Fatin Jarara

Overview

Fatin Jarara was arrested during a violent anti-Israel protest in 2021. Jarara has called for Israel’s destruction and expressed support for terrorism as a speaker at anti-Israel rallies.

Jarara has expressed hatred of Zionists, shown support for terrorists, demonized Israel and honored a violent rioter on social media.

Since 2014, Jarara has been an activist with the New York chapter of the anti-Israel group Al-Awda, known as Al-Awda NY. She has been serving as the Al-Awda NY spokesperson since 2015.

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

In 2021, Jarara engaged in activism with Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a pro-terror and anti-Israel activist group in New York, New York, founded by Nerdeen Kiswani. WOL’s “Points of Unity” states: “We defend the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation by any means necessary.”

5/20/2021 - Arrested at a Violent Anti-Israel Protest

During a violent anti-Israel counterprotest in New York City, Jarara was arrested [00:06:52]. She could be seen wearing green pants and a black top [00:06:52] while being handcuffed and escorted [00:01:44] by a police officer.

Earlier on May 20, 2021, Jarara participated [00:57:15] in the counterprotest, which was against a pro-Israel rally in Times Square. She could be seen [00:57:15] standing below a man with a megaphone. On her shirt was a woman in a hijab holding a rifle over her shoulder, with the caption: “Palestine Lives 2019.”

Also on May 20, 2021, participants in the counterprotest violently attacked and reportedly yelled anti-Semitic slurs at Joseph Borgen, an Orthodox Jewish man going to the pro-Israel rally. The mob beat him to the ground, where he was kicked, punched, attacked with a crutch and pepper-sprayed. One of his attackers, Mahmoud R. Musa, was later charged with multiple hate crimes and sentenced to seven years in prison.

That same day, other anti-Israel activists also shot fireworks at people.

On May 21, 2021, WOL posted two Instagram posts that offered legal support to anyone arrested or approached for questioning. The post portrayed the protesters as victims.

The rally was held during an Israeli operation against terrorist groups in Gaza.

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 OGW, carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

6/15/2021 - Calling for Israel’s Destruction at a WOL Rally

Jarara called [00:42:15] to dismantle Israel during a WOL rally held outside the Israeli consulate in Manhattan, New York City. The rally was titled: “Emergency Rally to Defend Palestine.” The event flyer on Instagram urged supporters to “Stand with the call from Palestine against the zionist invasion on Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.”

On May 7-10, 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound, following claims that Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger. The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy Al-Aqsa has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.

At the rally, Jarara addressed [00:42:15] the crowd: “Sometimes we talk about Gaza, the blockade on Gaza, and Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, and the West Bank being occupied, but we need to remember that we are here for all of Palestine. All of Palestine! And it’s all colonized and it’s all occupied.”

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.

In May 2021, Palestinian violence erupted in anticipation of an Israel High Court ruling on eviction proceedings concerning over 70 Palestinian tenants illegally residing in Jewish-owned properties in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

Jarara continued [00:42:31]: “We are not here for bits and pieces. We are here for all of it. So, if we say ‘We don’t want two states, we want ‘48,’ we mean that. We mean that! We don’t want your bits and pieces and your negotiations. We could give a f**k about what is going on in Congress.”

“48” refers to 1948, the year the State of Israel was established.

Jarara continued and led [00:43:39] the chant: “We don’t want two states, we want all of it!”

At the rally, Kiswani discussed the Israeli flag at the consulate, stating [00:15:19]: “I want you all to look up at that disgusting Zionist settler flag right there… That Zionist flag, that symbolizes the dispossession of our people; that symbolizes the genocide of our people. That's the flag and that flag will go down in history just like zionism will go down in history as oppression, racist, shameful, white supremacist colonization, and people will say, ‘How did we let this happen?’”

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.

Kiswani went on to say [00:16:24]: “In a moment, we’re gonna… move that way and directly confront that zionist flag in that zionist building. That's where the Zionist consulate is. We call it the Zionist consulate, not the Israeli consulate because there's no such thing as Israel…We're going to ensure that it doesn't last much longer.”

9/18/2022 - Pro-Terror Chants at an Al-Awda Rally

Jarara participated in an Al-Awda NY rally where she led [00:00:06] the chants: “Long Live the Intifada! Intifada! Intifada!” and [00:00:39]: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free!”

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

“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.

As Jarara finished leading the chants, she said [00:00:56]: “And that is a promise that we will, that we will keep not only for our ancestors who have passed that couldn’t see a free Palestine, but the survivors of the Nakba…May we see a free Palestine very soon…”

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.

At the rally, Jarara joined [00:00:57] the chant: “Say it loud! Say it clear! We don’t want no Zionist here!” and [00:01:12] “Resistance is justified, when people are colonized!.”

Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.

During the rally, Jarara promoted [00:00:04] a petition in support of what is generally known as the “right of return.”

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.

Support for Terrorists

On May 11, 2017, Jarara led a “Saltwater Challenge” event in support of terrorists in Israeli prisons.

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."

On March 7, 2017, Jarara posted on Facebook: “Will of Martyr Basil Al-Araj / ‘In the name of God… / If you are reading this, it means I have died and my soul has ascended to its creator…For years I have been contemplating testaments written by martyrs…They did not quench our thirst to find answers about martyrdom …Is there anything which is more eloquent and clearer than a martyr’s deed?...’ ”

Basel Al Araj was killed in a shoot-out with Israeli troops during an arrest raid. He had been suspected of belonging to a terror cell planning to carry out attacks on Israeli targets. Two M-16 assault rifles and an improvised Carlo-style submachine gun were found inside his home.

On March 21, 2014, during a celebration of International Women’s Day, Jarara spoke [00:10:19] on behalf of Al-Awda NY, where she praised terrorist Rasmea Odeh. She said: “Rasmea…was a person who was instrumental in, in resistance against the Israeli occupation…”

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.

At the same event, Jarara said [00:16:37] of Odeh: “She has been instrumental in, in the struggle and resistance against Israeli occupation which is, you know, by international law… is right,is her right to struggle and resist against Israeli occupation.”

Hatred of Israel

On September 21, 2022, Jarara tweeted: “There is no future with zionists. Only oppression and hate…”

On December 7, 2017, Jarara posted on Facebook: “whether it's jaffa (‘tel aviv’) or jerusalem it is all #palestine. we reject the recognition of any inch of palestine as a city, much less the capital, of a racist, terrorist state named ‘israel’.”

On March 30, 2018, Jarara posted on Facebook, referring to Israel as “one of the most powerful and most morally-corrupt militaries in the world, our invader occupiers.”

One way that anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is by claiming that Israeli Jews have no connection to the Land of Israel.

Honoring a Violent Rioter

On May 15, 2021, Jarara celebrated [slide 7] the release from police custody of violent rioter Saadah Masoud, who was arrested during a WOL protest in Manhattan where he blocked traffic and had to be forcibly restrained.

Jarara could be seen [slide 7] on the left side of a WOL Instagram post with her fist raised, joined by Kiswani and other activists.

The post said: “Today we showed New York City that…nobody gets left behind! One of our Palestinian youth was arrested…we went to look for him at the precinct…camped out for hours; …did dabke on the Israeli flag…played Palestinian resistance music…chanted for his release and for Palestine…he was finally let go…”

Anti-Israel Activism (Al-Awda)

On May 6, 2022, Jarara hosted the 14th Al-Awda National Conference whose goal was “global peace by launching holistic strategies toward dismantling Zionist colonization and supremacy.”

At the conference, Jarara introduced anti-Israel agitator Lamis Deek and Al-Awda NY leader as a speaker. Deek has expressed support for terror organizations and terrorism, glorified terrorist leaders and called for “intifada” in America.

At the conference, artist Samia Halaby said: “If we want peace, we must work to dismantle Israel,” a sentiment shared by Deek, who “identified the return of Palestinian refugees and the dismantling of zionist colonization as a critical step toward removing [sic] a key cog in the global war machine and western imperialism.”

Biographical Information

In addition to her Al-Awda activism, Jarara has engaged in activism with multiple anti-Israel groups.

Jarara served as an activist with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) in 2021. PYM and Al-Awda are part of the NY4Palestine Coalition. She served as an activist with the New York chapter of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) in 2017.

In November 2013, while Jarara was a student at Brooklyn College, she was affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) when she participated in an event titled: “Israel: Apartheid not Democracy.”

As of July 2023, Fatin’s LinkedIn profile said that Jarara graduated from Brooklyn College, part of City University of New York (CUNY), with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics in 2015.

As of July 2023, Fatin’s LinkedIn also said she had been a full-time residential counselor at the Léman Manhattan Preparatory School from April 2018 until June 2023.

As of February 2024, Fatin’s LinkedIn also said she was a DJ performing under the stage name “DJ Fatin.” She had been a DJ since October 2008 and was listed as located in New York, New York.

As of February 2024, Fatin went by the username “(Fatin) فاتن نتاف”and used the handle “@mynameisfatin” on Facebook. She also went by the username “DJ Fatin” and used the handle “@djfatin” on Twitter. Jarara went by the username “djfatin” and the handle “@djfatin” on one Instagram account, and she went by the username handle “@palestinianvegan” on a second Instagram account.

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.