Brian Slingerland

Overview

Brian Slingerland has promoted a terrorist and spread hatred of Israel. Slingerland was an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Florida State University (FSU) from 2014 to 2020.

In 2017, Slingerland was reportedly an event organizer for FSU SJP and became a member of the closed Facebook group “SJP South.”

Slingerland is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and attended the 2017 and 2015 National SJP Conferences.

NSJP 2017 was held October 27-29, 2017 at the University of Houston (UH). The conference was themed “A Reimagined World: Dismantling Walls from Palestine to the Rio Grande.” Per the 2017 National SJP Conference website, the conference aimed to strengthen “collaborative efforts within all regions to pass BDS” and envision “pathways to achieving sanctions in the future.”

In 2015, Slingerland became a member of the Facebook group “PYM - San Francisco Bay Area.” He was also listed as a member of the Facebook group “Americans Against Genocide In Gaza (AAGG)” since 2015.

In January 2018, Slingerland’s Facebook profile indicated that he studied “Political Violence” at FSU and worked at “The Plant” in Tallahassee, Florida, as “Director of Operations” since 2015. He was also a member of the band “pTerodactyl - Tallahassee.”

As of August 2018, The Plant listed Slingerland as “Acting Director”, referring to him as “Brian Damage.” The Plant collaborated with FSU SJP on multiple occasions from 2016 to 2020.

As of July 2021, Slingerland used the name “Brian Damage” on both of his Instagram accounts as well as his Facebook. Slingerland previously used the name “Brian Freez” on Facebook in 2017. In August 2020, Slingerland’s Twitter bio indicated that he was a “community organizer.”

Promoting a Terrorist

On October 7, 2020, posted a video clip to his Instagram highlights that featured [slide 8] graphics of Leila Khaled and Angela Davis for “Fresh New Patches!” and “Hot New Masks!” He captioned the highlight “#leilakhaled” and “angeladavis.”

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

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

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

Davis made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List in 1970, after being charged as a principal in an aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of a judge.

Hatred of Israel

On May 13, 2021, during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW), Slingerland used the hashtags “#freepalestine #endthesiege #freegaza #endapartheid #stopisraeliterrorism #idf #sheikhjarrah #savesheikhjarrah #bds #israel #Palestine #democracynow” in an Instagram post.

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.

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.

Also on May 13, 2021, Slingerland posted to Instagram the trailer for a movie titled “Roadmap to Apartheid” and captioned the post “#Palestine #Israel #apartheid #Gaza #documentary #bds.”

On October 20, 2015, during the height of the “Knife Intifada”, Slingerland posted to Instagram: “#freepalestine #thePlantTally... #endapartheid #endracism #zionismisterrorism #governmentisviolence #fsusjp Tallahassee's #1 #Anticapitalist DIY Art Space!” The Instagram post included a photo of the “THE PLANT” with a Palestinian flag outside.

In October 2015, there was an upsurge in violence across Israel incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The wave of stabbings, known as the “Knife Intifada,” was characterized by young Palestinians throughout the country stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians.

On November 20, 2013, Slingerland posted to Instagram: “#freePalestine #justiceinPalestine #endapartheid #bds #Gaza#westbank #Palestine #endIsraelioccupation#sjp #aatw #crass #Israel #apartheid.”

He also added a comment: “...And you probably wouldn't call it #Genocide...but I would.”

On November 12, 2013, Slingerland posted to Instagram an illustration accusing Israel of settler-colonialism. He also wrote: “1. Raise Flag, 2. Exterminate Natives & Settle, 3. Rewrite history. #pilgrimsfor#Israel #freePalestine #endApartheid#humanrights #Thanksgiving.”

SJP Activism

On July 5, 2020, Slinglerland posted a photo to Instagram of activists marching behind an SJP banner. He wrote: “

Look who’s back!

...annexation is unlawful; and denouncing violence/brutalization being committed by a terrorist state is not .antiSemitic.’” He used the hashtags: “dayOfRage for #Palestine…

#nopeaceonstolenland #freepalestine...#apartheid #palestine

.”

The photo was taken from an event titled “Day of Rage (Tallahassee).” FSU SJP co-hosted the event with the Dream Defender (DD)’s chapter in Tallahassee.

The Facebook event description page accused the U.S. police departments of participating in the Deadly Exchange.

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.

The Facebook event page description concluded: “We must demand an end to US complicity in Israeli apartheid by renewing the call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions against companies and institutions that profit from land theft and human rights abuses.”

On March 7, 2020, Slingerland uploaded a photo to Instagram of himself alongside other SJP activists at “Tallahassee Skate Park” sitting behind the ramp that had “FREE PALESTINE. PERIOD” written across it. Slingerland captioned the Instagram post: “#freepalestine #🇵🇸 #skateboard #

#period #sjp #fsusjp.”

On October 12, 2019, FSU SJP posted to Twitter: “Thank you so much to the Middle East Center for inviting us to table at tonight’s opening reception for the Middle East Film Festival, we were happy to rep

!” The tweet included a photo of Slingerland tabling an event alongside another SJP activist.

On October 15, 2018, Slingerland uploaded a video to his Instagram story of anti-Israel activist Benjamin Ladraa delivering a speech.

Benjamin Ladraa undertook a solo “walk for Palestine” to spread the demonization of Israel in 2017-2018. He has also defended terrorists, promoted the violent March of Return, demonized Israel and advocated for anti-Israel agitators.

Slingerland’s Instagram story was taken at an event hosted by FSU SJP and titled “Benjamin Ladraa- Walk to Palestine.”

On June 10, 2018, FSU SJP posted to their Facebook page: “Our very own members! Shelby, Reem. Nada. and Brian give their hot takes on Palestinian struggle. Gaza. U S. relations, and so much more!! They did an incredible job serving the truth to Tallahassee. Check out their radio talk show with WFSU 411 Teens!!”

During the podcast, Slingerland said: [00:16:31] “You know the government here [America] has its own agenda and doesn’t want to talk about the ethnically cleansing indigenous people, which is what’s happening to the Palestinians...”

On March 2, 2017, Slingerland appeared in an FSU SJP Facebook photo, posing next to other activists.

On November 6, 2015, FSU SJP uploaded a photo on their Twitter page of Slingerland tabling at an event to and wrote: “Tabling at First Friday on Railroad Sq #Tallahassee #Palestine.”

One of the fliers on the table featured the “Misleading Maps.”

The maps claim that lands once controlled by Britain, Egypt and Jordan as autonomous “Palestinian land” were purportedly stolen by Israel. In February 2016, publisher McGraw-Hill Education recalled copies of a college textbook containing the fraudulent maps. In October 2015, American cable news network MSNBC apologized for airing a similar series of maps and retracted them.

On May 12, 2014, FSU SJP posted to their Twitter account: “The one and only Brian Slingerland in all his awesomeness, chilling with his sign, behind Rachel Walsh standing.”

Supporting BDS

On April 29, 2019, Slingerland posted a series of photos to Instagram and wrote: “Did you hear the one about the revolution? Here are some pictures I took of political messaging.”

One photo [slide 4] featured a lamppost with a flier attached to it that read: “PALESTINE: OCCUPATION COLONISATION ÇA SUFFIT [That’s enough]!! BOYCOTT ISRAEL.”

Another photo featured [slide 7] a signpost that had a flier across that read: “BOYCOTT ISRAEL ETAT RACISTE [RACIST STATE].”

On November 22, 2018, Slingerland shared a tweet from the anti-Israel organization U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) and wrote: “I celebrate #BuyNothingDay...please don’t help companies that profit from #apartheid, #segregation & #Genocide in #occupiedPalestine. #boycottApartheid #boycottWhiteSupremacy #boycottGenocide #boycottZionism.”

On June 10, 2018, during the WFSU “411 Teen: Students For Justice in Palestine” radio talk show, Slingerland said: [00:40:35] “BDS, as you know, was the campaign that was responsible of ending apartheid in South Africa and it's clearly an apartheid state, Israel Palestine..., we're hoping that the BDS movement obviously will have the same effect.”

On November 14, 2017, Slingerland posted to Instagram a photo of a cup of coffee with a “Lotus” cookie produced by the Biscoff company. He commented: “Please DONT lmk if #biscoff is on the #bds list.”

On June 30, 2015, Slingerland shared to Facebook a video produced by the BDS movement to fundraise for their campaigns and commented:: “Apartheid; Wrong for South Africa, Wrong for Israel.”

On August 12, 2014, Slingerland posted on Facebook: “I will [look] back at these crazy times and tell my daughter without hesitation that I spoke up, organized, and was a part of the Movement that Ended Israeli Apartheid.”

His Facebook post included the link to an article titled: “9 ways to effectively support Gaza through Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions.”

FSU SJP - Glorifying Terrorists

On November 17, 2019, FSU SJP organized a protest titled: “Emergency Demo: #GazaUnderAttack.” The Facebook event page said: “Israeli airstrikes are not ‘self-defense.’ By the Israel Defense Forces' own admission, Israel initiated the latest wave of aggression with the illegal, extra-judicial execution of resistance fighter Bahaa Abu al-Atta and his wife.”

In November 2019, Israel launched “Operation Black Belt” to stop rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The rockets were sent by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group on November 12-14, 2019, targeting Israel’s biggest civilian population centers.

FSU SJP’s Facebook event description said: “Rather than self-defense, Israeli airstrikes are a form of collective punishment against Gaza's 2 million inhabitants” and that “The mainstream media and prominent politicians repeat the Israeli ‘self-defense’ trope over and over...”

At the protest, FSU SJP President Shelby Shoup said [00:02:05]: “I cannot imagine how dehumanizing it is to hear American journalists and politicians discussing Israel’s ‘right to self defense,’ insinuating that Palestinians are terrorists.” Activists also chanted [00:00:46] “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

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.

On October 8, 2018, FSU SJP hosted an event titled:“Palestinian Revolutionaries.” The Facebook event description said: “Come screen some videos of Palestinian revolutionaries like Ghassan Kanafani and Leila Khaled! The revolutionaries that come out of liberation-resistance movements are who we look up to and who exemplify what it means to organize.”

Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during their formative years. Kanafani was also involved in the Lod Airport Massacre near Tel Aviv, for which PFLP took responsibility.

Leila Khaled participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. She was a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

On October 6, 2018, FSU SJP promoted the event on Facebook and wrote: “We'll also be discussing the PLO & PFLP!!!”

Yasser Arafat, known as the “father of modern terrorism,” was the former leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). During the second intifada, Arafat encouraged children to carry out “martyrdom” operations against Israel.

Arafat reportedly told Arab diplomats in a secret meeting in 1996: "We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. Jews will not want to live among Arabs. I have no use for Jews. They are and remain Jews."

FSU SJP - Promoting Violence

On July 12, 2019, FSU SJP posted a graphic on Instagram depicting Palestinians holding rocks and slingshots. FSU SJP wrote: “Anyone know the artist?

#FreePalestine.”

Rock throwing is a deadly form of violence, despite being romanticized as a form of “popular resistance.”

On November 26, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled: “Divestment Working Group Meeting.” The event cover photo on its Facebook page was a poster featuring an individual holding a slingshot with text that said “Free the land 'by any means necessary.’”

FSU - SJP Supporting Violent Protesters

On March 30, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook commemorating the “Great March of Return,” describing it as “a protest movement to demand the Right of Return to their stolen lands” and claiming Palestinians were “shot at by Israeli snipers for exercising their right to assembly.” The post said: “... we commemorate… the hundreds of martyrs of the Great Return March.”

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 was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel. The “right of return” has since been 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 also threw Molotov cocktails and firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks.

On March 30, 2019, FSU SJP co-hosted an event to commemorate one year since the beginning of the March of Return.

On April 8, 2018, FSU SJP wrote on Facebook: “we've seen the IOF [Israel Occupation Forces] deploy at least 100 snipers in anticipation of unarmed demonstrators attending the Great Return March who, after being shot by said snipers, are being smeared in American media as terrorists and pawns for nonviolently asserting their dignity and human rights--specifically their Right of Return.”

On April 6, 2018, FSU SJP held a “Vigil for Gaza” which the Facebook event description said was “to memorialize those killed by the IDF” in the Gaza March of Return riots.

An April 2, 2018 post by FSU SJP on the Facebook page for the event said: “Reem & Tyler will be speaking on Gaza & the 17 martyrs that we lost.”

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.

FSU SJP - Spreading Incitement

On August 11, 2019, FSU SJP alleged in a Facebook post that “Israeli soldiers and settlers have raided and desecrated #AlAqsa Mosque” and “The Israeli police then cleared the compound of Palestinian Muslims and allowed Jewish Israelis to storm Al Aqsa for Tisha B’Av prayers.”

Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

On August 11, 2019, Palestinian rioters threw stones at police and threw chairs and other objects at Jewish visitors to the compound after police allowed them to enter the site, to commemorate Tisha B’Av.

The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque served as the excuse for an upsurge in Palestinian violence that flared in the fall of 2015 and incited Palestinians to attempt mass casualty attacks on Israeli civilians in July 2016.

Such propaganda has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.

FSU SJP - Promoting Conspiracy Theories

On July 5, 2020, FSU SJP co-hosted an anti-Israel protest titled “Day of Rage.”

The Facebook event page description said: “our police departments continue participating in the Deadly Exchange: learning ‘counter-terrorism’ strategies from the IDF to militarize Black and brown communities here, and teaching stop-and-frisk strategies to the Israeli police to harass Black and brown communities in occupied 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.”

On September 23, 2019, FSU SJP hosted a meeting titled “ICE vs. IDF: Detention, Deportation & Family Separation.” An event flyer said: “ICE & THE IDF HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.” The meeting also included a presentation about the “deadly exchange.”

On June 17, 2019, FSU SJP tabled on campus to educate about “pinkwashing” and promote anti-Israel materials. One of the items FSU SJP promoted was a booklet titled “Israel’s Worldwide Role in Repression.”

The booklet was published by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), which claims to “struggle against Zionism” and accuses Israel of the “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

The booklet claimed that Israel’s military campaigns “serve as an [sic] laboratory
to develop weapons, surveillance technology, and tactics of population control that are then marketed across the globe.” It also alleged Israel was “at the forefront of a global industry of repression” and that “In the Middle East, Israel is the primary aggressor.”

FSU SJP - Spreading Hatred of Israel-Supporters

On March 11, 2020, FSU SJP posted a photo on its Facebook page of pro-Israel students tabling on campus and wrote that “The Zionist Organization of America… is a right-wing, Islamophobic org… The normalization of Zionism on campus = normalization of the alt-right. Why are they tabling at Market Wednesday?”

The policy of “anti-normalization” aims to ensure that all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians align only with the Arab agenda, including ending the occupation and a full right of return for Palestinians, which is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. The policies are shared with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

FSU SJP - Demonizing Israel

On November 18, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “Hasbara: Debunking Zionist myths.” The Facebook event description claimed: “Hasbara refers to public relations efforts to disseminate positive information about the State of Israel that whitewashes its apartheid regime and military occupation.”

The description also said: “There are countless arguments that whitewash Israeli apartheid… Let's discuss what narratives we usually hear in defense of Israel and learn how to respond to some of the most common hasbara talking points!”

On October 7, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “GBM:Apartheid 101: Palestine, South Africa & the Jim Crow South.” The Facebook event description claimed about the description of Israel as apartheid: “nothing could more aptly describe Palestinian life..”

On September 23, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “ICE vs. IDF: Detention, Deportation & Family Separation.” The Facebook event page description claimed that “Detentions, deportations and family separations are routine aspects of Palestinian life. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) uses borders, walls and widespread abusive detention of Palestinians…”

On May 15, 2019, FSU SJP held a “Nakba Day” event. The Facebook event description said: “Nakba Day is the anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of May 15, 1948 in which Zionist militias forcefully expelled 800,000 Palestinians from their homeland” and that Nakba “also refers to the ongoing, 71-year long legacy of Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”

Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.

On the same date, FSU SJP posted photos from the event on Facebook, including of their “mock apartheid wall,” with a panel claiming to show maps of Israel’s “LAND THEFT.”

Lands previously controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Britain are shown as autonomous “Palestinian land,” which the maps suggest were stolen by Israel.

In 2016, copies of a college textbook containing the misleading maps were recalled by publisher MCGraw-Hill.

SJP groups on campuses have constructed mock “apartheid” walls to draw attention to alleged Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians

On April 4, 2019, FSU SJP promoted an event on Facebook where they would “be delving further into the topics that you all saw on our wall and we will be going deeper into the issues surrounding Palestine, Gaza, the Great Return March, Zionism, & Israel.”

On April 2, 2019, FSU SJP displayed their “mock apartheid wall” on the FSU campus.

FSU SJP - Promoting BDS

On February 1, 2021 the FSU Student Life Academic Affairs Committee (SLAA) voted against a BDS bill written and sponsored by FSU SJP member Ahmad Daraldik. that called on FSU to divest from a number of companies doing business with Israel.

On December 3, 2019, FSU SJP held a meeting about launching a divestment campaign against Israel. The event description said: “We are preparing to launch a campaign to pressure Florida State University to divest from companies that knowingly profit off of Palestinian oppression. Please come out to our new weekly Divestment working group meetings to strategize and build together!”

On November 26, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “Divestment Working Group Meeting.” The Facebook description for the event said participants would “research Divestment campaigns on other North American campuses, including the language of their Divestment resolutions and what tactics they employed to win student support.”

The event description also said “It's going to be a long and difficult road to introducing and passing a Divestment resolution to the Student Senate this year, but we think it's possible if we all do our part!”

On November 13, 2018, FSU SJP held an event promoting BDS. The event description said: “Come get your BDS shopping list of all the products & brands that you should be boycotting NOW! Boycott Israel, bring down the occupation!”

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.