Denna Yacoub

Overview

Denna Yacoub was an officer with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of South Florida (USF) in 2017.

As of November 2019, Yacoub’s LinkedIn page said she attended USF from 2016 to 2018.

SJP USF Activism

On October 27, 2017, SJP USF posted a photo with Yacoub and other SJP USF activists from its “Festival of Resistance” event one day earlier.

The photo featured an activist posing in the middle of the group while wearing a jacket honoring Leila Khaled.

Leila Khaled is a leading member 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 [00:36:07] for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.  

On December 20, 2017, Yacoub appeared in an SJP USF Instagram photo where she was identified as one of the “newly elected officers.”

SJP USF - Leaders Idolizing Terrorists and Spreading Anti-Semitism

In March 2019, SJP USF officers included vice president Abdallah Junio Mansour, who has a history of spreading anti-Semitism on Facebook and secretary Salman Shalan. 

SJP USF - Supporting Violent Riots  

On April 11, 2018, SJP USF posted an Instagram photo for an April 14, 2018 rally it co-sponsored in downtown Tampa, FL. The rally was in support of “The Great Return March” riots that had begun two weeks earlier, in Gaza.

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 violent demonstrations were instigated by Hamas on the Israeli-Gaza border. Participants declared their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”

March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Rioters also made numerous attempts to breach Israel’s border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
On May 14, 2018, SJP USF posted on Instagram: “52 Palestinians have been killed on the border of Gaza by Israeli snippers [sic] as the US embassy opens in Jerusalem.”

On May 16, 2018, senior Hamas official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.

On October 27, 2018, SJP USF claimed on Instagram: “For over six months the people of Gaza have been peacefully protesting at the border …”  

In April 2018, media reports confirmed [00:00:20] the March of Return protesters’ breaches and attempted breaches of Israel’s border fence, some by armed Palestinians. One Hamas leader declared [00:00:30]: “We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.”

SJP USF - Demonizing Israel  

On February 22, 2019, SJP USF posted an Instagram image promoting its event featuring Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) board member Eran Efrati. The SJP USF image quoted Efrati as saying that as an Israeli soldier, he was “the terrorist.”

On February 6, 2019, SJP USF posted an Instagram image promoting BDS and accusing Israel of“settler colonialism” and “apartheid.” The image called for a boycott of a performance by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) in Sarasota, Florida.

On October 8, 2018, SJP USF posted an Instagram video of its activists making a display portraying Israel’s security barrier as an “Apartheid Wall.” The display promoted BDS and was for an event on campus the next day. 

On January 6, 2019, SJP USF posted an Instagram image claiming that Israel simultaneously will “play the victim” and “commit war crimes.”

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.

Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/100018411300263/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/dennayacoub/ [Private]

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/denna-yacoub-0373b9129/