Khadeejah Kurdi

Overview

Khadeejah Kurdi spread hatred of Israel with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at DePaul University (DePaul) in 2018 and 2019.

Kurdi attended the 2018 National SJP Conference.

The 2018 National SJP conference was held on November 16-18, 2018 at the University of California, Los Angeles (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.”

Kurdi is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of August 2019, Khadeejah’s LinkedIn page said she was Residential Advisor at DePaul, since June 2018, where she was a student from “2017 - 2021.”

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On June 20, 2018, SJP DePaul shared Facebook photos of Kurdi and other activists participating in Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) 2018 at DePaul.

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is presented internationally as a “series of events that seeks to raise awareness of…Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people.” One of its goals is to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. IAW has been renamed Palestine Awareness Week.

On June 20, 2018, SJP DePaul posted a photo on Facebook of a display board that juxtaposed a 1989 “Black South African Prisoners...Hunger strike Against Apartheid” with a 2012 Palestinian “Prisoners Hunger strike.”

The 2012 prisoners’ hunger strike included convicted terrorists such as Tha'er Halahleh and Bilal Diab — both members of the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Also participating was Hamas military commander, Abdullah al-Barghouti — who was sentenced to serve 67 life sentences for his significant role in multiple terrorist attacks, including the Sbarro Cafe Bombing of 2001, which murdered 15 people and wounded more than 120.

Another hunger striker was Palestinian terrorist Samer Issawi — who received a 26 year prison sentence for shooting at Hebrew University students and Israeli police in 2002, as well as for manufacturing and distributing pipe bombs.

Also among the 2000 Palestinian hunger strikers was Khader Adnan, a senior member of PIJ. A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: “Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?”

Also on June 20, 2018, SJP DePaul shared photos on Facebook that featured a mock apartheid wall, with text that said: “END ISRAELI APARTHEID.”

On January 26, 2018, SJP DePaul wrote on Facebook: “On Thursday, January 18, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at DePaul held a silent protest and rally in response to Trump's declaration of moving the capital of Israel to Jerusalem and to stand in solidarity with Palestinian children detainees like Ahed Tamimi.”

The post went on to say: “Let the world know that Jerusalem will ALWAYS be the capital of Palestine! #SJP4Jerusalem #Jerusalem #FreeAhedTamimi #WeCouldBeFree.”

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.

SJP DePaul’s Facebook post also featured [00:00:36] Kurdi in a video participating in the silent Protest and rally, holding a sign that read: “When will it END?”

In the video, SJP activist Danya Zituni spoke to the crowd and said [00:02:25]: “The U.S. government is the primary political and financial sponsor of Israeli settler terror, land theft, and military occupation of Arab land and all of historic Palestine.”

Another activist claimed [00:02:55] that Israel has a “Jewish, Christian, and Muslim ban, a ban of all people who are righteous…”

BDS Support

On February 25, 2019, Kurdi shared a Facebook link to an SJP DePaul video posted
that day, titled: “DePaul Students Protest Anti-BDS Legislation.”

The post featured a video of SJP DePaul activists on campus opposing [00:00:06] the S.1 - Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019. SJP DePaul activists were lined up holding [00:00:20] signs with duct tape taped to their mouths.

One activist held [00:00:37] a sign, referring to the Israeli Hummus brand, Sabra, that read: “SABRA IS MADE WITH PALESTINIAN BLOOD.”

Another activist held [00:00:44] a sign that read: “SJP DePaul stands with BDS…” and another [00:00:43] that said to “BOYCOTT APARTHEID.”

SJP DePaul - Supporting Terrorists

On September 29, 2017, SJP DePaul shared a group photo on Instagram of SJP activists with Rasmea Odeh.

SJP DePaul wrote on the post: “The other day we said goodbye (or see you soon) to Rasmea Odeh. Thank you for being an inspiration, a mother, and always smiling with your fist up high. Reminding us that wherever we land in life we should continue to resist & fight for justice in Palestine!”

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 May 9, 2017, SJP DePaul shared a video on Facebook of SJP DePaul activists participating in the Saltwater Challenge.

The “Saltwater Challenge” was held in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prison inmates convicted of terrorism. The strike was initiated by Marwan Barghouti, who was serving five consecutive life sentences for his role in suicide bombings that killed five Israelis during the second intifada. Aarab Barghouti, the son of Marwan Barghouti, launched the "Saltwater Challenge."

SJP DePaul - Support for BDS

On February 25, 2019, SJP DePaul shared a video on Facebook titled: “DePaul Students Protest Anti-BDS Legislation.”

The post featured a video of SJP DePaul activists on campus opposing [00:00:06] the Congressional bill titled S.1 - Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019. SJP DePaul activists lined up, with duct tape covering their mouths, holding [00:00:20] various signs.

One activist held [00:00:37] a sign, referring to the Israeli Hummus brand, Sabra, that read: “SABRA IS MADE WITH PALESTINIAN BLOOD.”

Another activist held [00:00:44] a sign that read: “SJP DePaul stands with BDS…”

SJP DePaul - Spreading Anti-Israel Propaganda

On February 19, 2019, SJP DePaul shared a statement on Instagram by SJP at the University of Chicago (UofC) in support of Ilhan Omar, and commented: “Students for Justice in Palestine Chicago is proud to support Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar in her brave and frank callout of the Israel lobby and its attempts to purchase American support for the occupation.”

Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.Omar has demonized Israel and endorsed BDS. In July 2019, Omar introduced a pro-BDS resolution in the U.S. Congress, which she described as “an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support…the BDS movement.”

On September 7, 2018, SJP DePaul shared a photo on Facebook of SJP activists manning a table with a banner that read “END ISRAELI APARTHEID” at an event called the “involvement fair.” The activists were promoting several books at the table, including “The Israel Lobby,” by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt.

The book decries the influence of “the Israeli lobby” and repeats an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control over foreign governments.

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.

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.