Jack Petocz

Overview

Jack Petocz is an activist who was arrested for “assault and bodily injury to another” at an anti-Israel campus rally in March 2024 during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.

On April 6, 2024, Petocz tweeted that he was expelled from Vanderbilt University (Vanderbilt) for “peacefully protesting the genocide in Palestine” at a campus rally in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. Vanderbilt is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

The incident occurred in the wake of Hamas atrocities and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, which were executed on October 7, 2023. The attacks left over 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”

3/26/2024 - Arrested for Assault during an Anti-Israel Rally

On March 26, 2024, Petocz was reportedly arrested during an anti-Israel rally on the Vanderbilt campus. The rally was organized by the anti-Israel campus group Vanderbilt Divest Coalition, which called on the university to divest from organizations that support Israel.

Petocz and other anti-Israel activists were recorded [00:00:28] by a security camera as they forced entry into a campus building housing the chancellor’s office, where they reportedly planned to stage an anti-Israel “sit-in” protest. The demonstrators pushed past the only security guard on duty at the time, proceeding to occupy the building.

The protest was reportedly in response to the university administration’s refusal to allow students to vote on changing the student government’s constitution.

Petocz was reportedly later arrested and charged with “assault and bodily injury to another after allegedly pushing a community services officer.”

On April 6, 2024, Petocz tweeted: “...Yesterday, I was expelled from Vanderbilt University for peacefully protesting the genocide in Palestine…”

Biographical Information

As of May 12, 2024, Petocz’s LinkedIn said he had been working as a “Mobilization Coordinator” at Gen-Z for Change since February 2022. He was also listed as a “Political Content Creator” for TikTok since November 2021.

As of the same date, Petocz’s LinkedIn said he was studying for a bachelor’s degree in political science and government at Vanderbilt, slated to graduate in 2027. However, Petocz was expelled from Vanderbilt in April 2024.

As of the same date, Petocz’s LinkedIn said he was located in Flagler Beach, Florida.

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/Jack_Petocz

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/jackpetocz/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-petocz-8358721b6/

TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@jack_petocz

Linktr.ee:https://linktr.ee/jackpetocz

Threads:https://www.threads.net/@jackpetocz