Christopher Rumbough

Overview

Christopher Rumbough [Christopher J. Rumbough] was an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), at Temple University (Temple) in late 2016 and has served as the group’s Activities Chair.

Rumbough is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Rumbough wrote on his Facebook page that he started school at Temple in 2014, and noted on his timeline that he is studying Political Science.

Supporting A Terrorist

On July 27, 2016, Rumbough retweeted a tweet demanding the release of Bilal Kayed. Kayed is a military operative with the the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Kayed was incarcerated for 14 years in 2002, for terrorist operations committed during the second Intifada.

Demonizing Israel

On September 26, 2016, Rumbough retweeted the tweet: “Have heard this logic from almost every Zionist I knew IRL: Apartheid necessary to prevent democracy/decolonization.”

On April 20, 2016, Rumbough participated in an Apartheid Wall Demonstration event on campus featuring an “apartheid wall.” Temple SJP students danced in front of the wall and enacted a mock Israeli checkpoint. Rumbough participated in a similar event, in April 2015.

Temple SJP - Supporting PFLP Terrorists (2014-2016)

On November 5, 2014, Temple SJP posted on Facebook in support of Rasmea Odeh, and referred to Odeh as a “women’s rights advocate” and “a beloved Palestinian icon.”

Odeh was a key military operative [00:02:08] with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, who masterminded a bombing in a Jerusalem supermarket in 1969 that killed two college students. She also attempted to bomb the British consulate. She later moved to the United States, where she was convicted of immigration fraud in 2014, stripped of her U.S. citizenship and deported to Jordan in 2017.

Also on November 5, 2014, Temple SJP shared on Facebook an image promoting an “Action Plan” for Odeh that directed readers to sign petitions, call political officials, and participate in a social media campaign to get the federal government to drop the charges against Odeh. On November 10, 2014, a federal jury convicted Odeh.

On November 15, 2014, Temple SJP tweeted a photo of their supporters holding a sign that read: “We’re dancing for you Rasmea.” The photo was taken following an SJP Philly event held the day before titled: “Philly, don't Dance with Israeli Apartheid.”

On January 27, 2016, Temple SJP posted to Facebook a photo of four Temple SJP activists holding signs supporting Odeh. One sign read: “DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST RASMEA ODEH,” while another sign said: “Support Palestinian Right To Resist.”

On January 26, 2016, Temple SJP tweeted a graphic honoring PFLP founder George Habash and wrote: “Rest in Power George Habash.” The graphic featured text that read: “As long as you are still fighting in defense of your dignity and for your occupied land, all is well. Revolt, for you have nothing to lose but your chains.”

George Habash, was the 1970 mastermind behind the hijackings of four Western airliners over the United States, Europe, the Far East and the Persian Gulf. In 1972, the PFLP collaborated with Japanese Red Army terrorists to massacre 24 people at Israel's Lod International Airport (renamed Ben Gurion International Airport).

Habash, the founder of the terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), has been called “the godfather of Middle East terrorism.”

On March 8, 2016, Temple SJP tweeted a graphic featuring Leila Khaled holding an assault rifle. Temple SJP wrote: “#InternationalWomensDay.”

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

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.

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

On August 19, 2016, Temple SJP hosted a demonstration at the Israeli Consulate in Philadelphia calling for the release of Bilal Kayed.

Kayed was a PFLP terrorist who was incarcerated for 14 years for terror attacks and attempted terror attacks committed during the second intifada, in 2002.

Temple SJP - Demonizing Israel (2015-2016)

On April 20, 2016, Temple SJP hosted an “Apartheid Wall Demonstration” event on campus. The Facebook event page said: “We will protest the apartheid and colonialism of the Israeli state against the Palestinian people by setting up a mock wall on campus…”

The “mock apartheid wall” is a display of multiple panels demonizing Israel's security barrier, which was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks and in response to Palestinian sniper attacks. SJP chapters often erect these displays during their annual Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) event.

On March 26, 2015, Temple SJP held an anti-Israel rally on the Temple campus where activists referred [00:00:59] to Israel’s security barrier as an “apartheid wall.’’ Temple SJP activist Iman Sultan spoke in the video where she encouraged [00:00:21] support for BDSand claimed that Israel practices “apartheid.”

During the event, Brandon-Hai Do, then-vice president of Temple SJP, led [00:00:20] anti-Israel chants. Using a bullhorn, Do told [00:02:15] the crowd: “When freedom isn’t returned to the people, then they are left with no choice but to take it. From North Philly to Palestine we will resist and the wall will be crushed.”

Temple SJP - Promoting BDS (2014-2016)

On November 28, 2016, Temple SJP co-hosted a Boycott HP [Hewlett Packard] teach-in, with Philly BDS, as part of the BDS campaign titled: “Boycott HP International Week of Action.”

Hewlett Packard was targeted with a worldwide, week-long boycott for providing imaging technology for Israel’s checkpoints and other technology.

On October 25, 2016, Temple SJP held an event titled: “Palestine 101,” which promoted BDS.

On November 19, 2015, Temple SJP members held an event titled: “Against Apartheid: The Case for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.” The event featured Purdue University (Purdue) professor Bill Mullen, a national BDS movement leader and faculty adviser of the SJP Purdue.

On November 14, 2014, Temple SJP and Philly BDS staged a protest against the Israel-based Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC) outside of a theater in Philadelphia.

The Facebook event description said that the protest was done “to call out the whitewashing of Israeli genocide of Gaza this summer,” a reference to Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas. Israel commenced OPEin July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

Temple SJP - Hosting Anti-Israel Activists (2014-2016)

On October 28, 2016, Temple SJP hosted an event featuring American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) leader Taher Herzallah titled: “Combating Normalization.”

Proponents of the “anti-normalization” policy seek to police all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians and shut down all conversations and interactions perceived as being ideologically unaligned with their own agenda.

On April 22, 2016, Temple SJP hosted an event featuring anti-Israel poet Remi Kanazi.

Remi Kanazi is an anti-Israel poet who has supported terrorism and has compared Israel to both ISIS and the Ku Klux Klan. He is known for his spoken-word performances which are aggressively anti-Israel.

On March 27, 2014, Temple SJP hosted an event featuring anti-Israel activist Josh Ruebner. At the time of the event, he served as the National Advocacy Director for the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), a pro-BDS group.

Josh Ruebner has spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for terrorists and defended terrorism. He has also whitewashed [00:03:52] terrorists and promoted hatred of Israel.

Temple SJP - Violent Incident at an SJP Event (2014)

On August 20, 2014, a pro-Israel Temple student was assaulted at a Temple SJP table during Temple Fest, an “involvement fair” on campus.

The attack was reportedly perpetrated by Temple alumnus Aziz Jalil, who allegedly struck the student in the face, as the student was called “Zionist,” "Kike,"“Racist,” "Baby Killer" and other anti-Semitic names and slurs.

Jalil subsequently turned himself in to police and was charged with assault and recklessly endangering another person.

On August 20, 2014, Temple issued a statement, following the attack which said the assault was “alleged to have included physical violence, anti-Semitic statements, and racial slurs.”

On September 3, 2014, Temple SJP claimed that Jalil “was only a visitor to the SJP table” and that he had no formal affiliation with the group. However, other reports and a November 2012 picture posted on the Temple SJP Twitter account contradict this claim.

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.