Katherine Draken
Overview
Katherine Draken defended hate speech on behalf of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Florida State University (FSU).Draken was an active supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and has been a member of the closed Facebook group “Tallahassee United for Justice in Palestine” since March 3, 2016.
In November 2017, Draken was the vice-president of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at FSU.
Defending Hate Speech
In November 2017, FSU’s Student General Assembly (SGA) considered suspending funding for an FSU SJP panel event featuring Nerdeen Kiswani, Noura Farouk and Dan Cione of New York City (NYC) SJP.Kiswani, Farouk and Cione are all notorious for spreading hatred of Israel.
On November 9, 2017, Draken [00:06:36] and FSU SJP activists sat in at an FSU SGA meeting to protest the proposed defunding.
During the hearing, which FSU SJP posted on its Facebook page, the group’s secretary and treasurer Albert Kishek acknowledged his group was accused [00:42:45] of hate speech and anti-Semitism.
But Kishek claimed [00:46:00] that Kiswani and Farouk were “feminist organizers” of Palestinian background “who are playing a useful part to the building of the anti-war movement.”
FSU SJP’s post stated the group would “not tolerate infringement upon rights to school funding for our events and ended with the hashtags #RightToResist and #AIPACOutOfFSU.”
Draken also spoke on behalf of FSU SJP, expressing [00:07:32] support for SJP, and calling Kiswani “a great speaker” with “a lot of important things to say.”
SGA voted 24-10 with 4 abstentions to provide funding to FSU SJP for the panel.
BDS Activism
On February 4, 2016, Draken disrupted the Florida House State Affairs Committee alongside other members of SJP and SDS. Draken was protesting Florida House Bill 527, which proposed to limit state government investment in companies that boycott Israel.Demonstrators disrupted the vote, chanting, “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” and attempted to raise a banner saying “Stop funding Israeli apartheid.”
The protesters were finally removed from the committee room by security guards.
Supporting Rasmea Odeh
On November 29, 2016, Draken indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a “Justice 4 Rasmea Rally@FloridaStateUniversity.”On June 11, 2015, Draken indicated on Facebook that he “went” to two “Live Stream: Rasmea Odeh Speaks!” events, featuring a live stream of Odeh and updates regarding her trial appealing her immigration fraud conviction.
SJP Activism
Draken indicated on Facebook that he “went” to four other events hosted and co-hosted by FSU SJP from 2015-2017, such as the April 5, 2017 FSU SJP event titled “Racism in Israel.”On February 22, 2017, Draken indicated on Facebook that he “went” to FSU SJP’s workshop titled “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions: An Introduction.”
FSU SJP Incitement to Terror
On October 27, 2015, FSU SJP shared to Facebook a “PALESTINIAN YOUTH INTERNATIONAL CALL TO SUPPORT THE INTIFADA.”The declaration called for an “international mobilization” of Palestinian youth in exile and their allies to “support the resistance,” and glorified the Knife Intifada terrorists as “heroic.”
FSU SJP Defending the Knife Intifada
On October 5, 2015 — at the beginning of the Knife Intifada — FSU SJP shared an article to Facebook claiming a “Palestinian teen” was “executed” as a “death-chanting” mob rejoiced. The teen was Fadi Aloon.Fadi Aloon was shot by Israeli security forces after he stabbed a 15-year-old Israeli boy. Several hours before the attack, Aloon posted “Either martyrdom or victory” on his Facebook page.
On November 5, 2015 — following the first month of the Knife Intifada — FSU SJP posted to Facebook: “October. Was. Scary. For. Palestinians. How are things looking for November? How about 2016? ... Something's gotta give!! #BDS.”
On November 7, 2015, FSU SJP shared a photo to Facebook of Dania Irsheid after she was shot, commenting: “Lost for words…”
Dania Irsheid was shot by an Israeli police officer after she attempted to stab him.
On November 24, 2015, FSU SJP shared a video misrepresenting terrorists Hadeel and Nurhan Awad, as having been “executed” by Israel. The video was titled “execution of civilians - what Israeli settlers do best.”|
Hadeel Awad and her cousin Nurhan Awad were shot after they stabbed two people — including a 70-year-old Palestinian resident of Bethlehem — near Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market. Hadeel was shot by police as she was slashing at other Israeli civilians with scissors.
On November 22, 2015, during Israel’s “Knife Intifada,” Ashraqat Taha Qatanani was run over and shot during her attempt to stab an Israeli woman. According to the Donia Al-Watan Palestinian newspaper, Qatanani died as “a Martyr as she wished.”
On November 26, 2015, FSU SJP posted to Facebook: “Brutal military occupation uses violence to quell peaceful resistance. And we wonder why resitance [sic] turns to armed struggle? To knives?"
On April 25, 2016, FSU SJP shared to Facebook a post defending Dima Al-Wawi, adding “Her face says it all.”
On April 24, 2016, FSU SJP shared to Facebook a post in defence of Al-Wawi, presenting her arrest as “discrimination against Palestinians.”
On April 13, 2016, FSU SJP defended Al-Wawi on Facebook, claiming: “This is how the Israeli government and illegal settler forces demonize Palestinians and their children.”
12-year-old Al-Wawi was imprisoned for attempting to stab a security guard at the Israeli community Karmei Tzur. Al-Wawi later claimed she intended to kill the guard and hoped she would be killed in the process. “I was dreaming that I was going to be martyred,” she said.
Jasmine Rashad al-Zaru [Yasmeen Rashad al Zaro] attempted to stab an Israeli Border Policeman before she was shot.
FSU SJP Honoring Terrorist Rasmea Odeh
On April 13, 2017, FSU SJP posted to Facebook several photos of convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh after a court ordered her deportation from the United States. FSU SJP referred to Odeh as a “Palestinian freedom fighter” and added the hashtag #HonorRasmea.FSU SJP Defending Terrorists
On December 12, 2015, FSU SJP commemorated the founding of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization, tweeting: “PFLP marks 48th establishment anniversary in Gaza.”On December 13, 2015, FSU SJP shared to Facebook an article reporting the PFLP’s celebration in Gaza. the article added that during the festivities, the PFLP “re-asserted its commitment to the new Palestinian Intifada.”
On March 9, 2017, FSU SJP posted a photo of Leila Khaled to Facebook in honor of International Women’s Day.
On March 14, 2017, FSU SJP posted an illustration of Basel Al Araj to Facebook with the caption “Long Live Basil Al-Araj! Long Live the Resistance! Until Victory.”
On May 27, 2017, FSU SJP celebrated the end of the hunger strike on Facebook, commenting: “Victory to the #DignityStrike!”
FSU SJP Defending the 2017 Shooting Attack at al-Aqsa Mosque
On July 21 2017, FSU SJP claimed on Facebook that the al-Aqsa Mosque was “taken hostage by Israel” and that Israel was “murdering innocent devotees who dared question the seizure.”The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.
The Israeli government removed the detectors on July 25, 2017.
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.
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.
