Josh Ruebner

Overview

Josh Ruebner has spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for terrorists and defended terrorism. He has also whitewashed [00:03:52] terrorists and promoted hatred of Israel.

As of May 2021, Ruebner was listed as the Managing Director for the anti-Israel activist organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) on the organization’s website.

As of the same date, Ruebner’s LinkedIn page said he was the Policy Director for the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) from March 2003 to February 2019. Ruebner is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Also as of May 2021, Ruebner’s LinkedIn page said he was Senior Principal at the progressive “government relations consulting firm” Progress Up, since March 2019.

Ruebner was listed on the Georgetown University (GU) website as part of the “Adjunct Faculty, College - Justice and Peace Program” as of May 2021. His LinkedIn page said he had been teaching at GU since January 2020.

Ruebner’s website said he was the “co-founder and former Executive Director” of Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel (JPPI), a group that “merged with” the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). He is also affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

Ruebner wrote articles for the anti-Israel websites Electronic Intifada (EI) beginning in 2015 and for Mondoweiss in 2010.

In 2017, Ruebner authored a book titled, “Israel: Democracy or Apartheid State?” and authored another book in 2013 titled “Shattered Hopes: Obama's Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace.”

Ruebner ran for county and state offices in Arlington County, Virginia three times between 2006-2009. He ran with the Green Party and lost each time.

Spreading Anti-Semitism

On November 2, 2015, Ruebner tweeted that Jewish U.S. Congressman Ted Deutch was an “Israel-firster.”

The term “Israel-Firster” is an anti-Semitic slur used against Jews to accuse them of dual loyalty. The term also applies to non-Jews to allege they are more loyal to Israel than to their own countries.
On April 7, 2015, Ruebner tweeted that Jewish U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was an “Israel-firster.”

On December 27, 2014, Ruebner was featured [00:00:53] in a Youtube video, speaking at a panel at the AMP National Conference in November 2014.

In the video, Ruebner claimed [00:05:20] that Zionist European Jews in the late 1800’s “had no distinct DNA connection” to ancient Jews in the Land of Israel and that [00:05:42] “most European Jews descend from the Land of Khazar in modern-day Russia.”

The “Khazar myth” refers to the assertion that Ashkenazi Jews are not descended from the ancient Israelites but instead come from the Khazar People, whose ruling class was said to have converted to Judaism. One way anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is to promote the Khazar myth to deny [00:02:16] Israel’s legitimacy through the denial of Jewish ancestry and Jews’ connection to the Land of Israel.

On March 4, 2013, Ruebner published an opinion article in The Hill, where he described participants of the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference as “thousands of ‘Israel-first’ citizen lobbyists.”

On April 13, 2012, Ruebner suggested [00:00:30] in a Youtube video that Israel was Nazi-like in its ideology, claiming it reportedly studied“Nazi tactics used in the Warsaw Ghetto ‘in its plans to attack and kill Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.

Supporting Terrorists

On January 26, 2016, Ruebner tweeted in support of Rasmea Odeh: “Join the #Justice4Rasmea social media campaign Wednesday, January 27! Resources here: http://justice4rasmea.tumblr.com.”

Odeh was a key military operative [00:02:08]with the terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In 1969, Odeh masterminded a PFLP bombing that killed two college students in a Jerusalem supermarket. Odeh also attempted to bomb the British consulate.

Odeh confessed, in a highly detailed account, the day following her arrest. In a 2004 documentary, one of Odeh’s co-conspirators directly implicated [00:10:53] Odeh as the mastermind.

In 1970, an Israeli court tried and convicted Odeh for her involvement in both bombings and sentenced her to life imprisonment. However, Odeh was released 10 years later, in a prisoner swap and emigrated to the United States.

On November 10, 2014, a Michigan federal jury convicted Odeh for immigration fraud because she failed to disclose her prior conviction and life sentence on her immigration application. On March 12, 2015, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In 2017, after an appeal and a lengthy court battle, Odeh admitted to immigration fraud, was stripped of her U.S. citizenship, deported to Jordan and banned from re-entering the U.S.

On August 19, 2014, Ruebner tweeted: “TODAY: #Justice4Rasmea Twitter Storm ---> http://pastebin.com/GiQMFQhT5P Pacific/8P Eastern @Justice4Rasmea.”

On June 10, 2014, Ruebner tweeted: “Join Today's Call-In Day w/ @uspcn @stopfbi @us_campaign to Drop Charges vs. Rasmea Odeh! #Justice4Rasmea http://bit.ly/1kL9jiT.”

On May 29, 2013, Ruebner posted a Facebook photo about “former hunger striker” and Addameer field officer, Salah Hammouri sharing “poignant stories” in Ramallah about Israel's “revolting practices toward Palestinian political prisoners.”

Salah Hammouri was reportedly [p.32] arrested in 2005 for being in “a PFLP terrorist cell which planned to assassinate Israel’s former Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Ztl.” Hammouri was also a PFLP recruiter and led a cell of PFLP operatives who “obtained weapons and ammunition and began planning attacks all over Jerusalem.”

Addameer is an NGO that advocates on behalf of prisoners held in Israeli jail, including many terrorists such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) recruiters Mohammad Allan and Khader Adnan. Addameer’s senior leadership includes [pp. 29-35] senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorists like Khalida Jarrar, whom Addameer also advocates for. In 2021, Israel officially designated Addameer as a terror organization.

Defending Terrorism

On May 18, 2021, during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against Hamas, Ruebner said in a Between The Lines radio interview: “How can we say to a people who are under a settler-colonial apartheid regime under military occupation, living under a blockade in the Gaza Strip for the last 15 years, that they don’t have a right for self-defense? Who is the aggressor and who is the victim here?”

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.

The United Nations approved [pp. 39–41] the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza in 2011 as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade, with at least one flotilla initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.

On July 17, 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE), Ruebner tweeted: “Despicable @statedeptspox blaming #Hamas for #Israel's massacre of #Palestinians in yesterday's briefing.”

Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

Hamas fired over 4,564 missiles and rockets at Israeli population centers during Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014.

Whitewashing Terrorists

On May 16, 2018, Ruebner featured in a Youtube video of an i24 Israeli television interview to discuss the March of Return protests on the Israel-Gaza border. Ruebner said [00:03:52]: “Well, let's be very clear. Hamas had nothing to do with organizing these protests. This is a coalition of popular Palestinian civil society organizations on the ground.”

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.

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.

On March 30, 2018, Ruebner tweeted: “And I especially refuse to celebrate #Passover today of all days b/c of #Israel's ruthless, cold-blooded massacre of 15 Palestinians marching for their right to freedom and to return to their homes. #LandDay #GreatReturnMarch.”

Most of the Gazans who died between March 30 and April 6, 2018, were identified as terror operatives who were killed while carrying out terrorist attacks, rioting against IDF forces or attempting to breach the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

On January 10, 2014, Ruebner claimed [00:43:05] in a Youtube video that “in May 2010, Israel attacked a flotilla of humanitarian activists” who aimed to break [00:43:12] “Israel's barbaric and illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip” in order “to deliver wheelchairs.”

The Mavi Marmara was the lead ship in the “Freedom Flotilla” that attempted to sail to Gaza in May 2010. Activists aboard the ship agitated for violent confrontation and chanted a slogan glorifying the killing of Jews. When Israeli security forces boarded the Marmara, protesters attacked them with iron bars, metal chairs, knives, stun grenades and firearms, rocks and bottles. A United Nations report found that the flotilla agitators initiated an organized, violent confrontation with Israeli forces, and that the Marmara was carrying no humanitarian aid, only weaponry.

On June 4, 2010, Ruebner wrote a Mondoweiss article titled: “Justice for All? A Tale of Two Victims: Leon Klinghoffer and Furkan Dogan.”

In his article, Ruebner equated the killing of Mavi Marmara agitator Furkan Dogan to the murder of a 69-year-old, wheelchair-bound American Jew, Leon Klinghoffer, whom PFLP terrorists shot in the head and threw overboard, when they hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship on October 7, 1985.

Furkan Dogan was one of nine Americans on board the Gaza “Freedom Flotilla” in May 2010. The agitators on the Freedom Flotilla’s lead ship — the Mavi Marmara —listened to speeches advocating [00:06:00] confrontation and chanting [00:00:24] slogans that invoked the killing of Jews.

Dogan wrote in his diary. “These are the last hours before I join the sweet experience of being a shahid [martyr]. Is there anything more beautiful than this?”

Promoting Hatred of Israel

On May 17, 2021, Ruebner wrote a Facebook post accusing Israel of “settler-colonialism” and “ethnic cleansing.”

On February 12, 2021, Ruebner suggested [00:40:52] in a Youtube video during an AMP “Education Seminar” that Israel had engaged in seven decades of “ethnic cleansing” and committed multiple massacres to “eliminate” Palestinians since Israel was founded in 1948.

Ruebner also claimed [00:40:41]: “... the idea of establishing a Jewish state... could only be predicated upon ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

On September 11, 2020, Ruebner tweeted that Israel is “a non-democratic apartheid regime.”

On August 11, 2020, Ruebner wrote an EI article titled: “How universities serve as outposts of Israeli colonial control.”

On July 13, 2020, Ruebner tweeted: “Israel will always be an Apartheid state. There, I fixed it for you.” Ruebner’s tweet included a tweet that said: “Israel will always be a Jewish state.”

On May 15, 2018, Ruebner implied in a tweet that Israel practices “ethno-nationalist supremacy.”

On May 2, 2017, Ruebner tweeted on that year’s Israeli Independence Day: “We also commemorate the Nakba, Israel's widespread campaign of ethnic cleansing against indigenous Palestinians to establish this state.”

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 July 5, 2016, Ruebner insinuated in a tweet that Israel maintained “colonial rule.”

On January 4, 2016, Ruebner implied in a tweet that Israel has carried out “ethnic cleansing, massacres, daily killings” against Palestinians.

On May 22, 2015, Ruebner implied in a tweet that Israel is an “ethno-national exclusivist state built on ethnic cleansing.”

On March 3, 2015, Ruebner insinuated in a tweet that Israel has carried out “#Genocide.”

On September 11, 2014, Ruebner tweeted: “Special session of @russelltribunal convenes in Brussels 9/24 to examine genocide in #GazaUnderAttack @frankbarat22.”

On April 30, 2014, Ruebner referred to [00:12:28] Israel’s security barrier as “Israel’s apartheid wall.”

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.

AMP Activism

On November 27, 2020, Ruebner featured [00:00:35] as the Managing Director of AMP, in an AMP Youtube video, moderating a panel discussion titled: “The Palestine Agenda & 2020 US Elections.” The panel was part of the 2020 AMP national conference.

On September 15, 2020, Ruebner spoke [01:03:35] in a Facebook video from the AMP Palestine Advocacy Day (PAD), where he demonized [01:04:35] the Abraham Accords.

AMP’s annual Palestine Advocacy Day (PAD) has been held in Washington, D.C., since 2015. Activists, including multiple former SJP leaders, are trained by AMP officials and also promote the BDS movement in meetings with Members of Congress, their staff and other government officials.

On August 13, 2020, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to a joint statement referred to as the “Abraham Accords” in which the UAE consented to formally normalize its relationship with Israel.

Supporting BDS

On July 5, 2012, Ruebner tweeted: “i'm jewish, you won't hurt my feelings by divestment, in fact i'll praise you for it #divestforpeace.”

On October 26, 2014, Ruebner tweeted: “Omar Barghouti's #BDS book just $5 at @haymarketbooks at #NSJP2014.” Ruebner included a photo of a vendor’s stand from the 2014 National SJP (NSJP) conference.

Barghouti, the founder of the BDS movement, has claimed [00:04:28] that international law grants everyone with Palestinian ancestry the unqualified right to settle in Israel. Barghouti has also insisted [01:18:21]that the demands of BDS are “inflexible” and “non-negotiable,” and if people object, then “tough.”

On May 25, 2021, Ruebner featured in an AMP Facebook panel event titled: “Virtual Gathering for Palestine | #SanctionIsrael.”

AMP

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) was founded by UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian as a vehicle to generate mainstream support in the United States for the Palestinian national cause.

On its website, the organization lists Bazian as the chairman of its national board and describes itself as “a national education and grassroots-based organization, dedicated to educating the American public about Palestine and its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused AMP of promoting “extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans” about Palestinians. The ADL further stated that AMP is directly involved in campus-based anti-Israel activity through Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

Prior to founding the AMP in 2006, Dr. Bazian created SJP together with fellow UC Berkeley Professor Snehal Shingavi in 2001. The close working relationship between AMP and SJP has been documented several times over the years by several organizations, including NGO Monitor and StandWithUs.

In addition to providing financial, public relations and legal assistance to SJP, AMP has also been accused of having connections to Hamas. The AMP national board includes former members of both the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) and Holy Land Foundation (HLF), both of which were found liable for aiding and abetting Hamas. The IAP was founded by Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a senior member of Hamas.

The United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) — formerly the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (ETO) — is a coalition of American-based anti-Israel organizations that lobbies the U.S. Congress to adopt anti-Israel policies and end government support for Israel.

Included in the coalition are groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), National Lawyers Guild, Palestine Legal, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), CODEPINK, US Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI), Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT), Israel Palestine Mission Network – Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), as well as various chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). USCPR is a major promoter of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

USCPR claims to provide (p.14) "online and in-person trainings, workshops, one-on-one strategic support, and other mentorship to more than 100 organizations nationwide, including campus groups, faith-based organizations, and broad coalitions."

The coalition was founded in 2001 by anti-Israel activists.

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.