist attacks or trying to infiltrate Israel by destroying the border fence on its border with Gaza.
On May 14, 2018, JVP Philly held a rally to condemn Israel’s response to the March of Return riots on the Israeli-Gaza border and to protest [00:03:30] the raising of the Israeli flag at Philadelphia’s City Hall.
JVP’s narrator of the event on its Facebook live stream said [00:00:23]: “we’re here ‘coz we think it’s a disgrace that our public officials are celebrating seventy years of occupation and apartheid and turning a blind eye to violence against unarmed protesters.”
Participants at the March sent kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes, threw Molotov cocktails and firebombs and shot firearms.
JVP activists displayed [00:01:38] a banner with the names of Palestinian protesters that had been killed between [00:07:36] March 30 and May 11, 2018. The narrator added [00:01:40] that they didn’t have time to include the names of another 50 Palestinians who had been killed at the May 14, 2021 Gaza border protest.
Salah al-Bardawil, a Hamas senior official, stated on May 16, 2018, that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed three killed at the same protest.
After the name of each Palestinian protester was read out at the JVP Philly rally, JVP activists chanted [00:08:25]: “was a freedom fighter and he taught us how to fight.”
JVP Philly - Demonizing Jewish Organizations 2018
On June 3, 2018, JVP Philly held a protest against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as part of JVP’s “Deadly Exchange” campaign.Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign in 2017. The campaign claimed that American Jewish organizations promoted human rights abuses. A video for the campaign by JVP accused American Jewish organizations of planning programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance“racist policies.”
JVP Philly protested at the ADL’s annual “Walk Against Hate” event held to “celebrate diversity and challenge bigotry.” The ADL’s first Walk Against Hate took place in 2011 in Philadelphia.
As ADL representatives were speaking on stage at the event, JVP Philly activists stood [00:00:10] in front of the stage, holding a large banner that said: “ADL STOP THE HATE END POLICE XCHANGES W/ ISRAEL.”
JVP Philly also published a petition that claimed that U.S. participation in counter-terrorism seminars in Israel contributes to “the normalization of the Israel Defense Force’s daily brutality against the Palestinians.” The petition called for activists to “pledge to not participate in the Walk Against Hate...”
JVP Philly - Expressing Support for Terrorists 2017
On March 14, 2017, JVP Philly posted to Facebook a JVP press release titled: “JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE IS PROUD TO HOST PALESTINIAN ORGANIZER RASMEA ODEH.” JVP Philly commented: “A powerful, informative statement about the trials of Rasmea Odeh.”Odeh was a military operative with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist organization. In 1969, she masterminded a bombing that killed two university students in a Jerusalem supermarket. Odeh also attempted to bomb the British consulate.
JVP’s statement, about featuring Odeh at their 2017 National Membership Meeting (NMM), referred to Odeh as a “deeply respected Palestinian organizer” and “feminist leader.”
The statement concluded: “Rasmea’s life is a story of Palestinian resilience: a story of persistence…building grassroots leadership…”
On April 5, 2017, JVP Philly posted a link to recorded sessions from the 2017 JVP NMM for those who didn’t attend and wrote: “We missed you so much! Check out Linda Sarsour, Rasmea Odeh, and more here--and hopefully we'll be together at 2019's NMM!”
Sarsour has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism” and frequently uses the word “Zionist” as a pejorative.
Zionism is the belief in the right to self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. The word Zion originates in the Bible, where it refers to the land of Israel and Jerusalem.
On April 17, 2017, JVP Philly promoted on Facebook an article written by Marwan Barghouti titled: “Why We Are on Hunger Strike in Israel’s Prisons.”
On May 8, 2017, JVP Philly posted to Facebook, promoting a JVP event featuring then-JVP Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomersoninterviewing Marwan Barghouti’s son, Aarab Barghouti, who started the “Saltwater Challenge” in support of the hunger strikers.
The statement concluded: “Rasmea’s life is a story of Palestinian resilience: a story of persistence…building grassroots leadership…”
On April 5, 2017, JVP Philly posted a link to recorded sessions from the 2017 JVP NMM for those who didn’t attend and wrote: “We missed you so much! Check out Linda Sarsour, Rasmea Odeh, and more here--and hopefully we'll be together at 2019's NMM!”
Sarsour has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism” and frequently uses the word “Zionist” as a pejorative.
Zionism is the belief in the right to self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. The word Zion originates in the Bible, where it refers to the land of Israel and Jerusalem.
On April 17, 2017, JVP Philly promoted on Facebook an article written by Marwan Barghouti titled: “Why We Are on Hunger Strike in Israel’s Prisons.”
The 2017 hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners known as the “Dignity Strike” was initiated by Marwan Barghouti, who was serving five consecutive life sentences for his role in terror attacks during the Second Intifada, including financing the bombing of the Sbarro Cafe in Jerusalem.
On May 8, 2017, JVP Philly posted to Facebook, promoting a JVP event featuring then-JVP Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomersoninterviewing Marwan Barghouti’s son, Aarab Barghouti, who started the “Saltwater Challenge” in support of the hunger strikers.
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/ben.safran.9LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-safran-98181a24/
Website: https://benjaminsafran.weebly.com/
