Janna Ramadan
Overview
Janna Ramadan has whitewashed a terrorist, spread incitement, demonized Israel, engaged in anti-Israel activism and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.Ramadan was affiliated with Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee (Harvard PSC) in 2022. PSC is a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
As of January 2023, Ramadan’s LinkedIn page said she has been an intern at the Office of U.S. House Representative Ayanna Pressley since June 2022.
As of the same date, Ramadan’s LinkedIn also said she has been “President” of the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School since December 2021. She was also listed as an “Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Palestine Country Specialist” at Amnesty International USA since September 2021.
Ramadan’s LinkedIn said she is studying at Harvard University (Harvard) for a bachelor’s degree in “Government and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations,” slated to graduate in 2023.
In 2022, Ramadan was listed as a recipient of a 2022 Center for American Political Studies Undergraduate Summer Thesis Research Grant. Ramadan’s proposed thesis, entitled “Israel, Palestine, and The Shifting American Public,” seeks to “address how different elite actors, defined to include politicians, international organizations, and celebrities, shape present American public opinion on Palestine and Israel.”
As of January 2023, Ramadan’s LinkedIn said she was located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Whitewashing a Terrorist
On June 13, 2021, Ramadan tweeted: “...Shot at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. No words to describe the feelings of grief from seeing another Palestinian murdered every time you go online. الله يرحمهم [God have mercy on them].”In June 2021, Ibtissam Kaabneh was shot dead after she drew a knife and charged at Israeli security forces at a checkpoint. Kaabneh, who was reportedly affiliated with Hamas, had been previously arrested in 2016 and served 18 months in an Israeli prison for another attempted stabbing attack.
Spreading Incitement
Ramadan retweeted a May 21, 2021 tweet that said: “Israeli forces storm the al-Aqsa mosque and shoot tear gas and rubber bullets at worshippers on day 1 of the ceasefire, and we’re supposed to pretend that Israel isn’t actively trying to provoke a Palestinian response so that they ‘defend themselves’ and kill more civilians.”Ramadan retweeted a May 7, 2021 tweet that said: “From #AlAqsa…to #Silwan…all of #Jerusalem is under attack by #IsraeliOccupation forces. #HandsOffJerusalem . #JerusalemFightsBack.”
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.
“Israeli Occupation Forces,” or “IOF,” is a derogatory name for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used by anti-Israel activists to demonize Israel’s army.
Demonizing Israel
Ramadan retweeted a February 1, 2022 tweet that said: “Israel is guilty of the crime of apartheid. Not just now, but since 1948. Not just within the West Bank and Gaza, but in all of historic Palestine. Not just to Palestinians under occupation, but to all Palestinians, including refugees who are not allowed to 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.
On May 13, 2021, Ramadan tweeted against Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against Hamas. She wrote: “Gaza is without electricity and internet. This isn't an accident - it's so that the world doesn't see the genocide, war crimes, & atrocities Israel is committing against Palestinians 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.
On February 21, 2021, Ramadan tweeted: “If you don’t know what this is @ check SNL [Saturday Night Live] last night calling out Israel’s vaccination system that -explicitly- left out Palestinians working/living in Israel or Israel’s (illegal) settlements.”
Anti-Israel Activism
On May 24, 2018, Ramadan posted to YouTube a TEDx talk video of herself, in which she promoted [00:02:50] the notion of “Nakba” and [00:03:50] the “right of return.”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.
On April 18, 2022, Ramadan featured in a Harvard PSC group photo posted to Facebook. Other activists held a large banner that said: “HARVARD OUT OF OCCUPIED PALESTINE.”
Supporting BDS
On March 13, 2021, Ramadan tweeted: “If you didn’t boycott coke products bc of their factories on illegally occupied land in Palestine, boycott them + their products for this.”On May 11, 2021, Ramadan tweeted: “+ Coca Cola -support the end of occupation and apartheid with your wallet bestie.”
Ramadan’s tweet included another tweet that said: “just a reminder that HP, Ben & Jerry’s, Puma, Sabra, and SodaStream, are among the most popular companies on the BDS list.”
Sabra Hummus is partially owned by an Israeli company, the Strauss Group.
In February 2016, 500 Palestinians lost their jobs when Sodastream moved its factory from the West Bank to southern Israel. Although the company denied that BDS had an impact on the decision, the BDS movement took credit for the factory’s relocation.
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
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jannaeramadanTwitter: https://twitter.com/jannaramadan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janna.ramadan/ [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janna-ramadan/
University Website: https://iop.harvard.edu/about/student-leadership/janna-ramadan-0
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmWfpDldq-dELTLeLYufUOQ
