Joseph Juarez
Overview
Joseph Juarez [Joey Juarez] has defended terror financiers, expressed support for an anti-Israel agitator and reportedly participatedin the violent disruption of a pro-Israel event at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Juarez was an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UCLA in 2017.Juarez also indicated on Facebook that he “went” to demonstrations in support of the violent March of Return and that he “went” to Al Awda’s 13th Annual Conference in May 2018.
Juarez was affiliated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and was a member of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at UCLA’s Facebook group “MSA-UCLA” since July 2016.
Juarez indicated on Facebook that he attended the 2018 National SJP Conference.
The 2018 National SJP conference was held on November 16-18, 2018 at UCLA. The conference was themed “Radical Hope: Resistance in the Face of Adversity.” The conference website stated: “[t]he reason we can have hope is that Zionism...can be destroyed.”
Juarez also promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of February 2019, Juarez’s LinkedIn said he was a “Researcher Associate at UCLA Health, Semel Institute.”
Juarez’s LinkedIn also indicated that he completed graduate studies at the UCLA School of Education in 2016, with a master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology.
As of October 2018, Juarez used the name “Joey Juarez” on Facebook.
As of February 2019, Juarez’s LinkedIn said he was a “Researcher Associate at UCLA Health, Semel Institute.”
Juarez’s LinkedIn also indicated that he completed graduate studies at the UCLA School of Education in 2016, with a master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology.
As of October 2018, Juarez used the name “Joey Juarez” on Facebook.
Defending Terror-Financiers
On January 3, 2017, Juarez posted to his Facebook a link to a petition calling to release the “Holy Land Foundation Charity Workers.”
The HLF5 were five individuals associated with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) indicted for funnelling funds to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid.
The men were were all convicted and sentenced in 2009 to federal prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.
The men were were all convicted and sentenced in 2009 to federal prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.
Supporting Anti-Israel Agitator
On January 29, 2018, Juarez changed his Facebook profile photo to a post wishing Ahed Tamimi a happy birthday.
Ahed Tamimi has a long history of physically attacking Israeli soldiers. Tamimi is the daughter of Bassem Tamimi, who is known for exploiting young children as political props in staged confrontations with Israeli soldiers.
On January 18, 2019, Juarez posted to his Facebook a link to a Change.org petition that criticized Women’s March Los Angeles (WMLA) for featuring Scarlett Johansson as a special guest. The petition labeled Johansson a “defender of apartheid Israel” and suggested WMLA feature Ahed Tamimi instead as a special guest, referring to Tamimi as a “young Palestinian Rosa Parks.”
In 2014, Scarlett Johansson appeared in an advertising campaign for the Israeli company Soda Stream. At the time, Soda Stream’s principal manufacturing facility was located in theWest Bank and employed 500 West Bank Palestinians, who worked alongside the company’s Jewish workers.
Juarez also indicated on Facebook that he “went” to three demonstrations in support of Tamimi.
SJP at UCLA - Violent Disruption of Pro-Israel Campus Event
On May 18, 2018, Juarez was celebrated by Southwest Asian and North Afrikan Los Angeles (SWANA LA) for his participation in a violent disruption of a pro-Israel Campus event, the previous day. The event, titled "Indigenous People Unite," provided a forum for Jewish, Kurdish, and Armenian indigenous communities “to share the stories of their people.”The disruptors were joined by activists with SJP at UCLA Alumni Association(SJP at UCLA Alumni),as well as activists from the group Southwest Asian and North Afrikan Los Angeles (SWANA-LA) and activists from the off-campus Antifa group Revolution Club L.A./ Refuse Fascism Los Angeles.
Approximately 41 minutes into the lecture, SJP at UCLA members and Antifa activists invaded [00:41:16] the forum. Protester Armen Adamian walked toward the speakers and tore the Armenian flag off the wall. Adamian then threw [00:41:24] the Armenian panelist’s notes off the speakers’ table and leaned over him.
Other protesters chanted [00:43:01]“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!” as well as [00:42:29] “We don’t want two states, we want ‘48!” and [00:45:08] “1,2,3,4 Open up the prison doors; 5,6,7,8 Israel is a terrorist state!!”
Approximately 41 minutes into the lecture, SJP at UCLA members and Antifa activists invaded [00:41:16] the forum. Protester Armen Adamian walked toward the speakers and tore the Armenian flag off the wall. Adamian then threw [00:41:24] the Armenian panelist’s notes off the speakers’ table and leaned over him.
Other protesters chanted [00:43:01]“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!” as well as [00:42:29] “We don’t want two states, we want ‘48!” and [00:45:08] “1,2,3,4 Open up the prison doors; 5,6,7,8 Israel is a terrorist state!!”
Protestor Natalie Kamajian ripped the Israeli flag from the wall. When asked to relinquish the flag, she refused [00:46:52].
Campus security eventually escorted [00:50:05] the protesters out of the classroom, into an adjacent hallway. There, the protesters pounded [00:521:2348] on the door and continued [00:08:32] chanting.
Later, when the door was reopened, the protesters continued their disturbance, screaming [00:33:15] obscenities, using [00:14:27] a megaphone and physically blocking [00:13:52] the door from being closed.
Following the disruption, students attending the SSI event reported feeling intimidated and fearing for their physical safety. SSI chapter president Hirmand Sarafian, the Armenian panelist, reported that he felt physically threatened “throughout the whole thing, from the beginning to the end.”
SJP at UCLA reportedly denied initiating or having “a significant hand in organizing the demonstration” and claimed that “none of our board members attended the event.”
However, SJP at UCLA’s 2018 primary signatory Robert Gardner was filmed taking a leadership role in the disruption, alongside SJP at UCLA signatory Gurutam Thockchom, and fellow SJP at UCLA activists Burkan Aranki, Sarena Khasawneh, John Abughattas, and Tamara Khoury.
On May 18, 2018, both SWANA-LA and the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) in Austin specifically praised SJP at UCLA and SJP at UCLA Alumni’s role in disrupting the SSI event. PSC is an alternative name for SJP.
On May 24, 2018, UCLA chancellors Jerry Kang and Monroe Gorden published anofficial denunciation of the incident in the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s campus newspaper.
The chancellors’ statement condemned the intimidation of panelists and audience members and declared that the university would “refer all evidence of wrongdoing” of non-UCLA students “to local prosecutors to determine whether they have broken the law.”
A June 14, 2018 article, published by the Jewish Journal, reported that half a dozen students said they would file formal complaints against the disruptors for “criminal disruption of a meeting, as well as disturbing the peace and conspiracy.”
An August 8, 2018 article in the Algemeiner reported that the Los Angeles city prosecutor was investigating the disruption, and had “requested additional investigative materials from the UCLA Police.”
Demonstrating in Support of Violent Protests
Juarez indicated on Facebook that he “went” to three demonstrations in support of the violent March of Return.
On April 14, 2018, Juarez indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)-hosted demonstration, titled “Transnational Great Return March - Los Angeles Action” in support of the “righteous resisters in Gaza.”
The event description declared: “There will be no solution without the total end of the Zionist colonization of Palestine.”
On May 14, 2018, Juarez indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a PYM co-hosted demonstration titled “Call to Action: Great Return March - 70 Years of Al Nakba” to support the “Palestinians engaged in a just and righteous struggle for total freedom.”
The event description accused Israel of “colonial dispossession and genocide.”
On August 10, 2018, Juarez indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)-hosted protest, titled “Eyewitness Report: Palestine Pushed to the Brink.”
The event description labeled Israel “apartheid” and claimed that Israel was committing “extrajudicial murder of Palestinians” and conducting an “expansionist and genocidal war.”
The event also accused Israel of imposing “a complete blockade” on Gaza and claimed, “Palestinians are held in the millions as prisoners.”
On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “March of Return.” The March of Return was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border to spotlight the demand of Palestinians to “return” to Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Participants also attempted to breach the border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
Agitators threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires.
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during a May 14 protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
Anti-Israel Activism
On February 22, 2019, Juarez shared a Facebook image from SJP UCLA that promoted their series of events: “Palestine Awareness Week.” The image included an event which featured anti-Israel professor Nada Elia.Palestine Awareness Week (PAW) is a re-branding for American audiences of Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), originally 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 Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
On April 17, 2017, Juarez appeared in a photo along with anti-Israel professor Rabab Abdulhadi following a “Palestinian Prisoners Day” talk by Abdulhadi. The Facebook event page announcing the talk said Abdulhadi would be discussing: “Israel as a colonial carceral state, colonial violence and indigenous resistance.”
On December 10, 2017, Juarez indicated on Facebook that he “went” to an anti-Israel protest condemning United States President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The protest was initiated by Al-Awda.
The Facebook event page was headlined: “Emergency Rally: Trump, Hands Off Jerusalem! Jerusalem is the Capital of Palestine!"
During the protest, demonstrators reportedly chanted “End apartheid now” and held signs saying “Free Palestine” and “End U.S. Aid to Israel.”
Attending the 2018 National SJP Conference
On November 16, 2018, Juarez was indicated on Facebook that she “attended” the 2018 National SJP Conference.On November 22, 2018, Juarez shared to Facebook a photo that featured the logo of the 2018 National SJP Conference.
On December 29, 2018, Juarez shared to Facebook a photo that featured the logo of the 2018 National SJP Conference, along with an overlaid image that from the BDS movement with the hashtag “#RightToBoycott.”
2018 National SJP - Celebrating Violence
During the 2018 National SJP conference, anti-Israel activist Mohammed Nabulsi led the attendees in the chant [00:00:52] “Long Live the Intifada! Intifada! Intifada!”
Since the early 2000’s, the term “intifada” has carried the connotation of violence. The second intifada was characterized by more than 120 suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes.
Anti-Israel activist Omar Zahzah also reportedly [00:00:07] led National SJP attendees in chanting, in Arabic, “With our bodies and our blood, we will free Palestine.”
As of November 2018, the 2018 National SJP website glorified “radical hope and upfront defiance of Zionism,” citing as examples the “early revolts through the Intifadas to the Great Return March.”
The Great Return March of 2018 was organized and funded by the terror group Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border to spotlight the demand of Palestinians to “return” to Israel.
Tens of thousands of rioters gathered on Israel’s Gaza border, attempting numerous breaches of Israel’s border fence, with leaders andparticipants declaring their intention to harm Jews.
National SJP originally promoted a conference logo featuring a keffiyeh-wearing bear, looking toward a kite bearing the colors of the Palestinian flag.
On October 27, 2018, National SJP said the kite signified “the power in the Gaza March of Return.”
Since March 2018, March of Return participants and Hamas’s “Kite Unit” have sent hundreds of kites bearing incendiary devices and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) across the border into Israel to terrorize Israelis. The kites are often marked with swastikas.
By the time National SJP produced its 2018 conference logo highlighting the kites in October 2018, Gazan terror kites and balloons had ignited more than 1,300 fires in Israel, over seven months.
2018 National SJP - Undermining U.S. Support for Israel
On November 18, 2018, the US Palestine Community Network (USPCN) posted on Facebook the 2018 National SJP keynote speech by Hatem Abudayyeh, USPCN’s co-founder.Abudayyeh has supported [00:08:45] convicted terrorists, praised terror organizations, called for Israel’s destruction and is an activist in theBoycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In his 2018 National SJP Keynote, Abudayyeh said [00:53:01] that the “specific role” of Palestinian and Arab students was to organize [00:53:42] in order to weaken “Zionist Israel” and force [00:54:23] the U.S. to “no longer provide it with diplomatic, political, financial and military cover and support.”
Abudayyeh predicted [00:55:37] that once U.S. support to Israel ends, National SJP attendees would return to Palestine as “conquering heroes,” end [00:54:38] the “occupation and colonization of all Arab lands including the Golan Heights” and replace “Zionist Israel” with a Palestinian state.
2018 National SJP - Whitewashing Terror Organizations
During his keynote speech, Abudayyeh also painted [00:14:01] terrorist organizations as “liberation movements” and “resistance organizations,” stating [00:14:21] “what we also know is that the majority of the resistance organizations in Palestine are on the U.S. state department list of foreign terrorist organizations.”Abudayyeh also celebrated [00:52:00] that all of the “armed resistance” organizations in Gaza are part [00:52:14] of a “unified resistance in Gaza, that includes all of the resistance organizations, working together under a unified military command.”
2018 National SJP - Defending Terrorist Rasmea Odeh
During his keynote speech, Abudayyeh claimed [00:08:28] that pro-Israel organizations “go after students like you,” adding [00:08:20] “just like they went after my friend and colleague, Rasmea Odeh.”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.
Abudayyeh added that he was asked [00:08:45] to talk about Odeh’s case, and praised SJP and SDS students who organized [00:09:15] “absolutely valuable” events on behalf [00:9:11] of Odeh, “as she was fighting to stay in the U.S.”
2018 National SJP - Demonizing Israel and Jews
During his keynote speech, Abudayyeh defended [00:27:25] the “Irvine 11” — eleven Muslim Student Union (MSA) members who were arrested in 2010 for repeatedly shouting down former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren during an address at the University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine).Abudayyeh referred [00:27:37] to Oren as a “racist fascist speaker, representative of a racist, fascist country.”
Abudayyeh went on to claim [00:29:48] that “today, even in the United States, Israel is finally being seen as the criminal, apartheid, racist state that it is.”
Abudayyeh also called for increased action in the face of President U.S. Donald Trump, and referred [00:48:41] to Jared Kushner, Trump’s Jewish son-in-law and senior advisor, as “that pig son-in-law of his.”
2018 National SJP - Excluding Students
The 2018 National SJP Conference welcomed only students who were verified and vouched for by an SJP (or otherwise named campus Palestine solidarity group). Media requests needed to be “approved by the NSJP press team” prior to the conference.A November 7, 2018 Columbus Jewish News article reported that the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling on UCLA to cancel the 2018 NSJP conference, stating that a “public university should not allow any group to implement a litmus test for event participation on their campus.”
On November 12, 2018, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block published an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times that criticized National SJP’s exclusion of members of pro-Israel student groups.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/1367192741
