Kevin Kowal

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 was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel. The “right of return” has since been discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.  

The violent riots continued into 2019 and included armed protesters using gunfire, penetrating Israeli territory, launching incendiary kites into Israel and throwing IEDs, hand grenades and molotov cocktails. Some of the attacks were carried out by Hamas operatives.  

Also on March 30, 2019, Kowal tweeted that “Hamas is simply fighting in self defense” and said that the rockets Hamas uses are not “real damaging rockets” but are instead “simple RPGs. “

Referring to a tweet about a rocket that was launched on March 25, 2019 from Gaza and destroyed an Israeli home in Mishmeret, central Israel, wounding 7, Kowal tweeted: “Absolutely. Those houses are illegal settlements, on stolen land.”

Kowal’s tweet continued: “They [Israel] bulldozed the houses of the Palestinians and killed them to make room for heir settlements. So yeah shooting back is always in self defense.”

Again on March 30, 2019, in response to a tweet that read: “Hama$$ is using schools to bomb from. That is as fact. Men hide behind children and women's skirts.”

Kowal tweeted: “That’s a literal lie. It’s Israeli propaganda to justify their mass murder of Palestinians. Either way, the Palestinians have every right to fight back from the mass murderous aggression of Israeli apartheid that destroys their homes, steals their land, & kills heir people.”

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On March 30, 2019, Kowel tweeted that Israel committed “genocide” against Palestinians and that Israel is “an extremely racist apartheid nation. A nation that literal refuses black Jews citizenship while murdering children in Gaza.”

Also on March 30, 2019, Kowal tweeted: “The nakba was nothing but Israeli settlers attempting to ethnically cleanse Palestine of the Palestinians. You have a literal apartheid state that grants certain right so certain ethnic groups over others. You refuse to …”

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.

Kowal continued: “recognize black Jews as citizens and you bombed Palestinian refugee camps as well as dropping bombs on schools, hospitals and mosques. You treat Gaza like an open air prison camp and have on multiple occasions prevented UN humanitarian aid from getting in.”

Kowal went on to say: “...It’s an apartheid, I don’t know what fantasy world you’re in. The nakba is reality, not invention, have you ever…” 

Kowal added: “Denying it [the Nakba] puts on the same level as holocaust deniers. There’s survivors you can speak to, as well as pictures of it. It’s accepted historical fact. War was declared after Israel murdered countless innocent people and forced over 750,000 of them out of their homes in the nakba.”

On the same day, in response to the IDF, Kowal tweeted: “You’re the one sniping them in the street, harassing them at check point and bombing their schools and hospitals. Stop pretending otherwise. You’re the ones committing genocide against them.”

Kowal retweeted a tweet from December 28, 2018, that read: “Battle-tested, combat-approved. In other words, ‘This weapon has been used to terrorize #Palestinians.’” The tweet included a video by Rania Khalek, a former journalist for the anti-Israel website Electronic Intifada (EI). 

In the video, narrated by Khalek, she claimed [00:00:23] that “Palestine is Israel’s personal laboratory for testing, refining and showcasing methods and weapons of domination and control.” Khalek said [00:01:06] that Gaza is an “open air testing ground for weapons of mass destruction.” 

Demonizing Zionism

On August 30, 2018, Kowal tweeted: “Zionism is racist and fascist.”

On November 16, 2018, in response to a tweet that read: “That’s because anti- Zionism and anti semitism are one and the same,” Kowal tweeted: “That’s bulls**t. Arabs are semites too. Try that nonsense line to the Palestinians that Israel is actively committing genocide against. There’s a reason many Jews and even prominent rabbis are standing up against Zionism. And current Zionism didn’t exist for most of Jewish …” 

Kowal continued: “History, so to say they are one in the same is pure ignorance. Zionism is birthed out of evangelical interpretations of the Torah, not Jewish ones. Which is why the biggest supporting community of Zionism is evangelical Christians and their far right agenda.”

Demonizing Supporters of Israel

On March 25, 2019, Kowal tweeted: “Well the fact of the matter is Russia isn’t buying out the politicians, just trying to spread info in support of politicians who aren’t going to increase hostilities with them. AIPAC’s entire function is to spread Israeli propaganda and buy politicians…”

The stated mission of AIPAC is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”

On May 22, 2018, Kowal tweeted: “Israel is a big reason there isn’t peace in the Middle East, but the biggest reason there isn’t world peace though is the US, lets be real.”

Defending Ilhan Omar

On March 8, 2019, Kowal tweeted about U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar: “She never said Jews hypnotize the world, and any ethno-State that brutalizes And murders anyone outside that group like Israel does, cannot be considered democracy. You’re trying very hard to twist and reframe things but the fact of the matter is Israel is a terror state.”


Kowal’s tweet was in response to a tweet that read: “Rep. Ilhan Omar - says Jews ‘hypnotize the world’ - said Israel isn't Democracy bc it's Jewish - says pro-Israel politicos are paid off - said pro-Israel folks have ‘dual allegiance’ - supports BDS Stop pretending this is ‘valid criticism’ of Israel.’ It's anti-Semitism. Period.” 



On February 10, 2019, in response to tweets by Omar that were condemned as anti-Semitic, Kowal tweeted: “How is this antisemitic? Are you stupid? Not to mention Arabs are a Semitic people. Showing solidarity with Palestinians is far more pro-Semite than siding with white Israeli colonizers.”

Praising an Anti-Israel Agitator

On September 30, 2018, in response to a tweet that read: “Real Madrid honoring Palestinian Ahed Tamimi is not a good look.” Kowal tweeted: “Actually it’s quite a brilliant look, your resolution breaking, apartheid, settler colonial, terror state’s genocide against the Palestinians on the other hand, that is not a good look.”

Support for BDS

Kowal retweeted a tweet from December 29, 2018, that read: “Victories in the #BDS movement! #FreePalestine.” The tweet linked to a page on the BDS movement website titled: “18 Highlights of BDS Impact in 2018.”

Kowal retweeted a tweet from December 28, 2018, that read: “Hey friends, go follow @CincyBDS #FreePalestine #BDS.”

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

Facebook: www.facebook.com/1268332012 

www.facebook.com/100011091014031 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/comkev8/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-kowal-2a964a152/