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Dunia Ghanimah

Overview

Dunia Ghanimah has celebrated the death of Israelis, promoted incitement, expressed support for terrorists, spread hatred of Zionists and called for Israel’s destruction.

Ganimah served as president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 academic years.  
 
Ghanimah has also spread hatred of Israel and co-authored a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) resolution at UIUC in 2020 in the Illinois Student Government (ISG) senate.  

Ghanimah was also a member of SJP UIUC’s 2019-2020 Executive Board and she was involved [03:17:30] with SJP UIUC as early as 2016. She attended the 2017 and 2018 National SJP (NSJP) Conferences and reportedly served on the NSJP board.

As of November 2022, Ghanimah was reportedly a national organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM). She is also affiliated with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).

Ghanimah’s father, Naji Ghanimah, is a Fatah activist who has promoted Hitler, spread anti-Semitism and expressed support for terrorists.

In December 2022, Ghanimah was listed online as a second-year master’s student at Midwestern University (Midwestern) and she also wrote that she planned to “attend medical school.” Ghanimah graduated [slide 2] from Midwestern in May 2023.

As of November 2021, Ghanimah’s ResearchGate bio said she was a student at Midwestern in the “Department of Biomedical Sciences in Illinois.” Her skills were listed as “Experimental Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutical Development, Preclinical Pharmacology, CNS Pharmacology, Pharmacodynamics”

As of February 2022, Ghanimah was listed by the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation as having held a Pharmacy Technician’s license, number 049239034, from January 21, 2016, until March 31, 2017.

In 2020, Ghanimah graduated [p. 67] from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UIUC. She pursued an individual plan of study.

On January 7, 2022, Ghanimah tweeted that she had made a fake Instagram account, with the handle “@duniahoops,” to “pretend it’s my main when I was crossing the israeli borders and the soldiers checked my phone.”

As of December 2022, Ghanimah used the handle “@drosepali” and the name “dunia rose” on Twitter. In November 2017, Ghanimah used the username “Dunia Naji” on Facebook.

As of January 2023, Ghanimah’s Facebook page said she was located in Chicago, Illinois.

Celebrating the Death of Israelis

Ghanimah retweeted a June 3, 2023 tweet celebrating the death of three Israeli soldiers killed that day by an Egyptian police officer along the Israeli-Egyptian border. The tweeter wrote: “🇪🇬  مصر ام الدنيا [Egypt is the mother of the world].”

On June 3, 2023, Ghanimah tweeted: “تحيا مصر [Long live Egypt]!!”  

Promoting Incitement

On May 10, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “Israeli settlers getting ready in mobs to storm Al-Aqsa mosque. They really go out of their way to terrorize Palestinians and our holy sites for fun.” Ghanimah’s tweet included two photos of Jewish Israelis standing at the entrance of the Western Wall Plaza.

Palestinians and anti-Israel activists have historically described visits by Jews to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as “incursions” during which Jews purportedly “storm” the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians have also frequently used the mosque to stockpile stone slabs, fireworks and rocks, with which they attack Israeli security officers and non-Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount.

On May 10, 2021, Ghanimah also tweeted: “Israeli settlers are up next in this massacre. They will be storming Al-Aqsa mosque and the neighborhood of #SheikhJarrah to try and finish what the army started. #SaveSheikhJarrah #SaveAlAqsa.”

In May 2021, calls to “save” Sheikh Jarrah, a Jerusalem neighborhood at the center of a property dispute, led to violence against Israelis and were one of the leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza into Israel that month. Israel responded by launching Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW), carrying out targeted military strikes against the terrorists and their infrastructure in Gaza.

On June 29, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “No there are not ‘clashes’ in Silwan, Palestine right now because that would indicate it’s 2-sided violence. Israel is trying to bulldoze their homes and Palestinians are resisting and defending themselves. #SaveSilwan.”

Jewish ownership claims to lands in Silwan, a Jerusalem neighborhood also known as Shiloach, have been frequently met with Palestinian violence against Israelis who sought to reclaim their property rights.

On April 5, 2023, Ghanimah tweeted: “Fix ur headlines. It should be ‘Jewish terrorists attack Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque.’ Call them what they are.”  

Terror Support (PIJ, PLO, PFLP)

On April 15, 2022, Ghanimah tweeted an image honoring multiple terrorists, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) military operatives Saeb Abahreh, Khalil Tawalbeh and Saif Abu Libdeh. The photo also showed Ra’ad Hazem, who earlier that month opened fire on a crowded bar in central Tel Aviv, killing three and wounding more than a dozen. 

Ghanimah wrote in her tweet: “All of our Palestinian Martyrs from the start of Ramadan until now. Ramadan only started 2 weeks ago btw. Allah yerhamhom [May Allah have mercy on them]🇵🇸.” 

Also on April 15, 2022, Ghanimah tweeted: “Stop calling Palestinian Martyrs ‘victims.’ You’re stripping them of their autonomy and individuality and tying their life to the zionist entity. These are our MARTYRS. We created the culture of Martyrdom to honor them. And we will do just that.”

On the same day, Ghanimah tweeted: “God bless the culture of Palestinian Martyrdom. We created such a beautiful culture as a coping mechanism that has saved so many people from never-ending grief, including myself. May our culture only grow stronger and be apart of the Palestinian narrative forever.🇵🇸”

On April 7, 2022, soon after Hazem’s terror attack in Tel Aviv, Ghanimah tweeted: “Power to the Palestinian resistance. Power to our Palestinian Martyrs who paved the way to resistance🇵🇸.”

On June 6, 2021, in a conversation about Israel, Ghanimah tweeted: “Violent resistance is only way😡.”

On May 17, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “If ur going to say that u support Palestine, u must do so unconditionally. No two states, no coexistence, no criticizing our violent resistance. You’re either all in or ur not.”

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 “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

On May 12, 2020, Ghanimah tweeted: “Long live Palestinian violent resistance🇵🇸.”

On the same day, Ghanimah tweeted: “...Through an armed struggle, we will remove the colonizers off our land and achieve liberation.”

On January 4, 2020, Ghanimah spoke [00:00:25] at an event celebrating the 55th anniversary of Fatah and to praise [00:02:50] “the honorable Yasser Arafat.” 

Fatah is the main faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, is listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. 

Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004, was the leader of Fatah and the PLO. Under Arafat, the PLO’s goal was the violent destruction of Israel. Arafat led the second intifada where terrorists carried out over 120 suicide bombings that targeted Israeli civilians. 

During the event, Ghanimah said [00:04:04]: “Fatah also established the doctrine of the armed struggle, which is something a majority of Palestinians and pro-Palestinian activists live by. Liberating Palestine and dismantling the State of Israel through an armed struggle.” 

On September 23, 2019, Ghanimah’s delivered an anti-Israel presentation to colleagues at UIUC that praised [slide 14] “Martyrdom” and honored [slide 10] terrorist leaders Arafat and Leila Khaled. The presentation was the subject of a controversy on campus mentioned further below.

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 May 4, 2017, Ghanimah led [00:00:20] an SJP UIUC event called the “Saltwater Challenge” in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli prison. She continued [00:00:29], using a pro-terror chant associated with Arafat: “be-ruh be-dam nifdik ya Falastin [With blood, with spirit, we will redeem you, Palestine].” 

The “Saltwater Challenge” was held in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prison inmates convicted of terrorism. The strike was initiated by Marwan Barghouti, who was serving five consecutive life sentences for his role in suicide bombings that killed five Israelis during the second intifada. Aarab Barghouti, the son of Marwan Barghouti, launched the "Saltwater Challenge."

Hatred of Zionists

On May 13, 2022, Ghanimah tweeted: “... You truly have to be deranged and crave Palestinian blood to be a Zionist.”

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.


On November 29, 2021, Ghanimah expressed solidarity with Yasmeen Mashayekh, a graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Senator who tweeted her desire to “kill every motherf**king Zionist.”

On November 6, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “When I find out someone is a zionist, I automatically see them as someone who craves me and my people’s death. Don’t ever f**king normalize zionism in the slightest. They want us dead and will hide that craving under the guise of ‘political differences.’”

On August 22, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “Us Palestinians live our lives every day knowing zionists want us dead and will try to ruin our lives any way they can.”

On May 25, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “When we tried passing BDS on campus, Jewish students said they’d ‘feel’ unsafe. F**k ur feelings people are dying.”

On September 23, 2020, Ghanimah commented on an ISG live stream on Facebook where SJP UIUC was presenting a BDS resolution. She wrote [01:58:02]: “when u walk into Hillel, a center for Jewish life, there's a huge Israeli flag on wall....” She continued [1:58:24]: “they've definitely taken their stance on human rights.” She later wrote [2:22:40]: “Zionists always cut ppl off smh [shaking my head] they did this last year too.”

On September 25, 2017, Ghanimah tweeted: “why do zionists on campus wave hi to me b**ch we not friends gimme my country back.”

On September 5, 2017, Ghanimah led [00:03:53] an SJP UIUC rally titled: “Smashing Fascism: Radical Resistance Against White Supremacy.” Ghanimah led activists in chanting: “No Zionists! No KKK [Ku Klux Klan]! Resisting fascists all the way!” 

In her speech at the rally, Ghanimah accused [00:00:02] Zionists of “genocide” and labeled [00:01:40] Israel an “apartheid regime,” stating [00:02:10] that an “Israel is the epitome of fascism.” She also heldan Israeli flag that featured the word “GENOCIDE” with red handprints meant to signify blood.

Calling for Israel’s Destruction

On June 29, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “The Palestinian struggle is not just about one specific thing we are facing. Our struggle is multifaceted but has one common enemy: we will only see liberation and freedom once we see the destruction of zionism and the zionist state.”

On July 8, 2020, Ghanimah spoke [00:06:17] in an interview with muslimnetwork.tv where she said [00:46:16]: “Because at the end of the day, the only thing that will free Palestine is getting rid of Zionism and the Israeli state that is directly oppressing them.”

On May 20, 2020, Ghanimah tweeted: “me praying on the holiest night of the year: oh Allah pls let me witness the downfall of the Israeli regime and a free Palestine ameen thanks🙏🏼.”

On September 1, 2017, Ghanimah tweeted: “All I want for Eid is for the Israeli regime to fall and burn🇵🇸.”

Eid is the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice, or Eid al-Adha, which lasts four days.

Hatred of Israel

On September 23, 2019, Ghanimah delivered an anti-Israel presentation to fellow Multicultural Advocates (MA), as well as UIUC Housing employees and Resident Advisors. 

As stated above, Ghanimah’s presentation praised [slide 14] “Martyrdom” and honored [slide 10] terrorist leaders Arafat and Khaled. The presentation’s title celebrated [slide 1]: “Palestinian Resistance to 70 Years of Israeli Terror.” 

Ghanimah’s presentation accused [slide 2] Israel of “Genocide,” “ethnic cleansing” and “Apartheid.” One of her slides said [slide 4]: “1948: Palestinian’s Nakba: Catastrophe -- Israel independence day.” 

The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.


Another slide included [slide 5] a debunked map that opposed the growth of “Jewish land” and “Israeli land,” to the loss of “Palestinian land.” 

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.


One of the purposes of the presentation was to claim [slide 3] that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. She also defined [slide 2] “Settler Colonialism,” as the “colonization with purpose of territorial occupation and formation of new community.”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.

One way anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is by denying [00:17:45] Jewish history, with the aim of delegitimizing restored Jewish sovereignty, attacking Israel’s legitimacy and portraying Jews as foreign to the Land of Israel.

Ghanimah’s presentation also praised violent Hamas-led protests on the Israel-Gaza border known as the “Great Return March.” She highlighted [slide 12] the “Palestinian Right of Return” as one of the protesters’ demands and wrote: “March was set to proceed on March 30, 2018 with a series of creative protests, sit-ins, and events leading up to May 15: Catastrophe/Nakba Day, 6 weeks.”

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.


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.

Agitators also threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires. 

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.”

On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior 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 9, 2019, Ghanimah tweeted: “OMFGGGGG THE REPORTS ON MY PALESTINE PRESENTATION HAVE SURPASSED THE SCHOOL OFFICIALS AND HAVE REACHED THE STATE GOVERNORS OFFICE😭😭😭😭😭.”

In the same thread. Ghanimah tweeted: “Several groups have threatened to sue my school bc of me lmfaooooooo [laughing my f**king a** off].”

On October 10, 2019, Ghanimah tweeted: “Zionists had a problem with the title of my presentation being ‘Palestinian resistance to 70 years of Israeli terror’ they’re right it’s actually 71* years🇵🇸.”

Also on October 10, 2019, SJP UIUC wrote on Facebook in defense of Ghanimah’s presentation: “Zionism is a political ideology that seeks to maintain an artificial Jewish majority in historic Palestine through the systematic occupation and dispossession of Palestinians’ land and livelihoods.”

Following complaints about the presentation, UIUC Chancellor Robert Jones sent out a mass email to the UIUC community denouncing Ghanimah’s presentation for its anti-Semitism.

On October 16, 2019, several ISG senators authored a resolution defending the presentation.

On October 22, 2019, SJP UIUC posted on Facebook encouraging students to support the ISG’s resolution.

On October 23, 2019, SJP UIUC’s resolution passed, despite a protest by more than 400 Jewish students who walked out of the student government meeting. SJP activists reportedly held signs that said: “Free Palestine F**k Zionists” and cheered: “Free Palestine.” 

On October 24, 2019, SJP UIUC posted on Facebook in celebration of the resolution passing.

On January 5, 2020, Ghanimah tweeted: “THIS IS FOR ISRAEL YOU BIG FAT WHITE NASTY SMELLING B**CH WHY YOU TAKE PALESTINE OFF THE MOTHERF**KIN MAP WITH YO TRIFFLIN DIRTY WHITE RACIST A** YOU BIG OOMPA LOOMPA BODY A** B**CH IM COMING UP THERE AND IMMA BEAT THE F**K OUT OF YOU B**CH🇵🇸.”

On January 16, 2020, SJP UIUC tweeted a thread protesting a training session on anti-Semitism that had been scheduled for UIUC Housing employees, Resident Advisors, and Multicultural Advocates. The session was organized by the non-profit Jewish United Fund of Chicago (JUF).

In the Twitter thread, SJP UIUC described the JUF as a “hate group.” SJP UIUC also accused JUF of the “brokering of Chicago Police Officers exchange with israeli Occupation Forces” that contributed to a “police culture of systematic violence against Black and Palestinian youth.” 

“IOF” stands for Israeli Occupation Forces, a derogatory name used by anti-Israel activists to demonize Israel’s army in place of its official name, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

On June 24, 2021, Ghanimah tweeted: “F**K THE PA [Palestinian Authority] AND F**K ZIONISM IN THE SAME BREATH.”

On May 11, 2022, Ghanimah tweeted: “The sooner that everyone stops living in delusion and collectively realizes that the zionist regime’s goal is to execute every Palestinian no matter who they are, the closer we are to dismantling it. Zionism was created at the expense of Palestinians so it is operating that way.”

BDS Resolution Co-Author

On February 5, 2020, Ghanimah and other SJP UIUC leaders Buthaina Hattab and Ahlam Khatib all co-authored an ISG anti-Israel divestment resolution titled: “Violations of Human Rights in University Investments.”

On February 6, 2020, Ghanimah promoted to Facebook a UIUC Divest event called: “Divest 101.” Ghanimah wrote: “Lemme find out you tryna divest dude. 🇵🇸.”

On February 12, 2020, a female Jewish student spoke [01:56:58] at an ISG meeting held to discuss the divestment resolution, to discuss an incident where someone held a sign that said [p. 7]: “F**K NAZIS SUPPORT PALESTINIANS.” 

The female Jewish student said that she attended an ISG meeting during the fall 2019 semester that addressed a separate anti-Israel resolution. She said [01:56:58]: “When I walked into the room I was confronted by a huge sign held up by SJP that said ‘F**k Nazis.’ They called us Nazis!” 

Someone in the crowd then shouted [01:57:07] at the same female Jewish student: “They’re right!”

On February 12, 2020, Ghanimah helped present the divestment resolution (RES 0.3:61), that she co-authored. She spoke [03:17:25] in defense of the resolution, which ultimately passed the student senate. 

On February 15, 2020, Ghanimah tweeted: “WE DID IT BABYYYY🇵🇸.” Her tweet linked to UIUC Divest’s tweet that said: “After a 6 hour student government hearing, UIUC Divest passes 20-9-7! ISG resolution 03.61 ‘Violation of Human Rights in University Investments’ calls on UIUC to divest from corporations that engage in human Rights abuses including Israeli war crimes in Palestine. 🇵🇸#UIUCDivest.”

On February 17, 2020, UIUC Divest tweeted a letter signed by SJP UIUC criticizing ISG President Connor Josellis for vetoing the resolution one day earlier.

On February 19, 2020, Josellis said [00:37:31] that he vetoed the resolution because of “a level of hate that I have not previously seen firsthand and on behalf of the student government, I condemn any hateful rhetoric that led to students feeling unsafe in this environment.” Ghanimah also spoke [00:31:37] at the February 19, 2020 meeting.

Anti-Israel Activism (SJP, BDS, AMP)

On December 29, 2019, Ghanimah spoke as a representative of SJP UIUC at an American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) event during the 2019 MAS-ICNA [Muslim American Society (MAS) and Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)] Convention.

On November 30, 2019, Ghanimah featured in a photo tweeted by SJP Chicago of a discussion at AMP’s annual conference. The tweet said: “SJP Chicago repping at the #palestineconvention19 Campus Activism Track.”

In April 2019, while Ghanimah was SJP UIUC president, the organization held an Israeli Apartheid Week series of events.

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is presented internationally as a “series of events that seeks to raise awareness of…Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people.” One of its goals is to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. IAW has been renamed Palestine Awareness Week.

On November 28, 2018, Ghanimah was featured in a group photo posted to Facebook by DePaul University’s SJP chapter, which was taken at the AMP 2018 annual conference. The comment on the post read: “Much love to the @palestineconvention for hosting such an amazing Campus Activism Track! Until next year🇵🇸✌️#Palestine #PalestineConvention #AMP18.”

On April 9, 2018, Ghanimah was reported to have helped organize IAW 2018 at UIUC. One of the IAW events featured a mock “apartheid wall” meant to demonize Israel’s security barrier. 

Israel’s security barrier, 97 percent of which is a low chain-link barrier, was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.


On January 31, 2017, Ghanimah posted to Facebook: “it's official. make sure to like UIUC Divest or follow @uiucdivest on twitter, IG [Instagram], & snapchat to be updated on our campaign!”

UIUC Divest calls “upon the [UIUC] Board of Trustees to pull its investments from companies that normalize, engage in, or fund recognized violations of human rights, including those of the Palestinian people.” 

UIUC launched their 2020 UIUC Divest Campaign on February 4, 2020. Ghanimah commented in UIUC’s Divest Facebook post: “So Glad ur back luv.”

SJP UIUC Chapter Overview  

SJP UIUC has a history of hate-filled anti-Israel protests on campus, including in April 2022 when someone threw a rock at Jewish students. SJP UIUC leads an annual anti-Israel divestment campaign where other anti-Semitic incidents have occurred. 

In November 2020, SJP UIUC featured [pp. 3-8] prominently as a source of anti-Semitism on campus in a civil rights legal complaint filed against UIUC.

SJP UIUC speakers show support for terrorists and spread hatred of Zionists and Israel. Speakers use chants that call for Israel’s destruction and other chants for “intifada,” which is a call for violence.

SJP UIUC speakers also routinely demonize Zionism and in March 2022, one speaker claimed: “Zionism is the root cause of the social issues we see today.” SJP UIUC uses social media to spread the same sort of hatred outlined above. 

SJP UIUC - Creating a Hostile Campus Environment 2015-2020

In October 2020, SJP UIUC was cited [pp. 3-8] in six different incidents in a civil rights legal complaint against UIUC documenting anti-Semitic incidents on campus as early as 2015. Jewish groups filed the complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The complaint said [p.12]: “UIUC has also failed to combat anti-Semitism as vigorously as it has combated other forms of bigotry on its campus prohibited by Title VI.”

One cited incident [p.4] was from 2019 when SJP UIUC members and supporters approached pro-Israel students. At least one SJP supporter spat on a pro-Israel student. Other Israel supporters were called “Nazi” and “white supremacist” and were told they had “dual loyalty” since they were “not a true citizen of the United States.”

SJP UIUC - Hatred of Israel 2020-2021

On November 18, 2020, SJP UIUC wrote on Facebook that Zionists “advocate for white supremacy and racism,” and that Zionism was a “racist ideology.” The post also said: “The Zionist state in Palestine has carried out and continues a massive ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

On May 10, 2021, SJP UIUC hosted an anti-Israel protest where protesters chanted [00:03:25]: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” They also chanted [00:27:31]: “Stop the killing, stop the hate! Israel is a terror state!”

One speaker said [00:02:16]: “Zionism is genocidal.” Another speaker said [00:12:55]: “When we talk about violence it’s always from the oppressor so anything else that the oppressed do is self defense and justified.”

SJP UIUC - Supporting Terrorists 2019-2020

On November 15, 2019, SJP UIUC held a protest where Sarah El Zayyat, then an SJP UIUC member, read [00:18:57] names from a list of “martyrs.” One of the names she read was Baha Abu al-Ata, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander in Gaza targeted by Israel in an airstrike who was reportedly planning terror attacks. 

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.   

At the rally, an activist held [00:00:46] an Israeli flag defaced with the text “GENO✡️CIDE” and red handprints meant to signify blood.

SJP UIUC protest was titled: “EMERGENCY RALLY: #GazaUnderAttack.” The Facebook event page said: “In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes have killed over 32 Palestinians and injured over 100 in the last 24 hours. Come stand with us in solidarity against Israel's continual genocide and violation of Palestinian human rights.” 

SJP UIUC - Hatred of Israel 2019-2020

On October 10, 2019, SJP UIUC wrote on Facebook: “Zionism is a political ideology that seeks to maintain an artificial Jewish majority in historic Palestine through the systematic occupation and dispossession of Palestinians’ land and livelihoods.”

The post was issued in defense of a presentation by SJP president Dunia Ghanimah that praised [slide 14] “Martyrdom” and honored terrorist leaders Leila Khaled and Yasser Arafat. Ghanimah, who was a Mulitcultural Advocate (MA) at UIUC, gave the presentation to other MAs, as well as UIUC Housing employees and Resident Advisors.

On October 16, 2019, several Illinois Student Government (ISG) senators authored a resolution defending the presentation.

On October 22, 2019, SJP UIUC posted on Facebook encouraging students to support the ISG’s resolution.

On October 24, 2019, SJP UIUC posted on Facebook in celebration of the resolution passing.

On January 16, 2020, SJP UIUC tweeted a thread protesting a training session on anti-Semitism that had been scheduled for UIUC Housing employees, Resident Advisors, and Multicultural Advocates. The session was organized by the non-profit Jewish United Fund of Chicago (JUF).

In the Twitter thread, SJP UIUC described the JUF as a “hate group.” SJP UIUC also accused JUF of the “brokering of Chicago Police Officers exchange with israeli Occupation Forces” that contributed to a “police culture of systematic violence against Black and Palestinian youth.”

“Israeli Occupation Forces,” or “IOF,” is a derogatory term used to demonize the Israeli army by anti-Israel activists. The term mocks the official name, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). 

SJP UIUC BDS Activities

During the 2019-2020 academic year, SJP UIUC launched a BDS campaign by authoring a student government resolution asking the university to divest funds from companies that are either based in Israel or do business in Israel.

In February 2020, SJP UIUC created the group UIUC Divest to promote BDS on campus and present BDS as an intersectional effort from different campus advocacy groups. In that academic year and each year since then, SJP UIUC or individual SJP UIUC board members authored a divestment resolution. 

SJP UIUC - BDS Activities 2020-2021

On September 23, 2020, UIUC’s student government voted [03:31:41] during a live streamed ISG meeting in favor of a BDS resolution titled: “RES.04.22 Human Rights Violations in University Investments and Police Forces.” Former SJP UIUC presidents Sofia Sinnokrot and Buthaina Hattab authored the resolution.

SJP UIUC’s statement on the vote claimed that “both the BDS and the BLM [Black Lives Matter] movement resist the fundamental racism that Israeli and American entities need to survive.” 

During the live stream, Sophia Giakas Ayesh, a former SJP UIUC activist, commented [02:36:58]: “Honestly bruh, Zionism is a political agenda that’s racist and supports genocide so bye.”

Zionism is defined as the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, Israel, and the right to develop their national culture   

2018 National SJP - Celebrating Violence  

During the 2018 National SJP conference, anti-Israel activist Mohammed Nabulsi led the attendees in the chant [00:00:52] “Long Live the Intifada! Intifada! Intifada!”

Since the early 2000’s, the term “intifada” has carried the connotation of violence. The second intifada was characterized by more than 120 suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes.

Anti-Israel activist Omar Zahzah also reportedly [00:00:07] led National SJP attendees in chanting, in Arabic, “With our bodies and our blood, we will free Palestine.”

As of November 2018, the 2018 National SJP website glorified “radical hope and upfront defiance of Zionism,” citing as examples the “early revolts through the Intifadas to the Great Return March.”

The Great Return March of 2018 was organized and funded by the terror group Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border to spotlight the demand of Palestinians to “return” to Israel. 

Tens of thousands of rioters gathered on Israel’s Gaza border, attempting numerous breaches of Israel’s border fence, with leaders andparticipants declaring their intention to harm Jews. 

National SJP originally promoted a conference logo featuring a keffiyeh-wearing bear, looking toward a kite bearing the colors of the Palestinian flag. 

On October 27, 2018, National SJP said the kite signified “the power in the Gaza March of Return.” 

Since March 2018, March of Return participants and Hamas’s “Kite Unit” have sent hundreds of kites bearing incendiary devices and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) across the border into Israel to terrorize Israelis. The kites are often marked with swastikas.

By the time National SJP produced its 2018 conference logo highlighting the kites in October 2018, Gazan terror kites and balloons had ignited more than 1,300 fires in Israel, over seven months.  

2018 National SJP - Undermining U.S. Support for Israel  

On November 18, 2018, the US Palestine Community Network (USPCN) posted on Facebook the 2018 National SJP keynote speech by Hatem Abudayyeh, USPCN’s co-founder. 
 
Abudayyeh has supported [00:08:45] convicted terrorists, praised terror organizations, called for Israel’s destruction and is an activist in theBoycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In his 2018 National SJP Keynote, Abudayyeh said [00:53:01] that the “specific role” of Palestinian and Arab students was to organize [00:53:42] in order to weaken “Zionist Israel” and force [00:54:23] the U.S. to “no longer provide it with diplomatic, political, financial and military cover and support.” 

Abudayyeh predicted [00:55:37] that once U.S. support to Israel ends, National SJP attendees would return to Palestine as “conquering heroes,” end [00:54:38] the “occupation and colonization of all Arab lands including the Golan Heights” and replace “Zionist Israel” with a Palestinian state. 

2018 National SJP - Whitewashing Terror Organizations  

During his keynote speech, Abudayyeh also painted [00:14:01] terrorist organizations as “liberation movements” and “resistance organizations,” stating [00:14:21] “what we also know is that the majority of the resistance organizations in Palestine are on the U.S. state department list of foreign terrorist organizations.” 

Abudayyeh also celebrated [00:52:00] that all of the “armed resistance” organizations in Gaza are part [00:52:14] of a “unified resistance in Gaza, that includes all of the resistance organizations, working together under a unified military command.”

2018 National SJP - Defending Terrorist Rasmea Odeh  

During his keynote speech, Abudayyeh claimed [00:08:28] that pro-Israel organizations “go after students like you,” adding [00:08:20] “just like they went after my friend and colleague, Rasmea Odeh.” 

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.

Abudayyeh added that he was asked [00:08:45] to talk about Odeh’s case, and praised SJP and SDS students who organized [00:09:15] “absolutely valuable” events on behalf [00:9:11] of Odeh, “as she was fighting to stay in the U.S.”

2018 National SJP - Demonizing Israel and Jews  

During his keynote speech, Abudayyeh defended [00:27:25] the “Irvine 11” — eleven Muslim Student Union (MSA)   members who were arrested in 2010 for repeatedly shouting down former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren during an address at the University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine). 

Abudayyeh referred [00:27:37] to Oren as a “racist fascist speaker, representative of a racist, fascist country.”

Abudayyeh went on to claim [00:29:48] that “today, even in the United States, Israel is finally being seen as the criminal, apartheid, racist state that it is.”

Abudayyeh also called for increased action in the face of President U.S. Donald Trump, and referred [00:48:41] to Jared Kushner, Trump’s Jewish son-in-law and senior advisor, as “that pig son-in-law of his.” 

2018 National SJP - Excluding Students  

The 2018 National SJP Conference welcomed only students who were verified and vouched for by an SJP (or otherwise named campus Palestine solidarity group). Media requests needed to be “approved by the NSJP press team” prior to the conference.

A November 7, 2018 Columbus Jewish News article reported that the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on UCLA to cancel the 2018 NSJP conference, stating that a “public university should not allow any group to implement a litmus test for event participation on their campus.”

On November 12, 2018, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block published an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times that criticized National SJP’s exclusion of members of pro-Israel student groups. 

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.


Social Media and Weblinks




Dunia Ghanimah
Status:
Student
University:
Midwestern,
more...
Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
Organizations:
AMP,
BDS,
more...
PYM,
SJP

Related Profiles:
Sarah Tawashy,

Last Modified:
06/23/2025

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Infamous Quotes

“Long live Palestinian violent resistance .”
Dunia Ghanimah, Twitter, May 12 2020
“THIS IS FOR ISRAEL YOU BIG FAT WHITE NASTY SMELLING B**CH WHY YOU TAKE PALESTINE OFF THE MOTHERF**KIN MAP WITH YO TRIFFLIN DIRTY WHITE RACIST A** YOU BIG OOMPA LOOMPA BODY A** B**CH IM COMING UP THERE AND IMMA BEAT THE F**K OUT OF YOU B**CH .”
Dunia Ghanimah, Twitter, Jan 5 2020
“...You truly have to be deranged and crave Palestinian blood to be a Zionist.”
Dunia Ghanimah, Twitter, May 13 2022
“All I want for Eid is for the Israeli regime to fall and burn .”
Dunia Ghanimah, Twitter, Sep 1 2017
“The Palestinian struggle is not just about one specific thing we are facing. Our struggle is multifaceted but has one common enemy: we will only see liberation and freedom once we see the destruction of zionism and the zionist state.”
Dunia Ghanimah, Twitter, Jun 29 2021
“Fatah also established the doctrine of the armed struggle, which is something a majority of Palestinians and pro-Palestinian activists live by. Liberating Palestine and dismantling the State of Israel through an armed struggle.”
Dunia Ghanimah, Facebook, Jan 4 2020
“When we tried passing BDS on campus, Jewish students said they’d ‘feel’ unsafe. F**k ur feelings people are dying.”
Dunia Ghanimah, Twitter, May 25 2021