Elias Ayoub

Overview

Elias Ayoub has called for death to America and for the destruction of Israel. Ayoub has also justified violence, expressed support for terrorists and spread hatred of Zionists. He has used social media to spread hatred of America, Israel and Canada. 

In May 2021, Ayoub was reportedly an organizer and spokesman for Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) chapter in Montreal, Quebec. In 2019, Ayoub participated [00:00:03] in a violent protest. 

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

As of September 2022, Ayoub wrote on his website that he was a “Palestinian creator and community organizer currently based in Montreal.” However, as of the same date, Ayoub’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages said he was located in Toronto, Ontario. His Twitter bio said: “toronto • montreal • @palyouthmvmt .”

As of April 2022, Ayoub’s portfolio website included digital content for Rābet, an online platform based in Israel for the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD). 

In January 2020, Ayoub served as founding committee co-chair for Canada’s chapter of Know Thy Heritage (KTH). He was also affiliated with the Toronto BDS Network in 2019 and 2020. 

As of September 2022, Ayoub’s LinkedIn page said he worked as a Data Analyst at Rubikloud Technologies, an artificial intelligence company headquartered in Toronto, since April 2017.

Also as of September 2022, Ayoub used the handle “@intifadababa” on Twitter.

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

Calling for Death to America

On September 11, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “good morning death to amerikkka.”

The term “Amerikkka” uses the initials of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as a way to demonize America as “fascist or racist.”  

On August 13, 2021, Ayoub tweeted a screenshot of a February 2014 video of Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati addressing Iranian leaders, in which he said [00:00:48]: “Death to America is the first option on our table.” Ayoub commented: “good evening.”

On October 8, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “amer*cans need to get their s**t together and start an armed resistance!! stop voting and letting the whole world down!!”

Calling for the Destruction of Israel

On September 10, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “death to isr*el.”

On June 21, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “good evening may isr*el collapse within our lifetime inshallah [God-willing].”

On May 7, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “our people will not see peace until the destruction of the settler colonial state of isr*el.”

On April 12, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “ no more israel society has progressed past the need for israel .”

On July 15, 2018, Ayoub tweeted: “Israel does not have a right to exist…a fascist apartheid regime… Sorry not sorry.”

Justifying Violence

On May 12, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “good evening to everyone except that idf [Israel Defense Forces] soldier who died from a rock being thrown at him sucks to suck dude u shouldn’t have been on the land in the first place.”

On May 12, 2020, a Palestinian threw a large stone from a rooftop at Israeli soldier Amit Ben Yigal, killing him. Yigal was returning from an arrest of other Palestinians suspected of throwing stones at Israeli civilian motorists.  

On May 11, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “...what options do palestinians have besides violent resistance?”

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. 

Supporting Terrorists

On July 23, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “my love language is watching george habash interviews with the homies.”

George Habash, who has been called “the godfather of Middle East terrorism,” was the founder of the terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the mastermind behind the 1970 Dawson Field hijackings.  

On March 30, 2021, Ayoub posted a video about Majd Barbar, tweeting: “so ugly i watched this man dance with joy after being released from a 20 year prison sentence in isra*li prisons literally 2 days ago and they arrest him again.” 

Majd Barbar was sentenced to “20 years in jail on charges of affiliation” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and for “his role in armed resistance” in 2001. Barbar reportedly formed “an armed resistance group” in Jerusalem, during the Second Intifada.  

On August 5, 2021, Ayoub tweeted a photo of three men dressed in guerilla fatigues, holding rifles and wearing a headband bearing the insignia of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Text on the photo read: “Liberals are always hating us for supporting the troops. Like and share if you don’t give a damn.” 


On August 7, 2021, Ayoub introduced [00:10:15] former PFLP member Issam al-Yamani at an anti-Israel rally and referred [00:10:38] to al-Yamani as a “major source of wisdom and inspiration.” Since April 2006, al-Yamani has been under a deportation order in Canada due to his ongoing activities on behalf of the PFLP. 

At the rally, al-Yamani said [00:11:34]: “Brothers and sisters, with your assistance, with your energy, with your commitment, with your solidarity, we will go back and liberate Palestine and we’ll remove all the numbers, we’ll remove 1948 and 1967…” 

The phrases “Occupied 48” or “48 Palestine” are two common ways that anti-Israel activists refer to the State of Israel.  

On September 6, 2021, Ayoub tweeted about a prison break the same day: “good morning to the palestinians that escaped the occupation’s prison only.”

On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa Prison in Israel. The escaped prisoners were convicted members of the terror organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who were jailed for their involvement in attacks carried out during the second intifada. All were recaptured by September 19, 2021, by Israeli authorities.

As of September 2022, Ayoub posted on his website digital content he created to promote the Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship, PYM’s annual scholarship in honor of “Ghassan Kanafani’s legacy.”

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.  

Hatred of Zionists

On June 27, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “isr*el commits war crimes everyday. z*onists advocate for genocide everyday. and people think they should have a state? for what? for who? #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 October 22, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “good morning to everyone except zionists.”

On May 15, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “good morning to everyone except every zionist on this earth and white supremacist colonizers who enable them #nakba.”

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.

Hatred of Israel

On May 3, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “if you say some s**t like the state of isr*el has a right to exist when it’s existence necessitates the genocide of palestinians then you’re a racist piece of s**t .”

On November 7, 2020, Ayoub tweeted: “isr*el is not a country its just a racist idea with billions of dollars of funding.”

On April 29, 2020, when Israel celebrated its 72nd Independence Day, Ayoub tweeted: “f**k isr*eli independence day. 1948 was the beginning of the mass ethnic cleansing of palestinians from their land…”

On March 31, 2018, Ayoub tweeted: “Good morning, the IDF is a terrorist organization.”

On March 30, 2018, Ayoub tweeted: “Yes f**k the state of Israel and its military occupation of a land that is not theirs and it's apartheid regime and its culture of warfare.”

On August 24, 2017, Ayoub tweeted: “Can someone hit me with facts about how Israel is different than ISIS other than the religion being different??”

Hatred of America

On June 12, 2018, Ayoub tweeted: “The US is the most repressive regime in the world. The president has legitimized other repressive regimes like Israel and Saudi Arabia.”

On April 15, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “the mere existence of non-white people in amerikkka and isr*el represents an existential threat to the whole settler colonial project, in both places even non-white children are killed by the state.”

Hatred of Canada

On June 4, 2021, Ayoub tweeted: “c*nada genocide isr*el.” 

On November 21, 2019, Ayoub tweeted about an Israeli soldier who spoke at a Canadian university. He wrote: “The fact that this ‘soldier’ was allowed to speak at a Canadian university is disappointing but not surprising given Canada’s had a history of doing exactly the same thing on this land - ethnic cleansing and colonizing.”

PYM Activism

On August 7, 2021, Ayoub led [00:10:14] an anti-Israel rally organized by PYM in Yonge Dundas Square, Toronto titled: “Make Noise For Jerusalem.”

PYM supports and has glorified terrorists, promotes incitement to violence and spreads anti-Israel conspiracy theories. PYM also advocates for the dissolution of the State of Israel, supports BDS, demonizes Israel, supports anti-Israel agitators and praises violent protesters.

On August 7, 2021, Ayoub featured [00:07:33] in a PYM Instagram video at the rally where he led anti-Israel chants. 

In a separate Youtube video of the event, Ayoub led [00:13:17] protesters in an Arabic chant that translated: “Raise, the flag of the revolution! Raise, raise!” He also led [00:13:33] the chant: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!”

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.

Protesters also chanted [00:00:09]: “Viva viva intifada [long live the intifada]!”

On May 17, 2021, Ayoub spoke [00:00:01] on behalf of PYM at an anti-Israel rally during OGW that was held [slide 7] outside of the Israeli consulate in Montreal. Ayoub said [00:00:16]: “We’re protesting Israel’s colonization of Palestinian land and livelihood, the blockade of gaza and the mass assault of palestinians on our streets.”

Israel and Egypt implemented a United Nations-approved [pp. 39–41] joint blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2011 to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.
On May 31, 2020, Ayoub participated in PYM’s “Ghassan Kanafani Virtual Launch Party” during which he said [01:27:36] he was “PYM's rep for the Canada scholarship committee.”

Participating in a Violent Protest

In November 2019, Ayoub participated [00:00:03] in and defended a violent anti-Israel protest held at York University (YU) in Toronto.

On November 20, 2019, activists affiliated with Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) at YU protested against former Israeli soldiers from Reservists on Duty, who were speaking at a campus event organized by Herut Canada. SAIA is an alternate name for Students for Justice In Palestine (SJP). 

On November 20, 2019, footage from the protest was posted to YouTube, featuring an activist leading [00:00:10] chants: “VIVA VIVA INTIFADA!” and other protesters chanting [00:00:01]: “Free, Free Palestine!”

The violent protest was condemned by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and it was also opposed by the YU President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton.

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/intifadababa [Private]

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elias-ayoub-3986018a/

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

Website: https://www.eliasayoub.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2qkmlpKz8rbA1MyD-1_heA/channels