Chance Zurub

Overview

Chance Zurub [Chance Emad] has spread incitement, expressed support for terrorism and spread hatred of Israel on social media. As of March 2018, Zurub was the president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Kent State University (KSU).

Zurub attended and reportedly led a workshop “focused on Black-Palestinian solidarity” at the National SJP and Midwest SJP conferences in 2019.

National SJP held their conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3, 2019. The conference was themed: “Beyond Struggle: From Roots to Branches Towards Liberation.”

Zurub attended the 2018 National SJP conference.

The 2018 National SJP conference was held on November 16-18, 2018 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The conference was themed “Radical Hope: Resistance in the Face of Adversity.” The conference website stated: “[t]he reason we can have hope is that Zionism...can be destroyed.”

Zurub also attended the 2017 National SJP Conference, where he supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of September 2020, Zurub was reportedly an organizer with the Palestine Youth Movement (PYM) in Cleveland, OH. In 2018, Zurub was an affiliate with Al-Awda and attended Al-Awda’s anti-AIPAC rally in 2018.

As of September 2020, Palestine Legal listed Zurub on their website as a “Summer Legal Intern.” Palestine Legal also said Zurub was entering his second year of law school at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and that he earned his B.A. in International Relations from KSU.

Palestine Legal added that Zurub was currently serving as president and co-founder of the Arab Law Student Association chapter at Cleveland-Marshall, OH.

As of November 2017, Zurub was a student [00:01:12] at KSU, studying International Relations.

As of March 2018, Zurub was listed as a five-time national champion from 2007-2012 in the Professional Karate Commission (PKC), where he holds a black belt.

As of February 2019, Zurub used the name “Chance Emad” on Facebook. He also used that name in a podcast interview broadcast in May 2018. By December 2020, Zurub changed his Facebook name to “شانس عماد [Emad Shans].”

As of February 2019, all of Zurub’s Twitter accounts were deleted.

Spreading Incitement

On December 8, 2017, Zurub tweeted: “Long live the Intifada, long live the resistance and long like Palestine. #HandsOffJerusalem.”

On the same day, Zurub tweeted: “Long Live the Intifada.”

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

The hashtag “#HandsOffJerusalem” was created to protest the U.S. government’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

On December 10, 2017, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed an Israeli at the entrance to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. The attack was carried out in response to 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.

Expressing Support for Terrorism

Zurub retweeted a December 2, 2017 tweet defending terrorist Leila Khaled’s hijacking of a civilian airliner.

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.

On May 21, 2018, during a podcast interview, Zurub named [00:13:39] PFLP spokesman Ghassan Kanafani as a [00:13:02] Palestinian figurehead he looks to for inspiration.

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.

Also during the interview, Zurub said [00:13:14] that he was “trying to be careful what to say,” when asked about Palestinian figures he admired.

Zurub retweeted a December 10, 2017 tweet featuring a video of Kanafani rejecting negotiations as a path to peace.

Zurub also retweeted a December 12, 2017 tweet with the same Kanafani video.

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On May 21, 2018, during a podcast interview, Zurub claimed [00:37:12] that protestors participating in the Hamas-organized violent March of Return “are being shot” and [00:40:00] dehumanized by Israeli snipers.

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.

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.

Also during the podcast, Zurub promoted [00:17:03] the “End the Deadly Exchange” campaign.

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.

On March 4, 2018, Zurub demonstrated in an anti-AIPAC rally hosted by Al-Awda.

On March 4, 2018, Al-Awda, a national anti-Israel group, organized a rally in Washington, D.C demonizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Meriem Abou-Ghazaleh, a leader at the rally, told [00:02:34] News2share that “America and Israel are butt buddies...they’re puppets. America is a puppet of Israel.”

Protestors at the rally shouted [00:01:02] “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!!” Al-Awda co-founder Abbas Hamideh, who has regularly spread anti-Semitism on his Twitter account, confirmed [00:02:52] that the chant is a call to eliminate Israel.

On December 23, 2017, Zurub tweeted: “The only Israeli food that they eat is the blood of the Palestinian people.”

Zurub retweeted an October 18, 2017 tweet labeling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “genocidal.”

Zurub retweeted a December 8, 2017 tweet stating: “F**k Israel and f**k you if you support their genocide.”

Zurub retweeted a December 28, 2017 tweet calling Israel a “s**tty little colony.”

On March 4, 2018, Zurub was quoted in a Kent State publication accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing.”

Attending the 2019 National SJP Conference

On November 2, 2019, National SJP Conference performer Clarissa Bitar uploaded a video of Noelle Awadallah performing a dance at the Conference to her Instagram stories. The video also featured Zurub and other Conference attendees in the audience.

As of September 2020, Palestine Legal listed Zurub on their website as having led“workshops focused on Black-Palestinian solidarity” at the 2019 National SJP Conference.

The 2019 National SJP Conference was held at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3. The Conference themes centered on support for BDS as well as the rejection of Israel and Zionism.

The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.

2019 National SJP - Supporting BDS

The Conference website called to capitalize on shifts in the political climate, represented by the elections to the U.S. Congress of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who both support BDS. National SJP speakers also reportedly drew attention to Rep. Omar’s support for the BDS movement as the Representative for UMN’s Congressional district.

During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”

The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.

2019 National SJP - Rejecting Israel and Zionism

The 2019 National SJP Conference website indicated that the goal of their “solidarity movement” was to push for policies that “demanded the end of” the state of Israel, referred to as “the Israeli occupation.”

The website clarified that “the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, extends beyond the confines of 1967, and well before the Nakba,” and was based on the rejection of Jewish national self-determination in Israel.

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.

2019 National SJP - Heightened Secrecy

The 2019 National SJP Conference required attendees to be “verified and vouched for” by an SJP chapter to which they belonged and required each chapter to register as a group. The conference also required each group to be verified by a “reference––someone who is NOT going to this conference but who is or has recently been a part of your SJP.”

Members of allied student groups could register only as part of an SJP chapter delegation which, in turn, needed to be “vouched for by their campus’s SJP” for “security culture and accountability reasons.”

The Conference also restricted media access to journalists “registered and confirmed by our Media Committee in advance to attend the conference. Absolutely no exceptions will be made.”

During the Conference, National SJP reportedly covered the windows of the conference hall.

2019 National SJP - Partnering Organizations

National SJP partnered with other anti-Israel organizations to table, sell merchandise and lead workshops, including CODEPINK, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Palestine Legal, Watan Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project.

Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.

Attending the 2018 National SJP Conference

On November 19, 2018, Zurub posed for a group photo taken at the 2018 National SJP conference.

SJP KSU - Supporting Terrorists

On May 6, 2017, SJP KSU posted a Facebook video of its activists leading a “#SaltWaterChallenge” on campus “in solidarity with the 1500+ Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike.”

The “Saltwater Challenge” was held in solidarity with over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners hunger-striking in Israeli prisons — most of whom were convicted for acts of terrorism.

The strike was initiated by Marwan Barghouti, who was serving five consecutive life sentences for his role in suicide bombings and shooting attacks during the second intifada. Barghouti led the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

Barghouti also financed the guitar-case bomb used in the Sbarro Cafe massacre, where 15 civilians were killed and 130 injured.

SJP KSU retweeted a May 11, 2017 tweet that said: “Join us at 8527 S. Harlem from 10am to 7pm for #DignityStrikeChi in support of #Palhunger @Addameer @SamidounPP … ”

Addameer’s logo and images of Barghouti and terrorist Ahmad Sa’adat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), appeared in the tweet’s photos.

Addameer organizes and promotes campaigns on behalf of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and has advocated for theBoycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Addammer is reportedly an “affiliate” of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terror organization. In September 2019, Israeli forces raided the officers of Addammeer, seizing laptops and memory cards.

SJP KSU also retweeted a May 11, 2017 tweet supporting the “#DignityStrike.”

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.

SJP KSU - Promoting Violence and Spreading Hatred

Four leading SJP KSU activists have supported terrorism, spread hatred of Israel and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

On January 6, 2018, Subhi Husien — a 2017-2018 SJP KSU activist — tweeted: “BDS is important for weakening the Zionist entity but violent revolution will be the only solution to gain liberation.”

As of January 2018, Lama Abu Amara — an SJP KSU activist in 2017-2018 — wrote in her Twitter profile: “Globalize the Intifada

Decolonize Palestine.”

The term “intifada” has carried the connotation of violence, since the early 2000’s.

On August 2, 2014, Abu Amara tweeted: “‘Never again.’-The Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. Never again for them, but their descendants think otherwise. #BoycottIsrael #SupportGaza #Gaza.”

On July 12, 2017, Yousef Mousa — a former SJP KSU president — posted a Facebook graphic paraphrasing a quote [00:00:23] by PFLP spokesman Ghassan Kanafani rejecting negotiations as a path to peace.

On December 23, 2017, SJP KSU activist Chance Zurub — the 2018 SJP KSU president — tweeted: “The only Israeli food that they [Israelis] eat is the blood of the Palestinian people.”

SJP KSU - Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theory

On October 24, 2016, SJP KSU tweeted an image of a hand controlling a brain via puppet strings, captioned: “ISRAEL PUBLIC RELATION’S WAR IN THE UNITED STATES.”

The tweet promoted SJP KSU’s October 27, 2016 screening of the anti-Israel film “The Occupation of the American Mind.”

SJP KSU - Demonizing Israel

On May 8, 2017, SJP KSU claimed on Facebook that “Israel’s colonial domination over Palestinians” obligated it to adopt BDS. SJP KSU also wrote that it will boycott “any event that morally or politically equates the oppressor and oppressed, and presents the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis as symmetrical.”

On May 10, 2017, SJP KSU tweeted: “Reality: Israel is an illegitimate state that uses systematic war and apartheid to ethnically cleanse an entire population.”

On May 28, 2017, SJP KSU tweeted: “Israel continues ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian pop. as American college students take ‘birthright’ trips, complicit in Israel's crimes.”

Birthright Israel is a free trip to Israel for Jewish young adults from all over the world.

On March 5, 2018, SJP KSU displayed its “mock Israeli apartheid wall” on campus, representing Israel’s security barrier. The wall included a version of debunked anti-Israel propaganda maps. SJP KSU also displayed the “mock Apartheid Wall” in 2017, where it promoted BDS on campus.

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.