Binya Koatz
Overview
Binya Kóatz [Benjamin Koatz] was arrested during an IfNotNow (INN) protest against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and supported violent protesters, along with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and MPower Change.Kóatz led an INN Bay Area event opposing the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, opposed Birthright, the Jewish heritage tour, participated in events repurposing Jewish rituals to demonize Israel and supported anti-Israel agitators.
As of 2017, Kóatz was affiliated with the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
On December 17, 2017, Kóatz was listed as running a workshop for a JVP event, where funds would be collected for the Palestine Action Network.
As of April 2019, Kóatz’s LinkedIn page said Kóatz was a software engineer for LinkedIn Voyager iOS. It also said Kóatz graduated from Brown University (Brown) with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2016.
Arrest
On March 17, 2017, Kóatz was one of seven activists arrested during an INN protest against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). INN accused AIPAC of supporting “endless occupation and Islamophobia.”The protesters were arrested for trespassing after they attempted “to occupy the lobby” of AIPAC’s Los Angeles office and blocked the entrance for about 40 minutes.
Kóatz also participated in INN’s March 19, 2017 demonstration against AIPAC. The event’s Facebook description said: “The annual AIPAC policy conference is always a festival of pandering, with American politicians jockeying for who can pay higher lip-service to the U.S.-Israel ‘special relationship.’”
Supporting Violent Protesters
On April 13, 2018, Kóatz live-streamed on Facebook an INN protest in San Francisco, in support of the Great March of Return.On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “Great March of Return.” The March was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border.
Activists blocked the doors of United States Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office for over two hours, forcing the building to close for the duration of the protest.
The activists also recited [00:05:55] the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer for Palestinians killed during the Great March of Return protests. INN stated: “The demonstrators called on Feinstein to condemn Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters in Gaza” and referred to “The Great March of Return” as “a protest which has not injured or endangered Israeli soldiers or civilians.”
INN Bay Area member Amitai Ben-Abba eulogized [00:34:32] photojournalist Yasser Murtaja. Murtaja was reportedly a Hamas spy who useddrones to film Israeli positions. He was shot on April 6, 2018 as he filmed the 2018 March of Return protest in Gaza.
Muhammad Abu Amro was also eulogized [00:36:40]. Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades identified Abu Amro as one of their “martyrs” and posted a photo of him armed and in uniform on both their website and on Twitter.
Most of the Gazans who died between March 30 and April 6, 2018, were identified as terror operatives who were killed while carrying out terrorist attacks, rioting against IDF forces or attempting to breach the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
On May 24, 2018, Koatz participated in and Facebook live-streamed an event “in solidarity with the Palestinian victims of last week's massacre in Gaza,” titled: “Iftar in the Streets for Gaza.”
The event was organized by INN together with MPower Change, co-founded by Linda Sarsour, and AMP, which has been accused of providing a platform for anti-Semitism and of connections to Hamas.
At the event, AMP founder Hatem Bazian said [00:00:31]: “MPower, IfNotNow and AMP are coming together to craft a new path for change.” He went on to say [00:07:35]: “we want to celebrate the fact that a new broad coalition is coming together.”
Activists recited [00:13:35] the Mourner's Kaddish prayer for Palestinians who had been killed in the Gaza border protests.
The event’s Facebook description called the recognition “incitement” and said: “We will not wait to see how this plays out before taking a side; we know this is wrong and we take action now.”
At the event, INN Bay Area member [00:21:47] Amitai Ben-Abba said [00:26:06] that “by granting its status as capital, Trump is legitimizing apartheid.”
On June 4, 2017, Kóatz was one of a number of INN activists who protested at an event by Christians United for Israel (CUFI) that celebrated the “‘reunification and liberation’ of Jerusalem.” Koatz and other activists unfurled protest signs during a speech at the event and were removed from the church where the event was held.
Kóatz spoke [0:03:41] outside the event as activists continued the protest and claimed [00:03:52] that CUFI “use our imagery, use our people to justify incessant and aggressive Islamophobia and to paint the entire Middle East as a Judeo-Christian war on Islam.”
Kóatz also said [00:07:23]: “our community leaders are failing to stand up against their [CUFI’s] blatant and unacceptable anti-Semitism.”
Kóatz later wrote an article in the Forward, titled: “Why I Used My Tallit to Disrupt a Christian Zionist Jubilee,” in which Kóatz accused CUFI of “esoteric anti-Semitism.”
INN posted Kóatz’s video on Facebook and linked to an INN petition that claimed Birthright has “been designed to rationalize and defend the Israeli Occupation.”
On July 2, 2018, Kóatz and fellow INN Bay Area activists gathered at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), where Jewish students were preparing to go on their Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel.
Activists distributed materials about “the Occupation” and the INN Facebook post linked to an INN petition that accused Birthright of “hiding the truth about Israel and the Occupation from us.”
Kóatz held a sign that said: “BIRTHRIGHTERS: ASK US ABOUT THE OCCUPATION & HAVE A GREAT TRIP!”
A Seder is a Jewish Passover ritual, that involves telling the story of Israelites’ Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt, to travel to the Promised Land.
On October 9, 2016, Koatz participated in an INN Bay Area event for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. The event called upon Jews in D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and the Bay Area to take “communal responsibility for 50 years of occupation.”
Activists paraded [00:00:52] outside the Jewish Community Federation building on Steuart Street in San Francisco while holding signs that read: “Heed The Call” and “Which Side Are You On?” One protester declared [00:01:43] “We are guilty!” and another claimed [00:01:46] that Israel’s actions “violate Jewish values.”
The participants chanted: [00:02:15] “we’re ready, we’re coming!!” and acted out Jewish High Holiday rituals traditionally associated with repentance, such as blowing [00:02:29] the Shofar [00:01:40] and reciting “Ashamnu” — confession.
On September 29, 2016, INN released a video of its members performing the “Tashlikh” ritual to “repent for our sins” and for the sins of Jewish institutions.
The event was organized by INN together with MPower Change, co-founded by Linda Sarsour, and AMP, which has been accused of providing a platform for anti-Semitism and of connections to Hamas.
At the event, AMP founder Hatem Bazian said [00:00:31]: “MPower, IfNotNow and AMP are coming together to craft a new path for change.” He went on to say [00:07:35]: “we want to celebrate the fact that a new broad coalition is coming together.”
Activists recited [00:13:35] the Mourner's Kaddish prayer for Palestinians who had been killed in the Gaza border protests.
The Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish is a prayer customarily reserved for close relatives or Jews murdered for being Jews.
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 March of Return was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border to spotlight the demand of Palestinians to “return” to Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Participants also attempted to breach the border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
Agitators threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires.
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during a May 14 protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
Opposing the Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
On December 8, 2017, Kóatz led [00:01:08] an INN Bay Area protest against the U.S. government’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.The event’s Facebook description called the recognition “incitement” and said: “We will not wait to see how this plays out before taking a side; we know this is wrong and we take action now.”
At the event, INN Bay Area member [00:21:47] Amitai Ben-Abba said [00:26:06] that “by granting its status as capital, Trump is legitimizing apartheid.”
On June 4, 2017, Kóatz was one of a number of INN activists who protested at an event by Christians United for Israel (CUFI) that celebrated the “‘reunification and liberation’ of Jerusalem.” Koatz and other activists unfurled protest signs during a speech at the event and were removed from the church where the event was held.
Kóatz spoke [0:03:41] outside the event as activists continued the protest and claimed [00:03:52] that CUFI “use our imagery, use our people to justify incessant and aggressive Islamophobia and to paint the entire Middle East as a Judeo-Christian war on Islam.”
Kóatz also said [00:07:23]: “our community leaders are failing to stand up against their [CUFI’s] blatant and unacceptable anti-Semitism.”
Kóatz later wrote an article in the Forward, titled: “Why I Used My Tallit to Disrupt a Christian Zionist Jubilee,” in which Kóatz accused CUFI of “esoteric anti-Semitism.”
Opposing Jewish Heritage Tour
On February 27, 2019, Kóatz filmed and live-streamed on Facebook an INN protest against Hillel on the University of California - Berkeley’s (UC Berkeley) campus condemning and the campus’s Birthright trip.INN posted Kóatz’s video on Facebook and linked to an INN petition that claimed Birthright has “been designed to rationalize and defend the Israeli Occupation.”
On July 2, 2018, Kóatz and fellow INN Bay Area activists gathered at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), where Jewish students were preparing to go on their Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel.
Activists distributed materials about “the Occupation” and the INN Facebook post linked to an INN petition that accused Birthright of “hiding the truth about Israel and the Occupation from us.”
Kóatz held a sign that said: “BIRTHRIGHTERS: ASK US ABOUT THE OCCUPATION & HAVE A GREAT TRIP!”
Repurposing Jewish Rituals
On April 7, 2018, Kóatz participated in INN Bay Area’s “wandering Seder” in which activists used different items from the Seder plate to tell [00:00:14] the story of Passover and “to condemn the brutality toward Gazans.” INN Bay Area member Amitai Ben-Abba read the names of Palestinians who had been killed and said [00:00:11] “may their names be carved into our Hagaddah.”A Seder is a Jewish Passover ritual, that involves telling the story of Israelites’ Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt, to travel to the Promised Land.
On October 9, 2016, Koatz participated in an INN Bay Area event for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. The event called upon Jews in D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and the Bay Area to take “communal responsibility for 50 years of occupation.”
Activists paraded [00:00:52] outside the Jewish Community Federation building on Steuart Street in San Francisco while holding signs that read: “Heed The Call” and “Which Side Are You On?” One protester declared [00:01:43] “We are guilty!” and another claimed [00:01:46] that Israel’s actions “violate Jewish values.”
The participants chanted: [00:02:15] “we’re ready, we’re coming!!” and acted out Jewish High Holiday rituals traditionally associated with repentance, such as blowing [00:02:29] the Shofar [00:01:40] and reciting “Ashamnu” — confession.
On September 29, 2016, INN released a video of its members performing the “Tashlikh” ritual to “repent for our sins” and for the sins of Jewish institutions.
Tashlich is a Jewish High Holiday ritual in which individuals symbolically cast off their sins.
INN described the ritual as part of their “#HeedTheCall series of actions… using the rituals and themes of the [Jewish] High Holidays.”
INN described the ritual as part of their “#HeedTheCall series of actions… using the rituals and themes of the [Jewish] High Holidays.”
Supporting Anti-Israel Agitators
On March 8, 2019, Kóatz helped lead [00:02:24] an INN protest in support of Ilhan Omar. The description on the live Facebook video said the activists were delivering a petition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “demanding that she matches her words against white nationalism with action.”Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.Omar has demonized Israel and endorsed BDS. In July 2019, Omar introduced a pro-BDS resolution in the U.S. Congress, which she described as “an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support…the BDS movement.”
On January 31, 2018, Kóatz participated in an INN event to make birthday cards for Ahed Tamimi “to show her love and be part of this groundswell of support…to Ahed.”
On January 23, 2018, Kóatz was tagged on Facebook in a photo of INN activists who hung up a banner on a bridge, that read: “FREE AHED TAMIMI. END THE OCCUPATION.”
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.
On January 23, 2018, Kóatz was tagged on Facebook in a photo of INN activists who hung up a banner on a bridge, that read: “FREE AHED TAMIMI. END THE OCCUPATION.”
INN Activity
On January 23, 2018, Kóatz appeared in a group photo on Facebook of INN Bay Area activists attending a two-day orientation training session in Berkeley, California.On February 8, 2017, Kóatz appeared in a group photo on Facebook of INN Bay Area activists attending an INN training session.
On June 11, 2017, Kóatz participated [00:02:25] in an INN Bay area protest titled: “No Celebration For Occupation,” against a Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF) event.
The protest’s Facebook description said the event was held “to honor the IDF soldiers who were the first troops to enter the Old City of Jerusalem during the 1967 war,” which INN characterized as “the beginning of 50 years of military Occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”
The event’s Facebook description also said: “We will not stand idly by while FIDF and our community commemorates this moment without rejecting the occupation.”
Anti-Israel Activity
On December 17, 2017, Koatz was listed on a JVP Facebook event page as running a workshop titled: “DiasporAssimilation: Liberation and vibrancy, consumerism and Christendom, in American Hannukah.” The event’s Facebook description said that funds would be collected for the Palestine Action Network.Kóatz indicated on Facebook that Kóatz “went” to the JVP Bay Area event on August 5, 2017, called: “Bringing Gaza to the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market.”
The event’s Facebook description said: “For over a decade, two million Palestinians in Gaza have lived under a brutal military blockade imposed by Israel” and said that JVP would share information from the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is an anti-Israel Quaker organization that promotes BDS.
Kóatz indicated on Facebook that Kóatz “went” to a March 22, 2016 event hosted by the Brown University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The event featured anti-Israel poet Remi Kanazi and anti-Israel hip hop artist Omer Offendum.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
IfNotNow (INN)
IfNotNow (INN) is an anti-Israel organization founded in 2014, in response to Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas.
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
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 value.”
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.”
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/652693919https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100021932448636
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bkoatz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femmef8al/ [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binya-koatz/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-koatz/ [Deleted]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bkoatz
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femmef8al/ [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binya-koatz/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-koatz/ [Deleted]
