Eli Sharf
Overview
Eli Sharf blocked the door to a United States Senator’s office during an IfNotNow (INN) protest, opposed the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and has participated in events that repurposed Jewish rituals.He has also opposed the Birthright Jewish Heritage tour.
As of June 2019, Sharf’s LinkedIn page said he was Computational Linguist at Google and that he graduated from Brown University (Brown) with a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Computer Science in 2016.
Supporting Violent Protesters
On April 13, 2018, Sharf participated [00:25:02] in an INN protest in San Francisco, in support of the Great March of Return. Activists, including Sharf, blocked the doors of United States Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office for over two hours, forcing the building to close for the duration of the protest.The “Land Day Protests” or the “Great March of Return,” saw some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approach Israel’s border, on March 30, 2018, The March was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border.
The activists also recited [00:05:55] the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer for Palestinians killed during the Great March of Return protests. INN stated: “The demonstrators called on Feinstein to condemn Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters in Gaza” and referred to “The Great March of Return” as “a protest which has not injured or endangered Israeli soldiers or civilians.”
At the event, Muhammad Abu Amro was eulogized [00:36:40]. Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades identified Abu Amro as one of their “martyrs” and posted a photo of him armed and in uniform on both their website and on Twitter.
INN Bay Area member Amitai Ben-Abba eulogized [00:34:32] photojournalist Yasser Murtaja. Murtaja was reportedly a Hamas spy who useddrones to film Israeli positions. He was shot on April 6, 2018 as he filmed the 2018 March of Return protest in Gaza.
During the protest, Sharf also read out [00:58:28] a speech by INN activist Shay Roman that eulogized Murtaja.
On May 24, 2018, Sharf participated in an event “in solidarity with the Palestinian victims of last week's massacre in Gaza,” titled: “Iftar in the Streets for Gaza.”
The event was organized by INN together with MPower Change, co-founded by Linda Sarsour, and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), which has been accused of providing a platform for anti-Semitism and of connections to Hamas.
At the event, AMP founder Hatem Bazian said [00:00:31]: “MPower, IfNotNow and AMP are coming together to craft a new path for change.” He went on to say [00:07:35]: “we want to celebrate the fact that a new broad coalition is coming together.”
Activists recited [00:13:35] the Mourner's Kaddish prayer for Palestinians who had been killed in the Gaza border protests.
The Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish is a prayer customarily reserved for close relatives or Jews murdered for being Jews.
Opposing the Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
On December 8, 2017, Sharf participated [00:07:13] in an INN Bay Area protest against 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.The event’s Facebook description called the recognition “incitement” and said: “We will not wait to see how this plays out before taking a side; we know this is wrong and we take action now.”
At the event, INN Bay Area member [00:21:47] Amitai Ben-Abba said [00:26:06] that “by granting its status as capital, Trump is legitimizing apartheid.”
Sharf also indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a December 6, 2017 INN Boston protest against the U.S. governments recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The event’s Facebook description called Trump’s announcement “incitement of violence” and said they would “not allow Trump and AIPAC to start a war in our name.”
Repurposing Jewish Rituals
On April 7, 2018, Sharf participated in INN Bay Area’s “wandering Seder” in which activists used different items from the Seder plate to tell [00:00:14] the story of Passover and “to condemn the brutality toward Gazans.” INN Bay Area member Amitai Ben-Abba read the names of Palestinians who had been killed and said [00:00:11] “may their names be carved into our Hagaddah.”A Seder is a Jewish Passover ritual, that involves telling the story of the Israelites’ exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt and their travels to the Promised Land.
Opposing Jewish Heritage Tour
On July 2, 2018, Sharf and fellow INN Bay Area activists gathered at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), where Jewish students were preparing to go on their Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel.Activists distributed materials about “the Occupation” and the INN Facebook post linked to an INN petition that accused Birthright of “hiding the truth about Israel and the Occupation from us.”
Birthright Israel is a heritage trip to Israel for Jewish young adults from across the world.
INN Activism
On June 11, 2017, Sharf participated [00:02:25] in an INN Bay area protest titled: “No Celebration For Occupation,” against a Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF) event.The protest’s Facebook description said the event was held “to honor the IDF soldiers who were the first troops to enter the Old City of Jerusalem during the 1967 war,” which INN characterized as “the beginning of 50 years of military Occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.”
The protest’s Facebook description also said: “We will not stand idly by while FIDF and our community commemorates this moment without rejecting the occupation.”
On December 28, 2017, Sharf created a fundraising page for INN on Facebook and said in his “information about IfNotNow” that “we are now dehumanized by that which we are inflicting [on Palestinians]...as long as a fearful American Jewish community ostracizes those who see the Palestinians as human beings, deserving of the same things we wish for ourselves, we cannot live with dignity.”
On May 22, 2018, Sharf co-hosted an INN event titled: “IfNotNow Story Workshop: Growing UP.”
JVP Activity
Sharf indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) “Deadly Exchange Teach-In” on May 7, 2018.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.
IfNotNow (INN)
IfNotNow (INN) is an anti-Israel organization founded in 2014, in response to Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas.
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/662526237Twitter:https://twitter.com/elisnarfsnarf [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-sharf-b0a28369/
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- Brown
- Organizations:
- INN
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
Photos & Screenshots
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