Fouad Abu-Hijleh
Overview
Fouad Abu-Hijleh whitewashed an anti-Semitic incident and promoted an anti-Israel agitator. Abu-Hijleh was the secretary of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in 2017 and attended the 2019 National SJP Conference.
National SJP held their conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3, 2019. The conference was themed: “Beyond Struggle: From Roots to Branches Towards Liberation.”
As of October 2020, Abu-Hijleh indicated on his LinkedIn that he was a “Student Officer” with the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) from May 2015 - June 2016. He detailed that he: “Organized and held member meetings and fundraising events for the PCRF chapter at the American Community School in Abu Dhabi.”
As of October 2020, Abu-Hijleh indicated on his LinkedIn that he was a “Student Officer” with the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) from May 2015 - June 2016. He detailed that he: “Organized and held member meetings and fundraising events for the PCRF chapter at the American Community School in Abu Dhabi.”
The Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) is a nonprofit organization reportedly set up to “provide urgent humanitarian care for Gaza’s children.” It has been financially linked with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), which was shut down by the U.S. government for funneling donations to a terrorist organization.
Abu Hijleh also noted on LinkedIn that he was a Project Officer with “Map Jordan” from May 2019 - August 2019, in Jerash Governorate, Jordan. MAP-Jordan is a London-based charity, established in 1990 to serve the medical needs of refugees living in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan.
In 2018, British and American attorneys filed a formal complaint alleging that MAP worked with or funded several groups linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and that its co-founder and patron, Ang Swee Chai, had actively promoted anti-Semitic materials. In 2019, after completing its investigation, the Commission reportedly warned MAP about funding misuse.
Abu Hijleh wrote on his LinkedIn that he was a “Global health Masters of Public Health (MPH) candidate” at UNC Gillings School of Public Health, slated to graduate in 2022. As of March 2020, Abu-Hijleh was reportedly an “aspiring physician.”
As of October 2020, Abu-Hijleh went by the name “Fouad Samer” on Facebook.
In 2018, British and American attorneys filed a formal complaint alleging that MAP worked with or funded several groups linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and that its co-founder and patron, Ang Swee Chai, had actively promoted anti-Semitic materials. In 2019, after completing its investigation, the Commission reportedly warned MAP about funding misuse.
Abu Hijleh wrote on his LinkedIn that he was a “Global health Masters of Public Health (MPH) candidate” at UNC Gillings School of Public Health, slated to graduate in 2022. As of March 2020, Abu-Hijleh was reportedly an “aspiring physician.”
As of October 2020, Abu-Hijleh went by the name “Fouad Samer” on Facebook.
Whitewashing Anti Semitism
In April 2019, Abu-Hijleh reportedly justified an anti-Semitic [00:02:01] performance by Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar, at the UNC and Duke's March Middle East and Islamic Studies (CMES) “Conflict Over Gaza: People, Politics and Possibilities” Conference, which Abu-Hijleh attended.
At the Conference, held from March 22-24, 2019, Nafar performed a controversial song titled “I’m in love with a Jew,” which he introduced [00:02:10] as “my anti-Semitic song.” Nafar urged [00:02:13] the crowd to “think of [actor] Mel Gibson. Go that anti-Semitic,” while joining him in singing the song’s refrain: “I’m in love with a Jew.”
Hollywood star Mel Gibson is known for making numerous anti-Semitic and racist statements.
On April 12, 2019, UNC’s Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz tweeted: “A performance during a recent conference held on our campus contained some disturbing and hurtful language. I stand steadfast against anti-Semitism and hate in all its forms.”
On April 14, 2019 “The Daily Tar Heel” reported that, when asked about Nafar’s performance, Abu-Hijleh stated that although Nafar did make some problematic statements, they “were taken out of context.” Abu-Hijleh reportedly added: “When [Nafar] said, ‘This is my anti-Semitic song,’ I think he was alluding to that, like, if you criticize Israel, people are going to call you an anti-Semite.”
Hollywood star Mel Gibson is known for making numerous anti-Semitic and racist statements.
On April 12, 2019, UNC’s Interim Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz tweeted: “A performance during a recent conference held on our campus contained some disturbing and hurtful language. I stand steadfast against anti-Semitism and hate in all its forms.”
On April 14, 2019 “The Daily Tar Heel” reported that, when asked about Nafar’s performance, Abu-Hijleh stated that although Nafar did make some problematic statements, they “were taken out of context.” Abu-Hijleh reportedly added: “When [Nafar] said, ‘This is my anti-Semitic song,’ I think he was alluding to that, like, if you criticize Israel, people are going to call you an anti-Semite.”
On April 17, 2019, a complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE)Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that accused UNC of discrimination against “students of Jewish descent on the basis of national origin” and creating “a hostile environment” for Jewish students.
The complainant cited the anti-Semitic incident at the Conference, as well as the discovery of swastikas drawn on the University campus and anti-Semitic flyers found in a University library after the conference.
On April 18, 2019, CMES formally apologized for “the hurt caused by” Nafar’s remarks at the Conference. On May 13, 2019, CMES published its “Conflict over Gaza” Conference Report, describing Nafar’s comments as “inappropriate and hurtful and not representative of the purpose of the conference.”
Following the continued controversy surrounding the Conference, the DOE launched another investigation in June 2019, calling into question whether CMES’s programming fulfilled the requirements for federal funding.
CMES reportedly received $235,000 of annual federal funding and allegedly budgeted $5,000 of federal funds for the Conference.
In August 2019, the DOE concluded that CMES had violated the standards of its federally-funded program. The DOE found a lack of focus on “foreign language instruction and area studies advancing the security and economic stability” and that CMES provided biased culture studies programming, with little or no programming focused on religious minorities in the Middle East.
The DOE noted that CMES’s programming indicated “critical shortcomings and impermissible biases” and offered “very few, if any, programs focused on the historic discrimination faced by, and current circumstances of, religious minorities in the Middle East, including Christians, Jews, Baha'is, Yadizis, Kurds, Druze, and others.”
The DOE found “an absolute absence” of any focus “on the positive aspects of any other religion or belief system” in the Middle East except for Islam.
The DOE also noted that teacher-training activities hosted by CMES overemphasized “narrow, particularized views of American social issues” while displaying a “startling lack of focus on geography, geopolitical issues, history, and language of the area, as Congress required in Title VI.”
As a condition for future funding, the DOE required that CMES “provide a revised schedule of activities that it plans to support for the coming year, including a description demonstrating how each activity promotes foreign language learning and advances the national security interests and economic stability.”
On September 25, 2019, Abu-Hijjeh reportedly co-organized and spoke at a UNC SJP protest, which was held “In light of the attack on the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies by the Department of Education.” The Facebook event description invited attendees to “advocate against censorship in academia in service of American imperialism.”
On November 6, 2019, the OCR reached a resolution with UNC before determining whether the university had in fact created a hostile environment for Jewish students.
The resolution noted that UNC had committed to further improvement, and on November 14, 2019, UNC’s Interim Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz signed an OCR Resolution Agreement.
The terms of the agreement obligated UNC to revise its anti-discrimination policy to include “anti-Semitic harassment” and to describe how such anti-Semitism could manifest itself on campus. UNC also agreed to host meetings and training sessions to bring awareness to anti-Semitic harassment.
Promoting an Anti-Israel Activist
On May 2, 2019, Abu-Hijleh featured in a group photo with fellow UNC SJP activist Jacquelyn Hedrick and other activists, posing with Linda Sarsour.As of October 2020, the photo was deleted from Hedrick’s Facebook page.
Anti-Israel agitator Linda Sarsour frequently uses the word “Zionist” as a pejorative and has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism.” She has aligned with noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, dismissed [00:07:45] those who see her alignment with Farrakhan as problematic and slammed the “Jewish Media” for calling attention to it.
SJP Activism
As of November 3, 2019, Hedrick displayed in the “photos” section of her Facebook home page, a photo of Abu-Hijleh and other UNC SJP activists, posing in front of UNC SJP’s “mock apartheid wall” in reference to Israel’s security barrier.
Mock “apartheid” walls have been constructed by SJP groups on campuses to draw attention to alleged Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians.
Mock “apartheid” walls have been constructed by SJP groups on campuses to draw attention to alleged Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians.
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.
As of October 2020, the photo was deleted from Hedrick’s Facebook page.
Attending the 2019 NSJP Conference
On November 2, 2019, Abu-Hijleh was featured in a UNC SJP photo posted to the group’s Instagram stories, along with fellow UNC SJP activists Hedrick and Aisha Jitan, attending the NSJP 2019 Conference.
On that same day, Abu-Hijleh was featured [00:00:04] and tagged in a video recorded by Jitan attending a conference event.
The 2019 National SJP Conference was held at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3. The Conference themes centered on support for BDS as well as the rejection of Israel and Zionism.
The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.
During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”
The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.
The website clarified that “the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, extends beyond the confines of 1967, and well before the Nakba,” and was based on the rejection of Jewish national self-determination in Israel.
Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.
The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.
2019 National SJP - Supporting BDS
The Conference website called to capitalize on shifts in the political climate, represented by the elections to the U.S. Congress of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who both support BDS. National SJP speakers also reportedly drew attention to Rep. Omar’s support for the BDS movement as the Representative for UMN’s Congressional district.During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”
The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.
2019 National SJP - Rejecting Israel and Zionism
The 2019 National SJP Conference website indicated that the goal of their “solidarity movement” was to push for policies that “demanded the end of” the state of Israel, referred to as “the Israeli occupation.”The website clarified that “the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, extends beyond the confines of 1967, and well before the Nakba,” and was based on the rejection of Jewish national self-determination in Israel.
Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
2019 National SJP - Heightened Secrecy
The 2019 National SJP Conference required attendees to be “verified and vouched for” by an SJP chapter to which they belonged and required each chapter to register as a group. The conference also required each group to be verified by a “reference––someone who is NOT going to this conference but who is or has recently been a part of your SJP.”Members of allied student groups could register only as part of an SJP chapter delegation which, in turn, needed to be “vouched for by their campus’s SJP” for “security culture and accountability reasons.”
The Conference also restricted media access to journalists “registered and confirmed by our Media Committee in advance to attend the conference. Absolutely no exceptions will be made.”
During the Conference, National SJPreportedly covered the windows of the conference hall.
2019 National SJP - Partnering Organizations
National SJP partnered with other anti-Israel organizations to table, sell merchandise and lead workshops, including CODEPINK, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Palestine Legal, Watan Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project.Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.
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/100001011375721 [Deactivated]Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fouadabuhijleh/ [Private]
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- Organizations:
- SJP
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- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
Photos & Screenshots
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