Grace Krikie
Overview
Grace Krikie has expressed support for terrorists and demonized Israel as an activist within the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement at George Washington University (GWU). She has also expressed support for the violent “March of Return” protests and spread hatred of America on Twitter.Krikie promoted the 2018 #DivestThisTime BDS campaign at GWU and is affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at GWU, whose activists led the campaign.
In August 2017, Krike said on Facebook that she began studying at GWU that month.
Support for Terrorists
Krikie retweeted a May 22, 2017 tweet that said: “Palestinians declare ‘Day of Rage’ in response to 36th day of hunger strikes and Trump visit to Jerusalem. #DayofRage #DignityStrike.”The tweet featured several photos, the first of which showed protesters holding a sign supporting terrorist Marwan Barghouti. Protesters in the second and third photo held signs promoting the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization.
“Dignity Strike” refers to a hunger strike initiated by Marwan Barghouti on April 16, 2017. More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners participated in the strike – most them also convicted for acts of terrorism. Barghouti headed the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms by an Israeli civilian court for some of his crimes, including his role in the Sbarro Cafe bombing.
Krikie retweeted an April 27, 2017 tweet that referenced the same hunger strike and said: “Palestinians staging general strike today in solidarity with 1,500 prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike. Stores closed, streets empty.”
Demonizing Israel
Krikie retweeted a June 13, 2018 tweet that said: “Hey if you’re curious to find some prison camps that are visible by satellite but denied by the country running them, consider googling this one: Gaza.”Krikie retweeted a March 9, 2018 tweet about the Israeli military that said: “Yeah, plenty of women are wondering when y'all will get the f**k out of Palestine.”
Krikie retweeted a December 6, 2017 tweet that said: “All out for Dec. 7 Emergency Rally: Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine! Down with Zionism and Imperialism!”
The tweet showed protesters with signs that said: “FREE PALESTINE! DOWN WITH ZIONISM & RACISM!” It linked to a Facebook event page that used the hashtag: “#HandsOffJerusalemChi.”
The hashtag “#HandsOffJerusalem” was created to protest the U.S. government’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Krikie retweeted a June 9, 2017 tweet that implied that Israel is carrying out a “genocide of innocent palestinians.”
Krikie retweeted a May 16, 2017 tweet accusing Israel of “apartheid.”
On May 15, 2017, Krikie referred to Israel on Twitter as “the apartheid state Palestinians are oppressed under.”
Supporting the March of Return
Krikie retweeted a May 14, 2018 tweet from anti-Israel poet Remi Kanazi that said: “BREAKING: Hamas killed or injured no one today. However, Israel executed more than 50 Palestinians and injured 2,000. Sniper fire aimed at throats and stomachs will never be defensive.”Kanazi’s comment was in response to a tweet about riots on Israel’s Gaza border that said: “BREAKING: White House says responsibility for Gaza deaths 'rests squarely with Hamas,' supports Israel's 'right to defend itself.'”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
Krikie retweeted a May 14, 2018 tweet that said: “Demonstration in solidarity with Palestine happening now outside the White House.”
The tweet featured a video that showed CODEPINK activists accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a “war criminal” and other protesters with signs calling for the “right of return.”
Krikie also retweeted another May 14, 2018 tweet from Kanazi that said: “Palestinians have a right to defend themselves Palestinians have the right to resist occupation Palestinians have the right to resist occupation soldiers Palestinians have the right to resist land confiscation Palestinians have the right to resist violent invasion.”
Media reports confirmed [00:00:20] the Gaza 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 April 2, 2018, Kirk indicated on Facebook that she “went” to a CODEPINK event supporting the March of Return called: “Rally for Gaza - speak out against Israel's criminal actions.”
Hatred of America
Krikie retweeted a July 3, 2018 tweet that had a gif of a burning American flag.Krikie retweeted a July 4, 2018 tweet with a graphic showing a small rodent and the text: “I like too pee pee on the US flag.”
BDS Activism
On April 23, 2018, Krikie spoke [01:25:20] before the GWU Student Association (SA) to promote a BDS resolution promoted with the tagline #DivestThisTime.She claimed [01:26:00] Israel has been “displacing millions of Palestinians from their homes” and [01:25:30] that Israel is an “apartheid state.”
The BDS resolution passed [00:21:53] with 18 votes for, six against and six abstentions via a secret ballot.
The resolution implied that “Israel is the worst apartheid regime” and that Israel imposes “forced labour” on Palestinians. It also implied that Israel divides “its population along racial lines by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the members of a racial group or groups.”
The resolution portrayed Israeli military campaigns against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as deliberate attempts to kill children and civilians. It also singled out Israel for alleged violations of the Geneva Convention and war crimes.
Israel commenced Operations Cast Lead (OCL), Pillar of Defense (OPD) and Protective Edge (OPE) in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, respectively, in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians.
Three of the resolution’s four co-sponsors voted [00:09:59] against an amendment [00:07:15] acknowledging that “Israel is a state and has the right to exist” and that Israelis have the “right to safety, security and self-determination.” The fourth co-sponsor abstained.
On March 30, 2018, Krikie appeared in a #DivestThisTime Facebook photo holding a sign that read: “#DivestThisTime to let my friends return home.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
Krikie retweeted an April 27, 2018 tweet from @BDSmovement celebrating the passage of the BDS resolution at GWU.
SJP Activism
On March 23, 2018, Krikie was listed on Facebook that she “went” to an SJP at GWU event featuring anti-Israel poet Remi Kanazi.On March 22, 2018, Krikie indicated on Facebook that she “went” to an SJP at GWU event titled: “Palestine 101: Israeli Apartheid.”
On March 4, 2018, Krikie indicated on Facebook that she “went” to a rally titled “March to #SupportPalestineInDC2018.” SJP at GWU was among five groups that organized activists from GWU to attend the rally, which protested the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.
#DivestThisTime at GWU 2018 - Instigated by SJP at GWU
On March 24, 2018, student groups at GWU launched the second BDS campaign in two years; both were titled “#DivestThisTime.” Activists with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at GWU (SJP at GWU) led both campaigns.On the campaign launch day, #DivestThisTime released a Facebook promotional video, in which activists alleged [00:01:23] that Israel has committed “crimes against humanity.” They also claimed [00:03:34] that Palestinians are “bombed every day” and blamed Israel [00:02:06] for police violence against black Americans in Ferguson, Missouri.
SJP at GWU held five events leading up to the launch of #DivestThisTime, which formed part of its 2018 Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). IAW is presented as “an international series of events that seek to raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people” and build support for the BDS movement.
#DivestThisTime at GWU 2018 - Demonizing Israel
During the hearing, many Jewish students said [01:09:05] they experienced [01:24:45] anti-Semitism related to #DivestThisTime. One student spoke [00:50:40] about the Jewish community’s pain when “this hateful and divisive resolution was proposed over Passover.” One Jewish Israeli-American student said [00:48:05] it “creates an environment where I am made to feel that my identity is taboo” at GWU.
One black Jewish student said [01:39:24] that an SJP activist told him he was “weaponizing” his identity when he asked why a clause mentioning the “discriminatory conditions black people face in the Gaza Strip under Palestinian leadership” was omitted from the resolution.
SJP at GWU activists mocked [00:52:48] or dismissed [00:39:50] concerns over anti-Semitism. Other resolution supporters voiced agreement [00:45:40] with the SJP at GWU activists, including one who claimed [01:04:13] that resolution opponents were stoking “racial fears and sowing the divisions.”
A number of Jewish students walked out [00:35:19] of the hearing to protest [00:33:21] the resolution and to protest the SA’s inaction to combat anti-Semitism within its own ranks.
On April 24, 2018, three of the four resolution co-sponsors — Joshua Gomez, Eden Vitoff and Shaheera Jalil Albasit — voted [00:09:59] against an amendment [00:07:15] that said: “Palestinians and Israelis, like all people, have the right to safety, security, and self-determination” and “Israel is a state and has the right to exist.” Jessica Martinez, the other co-sponsor, abstained [00:10:06].
On May 10, 2018, Al Jazeera published a report on Youtube about #DivestThisTime. SJP at GWU activists spoke [00:01:47] to passers-by on campus and stood next to a display [00:01:43] labeled the “Israeli Apartheid Wall” that demonized 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.
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.
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
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lesbianselkie [Private]
