Celine Qussiny
Celine Qussiny Called for Israel’s Violent Destruction and a Revolution in America
Celine Qussiny called for Israel’s violent destruction and a revolution in America in a 2024 speech where she also honored a terrorist. She has also spread incitement on campus, glorified leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group and expressed support for other terrorists. She has promoted hatred of Israel and opposed Jewish-Muslim dialogue.In 2015, Qussiny was the co-chair of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at University of California, Irvine (UCI), and an SJP UCI leader [00:00:46] through 2017.
Qussiny has also received training from American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of April 2021, Qussiny’s Zoominfo page said she worked for the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR).
Calling for Israel’s Violent Destruction
On May 26, 2024, BreakThrough News posted a video on YouTube that featured [01:13:32] Qussiny speaking at the People’s Conference for Palestine during an event titled: “Palestine and Internationalism.”The conference was organized by anti-Israel groups, including PYM, SJP and Al-Awda, and was held in Detroit, Michigan, on May 24-26, 2024. It was held during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, launched after Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023.
In her speech, Qussiny said [01:15:27]: “Victory is not an abstract concept or an unknown future. Victory is on the horizon. Victory is what we are here to organize for.”
Qussiny continued [01:16:57]: “We will be here in the streets, on our campuses, in our classrooms, in our workplaces every day until Zionism is defeated and until the total liberation and return of our people.”
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. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
Qussiny added [01:17:28]: “We convened here in Detroit at the People's Conference for Palestine, with over 3,500 people from across North America…And we have made our message clear that we, the movement for Palestine in North America and across the world are here to fight until victory.”
Calling for Revolution in America & Honoring a Terrorist
In Qussiny’s same speech at the People’s Conference for Palestine on May 26, 2024, she also said [01:24:24]: “We will be hitting empire where it hurts most. So we invite you all to join us in this campaign. We invite you to follow the Palestinian Youth Movement to embark on an international campaign because we know that the power of the people can and will bring empire to its knees.”Qussiny continued [01:24:58]: “And with this we end with a quote by the late martyr and revolutionary Ghassan Kanafani. ‘Imperialism has laid its body over the world. The head in eastern Asia, the heart in the middle east, its arteries reaching Africa and Latin America. Wherever you strike it, you damage it and you serve the world revolution.’”
Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the terrorist organization’s early years. Kanafani announced the PFLP’s responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre of May 1972 and was linked to the airport attackers. The attack killed 26 people and wounded 80 others.
Spreading Incitement on Campus
On May 19, 2016, Qussiny appeared in a Youtube video where she led [00:00:46] SJP UCI activists during a disruption of a pro-Israel event at UCI, shouting [00:00:46] “Intifada, Intifada - Long live the Intifada” and “when people are occupied, resistance is justified”Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.
Qussiny also led [00:01:01] the chant: “Hey, you settlers, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” and reportedly yelled “F**k Israel!" Other anti-Israel protesters reportedly shouted: “All white people need to die."
One Jewish student, then-sophomore Eliana Kopley, was reportedly physically prevented from entering the event by SJP protesters, one of whom reportedly shouted: “If we’re not allowed in, you’re not allowed in!" Kopley said that she was then followed by protesters and hid in a room for safety, where she called the police.
Event attendees had to be safely escorted from the room by police.
In another interview, event lecturer Eran Izak reported “[the protesters] were banging on the glass and the door and we could hear screaming outside." Izak added “The students had a look of panic on their faces — they were terrified. Finally the police arrived, pushed the protesters back a little, and escorted us to our cars.”
Qussiny used the hashtag “#UCIntifada” on Twitter before and after the incident.
On May 17, 2016, Qussiny tweeted: “So we shut down IsraelFest #UCIntifada.”
On the same day, Qussiny tweeted: “#UCINTIFADA” and a graphic that said “BOYCOTT UCISRAEL 2016 WE REFUSE TO CELEBRATE ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
On May 20, 2016, Qussiny tweeted: “And lol @ anyone who thinks I'm gonna be apologetic or negotiate with my colonizers and those who support them. #UCIntifada.”
On August 18, 2016, the UCI administration issued a written warning to SJP UCI for “violat[ing] Student Conduct Policies regarding disruption," effective until March of 2017. SJP UCI was ordered to host an educational program for its membership by November 18, 2016. Qussiny was listed as an “authorized signer” for SJP UCI in the warning.
On May 10, 2017, Qussiny led [00:04:46] SJP UCI activists in attempting to silence a panel of visiting Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reservists.
Qussiny led protesters in chanting [00:04:57]: “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” and [00:05:19]: “Israel, Israel, what do you say? How many people did you kill today?!” and [00:05:26] “Hey hey, ho ho, these colonizers have got to go!”
Qussiny yelled [00:07:59] at the reservists: “You people are colonizers or occupiers and you should not be allowed on this f**king campus. You’ve been stealing our land since 1948 … You have the guns, you would kill me if you could, f**k you!”
On September 4, 2017, it was reported that UCI administrators put SJP UCI on a two-year probation because of the disruption.
Glorifying PFLP Terrorists
On August 20, 2016, Qussiny shared a photo to Instagram of bomb-maker Shadia Abu Ghazaleh kneeling with a rifle. Qussiny commented: “Me.”Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, a bomb-maker for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was involved in many attacks against Israel. She was killed when a bomb she was preparing in her home for an attack in Tel Aviv accidentally detonated.
Supporting Terrorists
On November 12, 2014, Qussiny shared to Facebook a graphic showing Rasmea Odeh that read: “Free Our Beloved Rasmea Now!”Odeh was a key military operative with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. In 1969, she masterminded a PFLP supermarket bombing that killed two college students. She also attempted to bomb the British consulate in Jerusalem. Odeh later moved to the United States but was deported to Jordan in 2017 for immigration fraud.
On October 21, 2015, Qussiny posed for a Facebook photo at an anti-Israel rally with a silhouette labeled: “Amjad Hatem Al-Juneidy 17.”
Amjad Al-Jundi stabbed an Israeli soldier on October 7, 2015. He then took the soldier’s rifle and ran to a nearby apartment building where he tried to shoot and stab a local woman in her home. Police responded and killed Al-Jundi during a shootout that transpired.
On January 1, 2016 Nashat Melhem killed three Israeli civilians after opening fire at a bar in Tel Aviv. Nashat was later shot by Israeli security forces after he opened fire at them during his capture.
Qussiny retweeted a January 16, 2016 tweet with footage from Melham’s funeral. The tweet called him a “شهيد [martyr]” in Arabic.
Qussiny retweeted a January 20, 2016 tweet that read: “My latest for @intifada about martyr Muhannad al-Halabi, the inconvenient rebel who sparked an uprising:”
On October 3, 2015, during Israel’s “Knife Intifada,” 19-year-old Mohanad Halabi murdered two Israeli rabbis in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. The wife and child of one of the victims were also injured. The day before the murder, Halabi, a member of the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), had reportedly posted to his Facebook page: “The third Intifada is here"and "Wake up from your slumber and save al-Aqsa. Let the revolution erupt.”
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. The attacks were incited by Palestinian leaders propagating the libel that Israel intended to desecrate the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
On January 27, 2016, Qussiny tweeted: “#Justice4Rasmea.”
On May 23, 2017, Qussiny tweeted: “Palestinian prisoners will strike until their demands are met. @ICRC tell Israel to agree to #DignityStrike demands! #DignityStrike36.”
“Dignity Strike” refers to a hunger strike initiated by Marwan Barghouti on April 16, 2017. More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners participated in the strike – most them also convicted for acts of terrorism. Barghouti headed the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms by an Israeli civilian court for some of his crimes, including his role in the Sbarro Cafe bombing.
Promoting Hatred of Israel
On June 1, 2017, Qussiny tweeted about Israeli actress Gal Gadot, writing: “Proud of Lebanon tbh for banning that trash movie Wonder Woman starring Zionist IOF [Israel Occupation Forces] soldier/occupier/colonizer @GalGadot.”Qussiny retweeted an September 27, 2016 tweet by anti-Israel activist Remi Kanazi regarding former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres that read: “Israeli butcher Shimon Peres is dead. He lived a long life, unlike his victims, who went too soon.”
On March 23, 2016, Qussiny tweeted: “#UCRegents attempting to silence and criminalize Palestinian voices on campus and the fight for liberation from Zionist settler colonialism.”
Opposing Jewish-Muslim Dialogue
On June 26, 2015, Qussiny tweeted about the Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI), writing: “@deecolonization we should also side eye the ppl who go on MLI trips bc they r trashMLI "invites North American Muslim leaders to explore how Jews understand Judaism, Israel and North American Jewish identity through a Zionist lens," and to expand their understanding of Jewish “ethics, faith, and practice.” According to MLI founder Imam Abdullah Antepli, “MLI aims to put mainstream North American Jewry in conversation with their Muslim counterparts.”
Anti-Israel Activism
On May 9, 2017, Qussiny appeared in a Facebook photo from the third annual AMP Palestine Advocacy Day & Training, held from April 29-May 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C.On January 27, 2017, Qussiny appeared in a Facebook photo from the 2016 National SJP Conference in Fairfax, Virginia, held from November 4-6, 2016.
SJP UCI - Threatening Fellow Students
SJP UCI Joining with MSU UCI
In 2015, 2016 and again in 2017, SJP UCI co-hosted Anti-Zionism Week (AZW) on campus, with MSU UCI. MSU UCI has a history of pushing anti-Israel activities on campus and supporting the BDS movement. In 2013, and 2014, MSU UCI hosted Anti-Zionism Week (AZW) on campus.SJP UCI and MSU UCI - Creating an Unsafe Atmosphere
During the May 10, 2017 disruption of SSI’s panel, the agitators left the room when the campus police were called. However the protesters remained outside in the lecture hall, blocking the main exit with chants of “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” and “Intifada, Intifada, long live the Intifada.”SJP UCI and MSU UCI - Verbal Assault
At one point during the May 10, 2017 disruption, an anti-Israel agitator accused the reservists of serving in a military “where they murdered kids and families” and of being “colonizers” other agitators objected when the panelists vigorously objected to the protesters’ accusations. One female reservist broke down, whereupon another of the agitators screamed “You don’t deserve to cry!”SJP UCI and MSU UCI - Incitement
On May 11, 2017, the day after the disruption of SSI’s event — SJP and MSU UCI held an anti-Israel demonstration in the middle of the UCI campus. Most of the demonstration leaders tried to hide their faces behind posters, or masked them with Keffiyehs.SJP UCI and MSU UCI - Libeling “Zionist and Pro-Israel Organizations”
During the demonstration, Qussiny libeled “Zionist and pro-Israel organizations”, claiming: “ last year, administration received, we got 400 death threats from Zionist and pro-Israel organizations that were sent to administration.” Qussiny added: “who knows what could have happened to us. These people are threatening to come to this campus - they were threatening - they were saying that they would commit, they would have bloodshed on our campus if we were not expelled.”SJP UCI and MSU UCI - 2017 Anti-Zionism Week
During May 8 -11, 2017, MSU UCI co-hosted “Anti-Zionism week” with SJP UCI and two other groups. During the week, student activists erected a barrier, mischaracterizing Israel’s security fence as an “apartheid wall” ad advocating for BDS. In addition, anti-Israel students were reported to hold mock funerals for babies and distribute mock eviction notices.SJP UCI and MSU UCI - Promoting Controversy at Another School
One of the advertised events during UCI’s 2017 ‘Anti-Zionism week’ was the attendance of a divestment hearing at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), on May 10, 2017. That hearing marked the third, and final, reading of a controversial BDS resolution that had already divided CSULB’s campus.MSU UCI - Promoting Anti-Semitism
MSU UCI has a long history of marginalizing Jewish students. By August of 2016, at least nine anti-Semitic events had already been reported on campus that year.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.
AMP
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) was founded by UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian as a vehicle to generate mainstream support in the United States for the Palestinian national cause.
On its website, the organization lists Bazian as the chairman of its national board and describes itself as “a national education and grassroots-based organization, dedicated to educating the American public about Palestine and its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused AMP of promoting “extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans” about Palestinians. The ADL further stated that AMP is directly involved in campus-based anti-Israel activity through Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Prior to founding the AMP in 2006, Dr. Bazian created SJP together with fellow UC Berkeley Professor Snehal Shingavi in 2001. The close working relationship between AMP and SJP has been documented several times over the years by several organizations, including NGO Monitor and StandWithUs.
In addition to providing financial, public relations and legal assistance to SJP, AMP has also been accused of having connections to Hamas. The AMP national board includes former members of both the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) and Holy Land Foundation (HLF), both of which were found liable for aiding and abetting Hamas. The IAP was founded by Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a senior member of Hamas.
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.
PYM
In 2012, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM USA) released a statement saying: “Our liberation...will be gained with the path that was written with the blood of our martyrs. We reaffirm that the only path that we are concerned with is the path that explicitly heads towards the liberation of our land and the return of our people to Palestine.”
PYM organized rallies demonizing Israel where it displays propaganda posters supporting the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and compared Israel to Nazi Germany.
On October 25, 2015, PYM called to support “intifada” during a period when Palestinian radicals across Israel stabbed and hacked to death scores of Israeli civilians. PYM alleged that “Al-Aqsa Mosque has been the target of particularly brutal assaults” and that “... arbitrary killings are committed daily by the Zionist military and settlers.”
On November 10, 2015, the PYM Facebook page displayed a photo of masked Palestinian radicals throwing rocks and firing rocks from slingshots. That photo was used to promote at least 25 anti-Israel rallies across the globe on or around November 29, 2015 under the banner of “Transnational mobilization for Palestinian resistance.”
On November 30, 2015, PYM displayed a photo on Facebook from one of the rallies showing a sign in support of PFLP member Khalida Jarrar, who confessed to inciting violence and calling for terrorists to abduct Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.
Another sign showed support for PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sadat, who was convicted for the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
MSA
The MSA was established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 1963 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with the goal of "spreading Islam as students in North America." A 2004 FBI investigation uncovered an internal Muslim Brotherhood document in which a brotherhood leader identified the MSA as "one of our organizations."
The MSA reportedly has “nearly 600 chapters” located in the United States and Canada, and is “the most visible and influential Islamic student organization in North America,” boasting conferences, special events, publications, websites and other activities.
The organization includes a number of previous chapter presidents with explicit links to terrorist groups. Included are al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Colorado State University), Somali al-Shabaab militant leader Omar Shafik Hammami (University of South Alabama) and Pakistani Taliban recruiter Ramy Zamzam of the MSA's Washington, D.C. council.
GUPS
The General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS) at San Francisco State University (SFSU) is the only GUPS chapter operating in the United States. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is an offshoot of GUPS.
GUPS is an international organization, initially administered by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). PLO leader Yasser Arafat officially founded GUPS in Cairo in 1959. GUPS was founded at SFSU in 1973.
GUPS has reportedly describedits overall goal as organizing student activists to achieve justice and freedom for the Palestinian people. To this end, GUPS formed an umbrella organization for Palestinian student groups and to form alliances with non-Palestinian groups.
GUPS’s focus, however, is almost entirely on its anti-Israel campaigns, which have included harassment, anti-Semitic libels, celebrating violence and glorifying terrorists. GUPS members have also intimidated pro-Israel students, shut down pro-Israel events, supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and held “Israeli Apartheid” events. The group has also held "die-ins,"rallies and protests.
SFSU graduate and GUPS activist Hatem Bazian created SJP while working as a professor at UC Berkeley in 2001.
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- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
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