Kinjo Kiema

As of August 2020, Kiema was listed online as an organizer with BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100).

As of March 2017, Kiema was reportedly a member of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (Metro DC DSA) public Facebook group.

As of August 2021, Kiema used the name “DEFUND THE POLICE” and the handle “@captain_kinj” on Twitter.

Expressing Support for a Terrorist

On August 14, 2020, Kiema published an article promoting Assata Shakur in the online magazine RaceBaitr, titled: “Liberals won’t save us, even if they are Black.” 

Kiema wrote: “Shakur, a leader in the Black Power movement who sought political asylum in Cuba after the U.S. deemed her a criminal, had a deeply accurate analysis of American politics that still rings true today.” Kiema’s article listed Shakur’s book, Assata (Shakur), An Autobiography as suggested reading.

Assata Shakur was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper and wounding another in 1973 while a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). She escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba in 1984, where she resides today. She is listed on the FBI Most Wanted Terror List under her legal name, Joanne Deborah Chesimard.

On May 27, 2020, Kiema tweeted a quote from Shakur that read: “You died. I cried. And kept on getting up. A little slower. And a lot more deadly.”

On July 16, 2018, Kiema posted on Facebook: “happy birthday, Assata Shakur! her writing inspired me in many ways…”

Defending Violent Protests

On May 15, 2018, Kiema shared to Facebook a post by the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). The post included a video featuring anti-Israel activist Noura Erakat in which she accused [00:01:36] Israel of the “lethal use of force against non-violent protesters who did not pose a threat to Israel.”




In her Facebook post, Kiema quoted Erakat who claimed [00:06:37] in the JVP video: "We have tried almost everything. And everything we do, we're told that it's our fault that we can't be free. That's the problem."

Demonizing Israel

On May 26, 2021, Kiema tweeted a series of anti-Israel maps suggesting that Jews colonized Palestinian land from 1946 through 2000. In her tweet, she wrote: “... down with settler colonialism #freepalestine.” 

The maps claim that lands once controlled by Britain, Egypt and Jordan as autonomous “Palestinian land” were purportedly stolen by Israel. In February 2016, publisher McGraw-Hill Education recalled copies of a college textbook containing the fraudulent maps. In October 2015, American cable news network MSNBC apologized for airing a similar series of maps and retracted them.

Kiema retweeted a December 22, 2020 tweet from anti-Israel poet Remi Kanazi that accused Israel of enforcing “apartheid and mass bombing campaigns on occupied people.”

Poet Remi Kanazi is known for his aggressively anti-Israel spoken-word performances. He has supported terrorism and has compared Israel to both ISIS and the Ku Klux Klan.

Kiema retweeted a December 21, 2020 tweet from the Palestine Information Center that read: “Israel gets billions and billions of American tax money to occupy and slaughter native Palestinians. Meanwhile, Americans starve and millions are about to become homeless and jobless.”

Kiema retweeted a December 17, 2020 tweet during the coronavirus pandemic that read: “israel illegally occupies and controls palestinian land, is openly planning on vaccinating the illegal israeli settlers on that land and NOT including the millions of palestinians, and y’all still don’t wanna call it an apartheid state? Lmfao [laughing my f**king a** off] y’all aren’t seeing heaven”


On September 9, 2020, Kiema suggested in a tweet that “Israel is on stolen land.”

On June 18, 2019, Keima tweeted: “Israel has killed, displaced, and violated the rights of countless Palestinian people. Why are you traveling to apartheid Israel @MayorBowser? Choose justice, not apartheid. #OccupationFreeDC #FreePalestine #BounceBowserhttp://bit.ly/bowsertrip”

In her tweet, Kiema shared a link to a petition to “demand DC’s elected officials refuse to participate in exchange trips to Israel” and alleged: “In order to make racism and oppression palatable to governments across the world, the Israeli government markets its militarized vision of safety on exchange trips that obscure its egregious human rights record.” 

On March 7, 2019, Keima shared a Facebook post from Remi Kanazi that read: “Been a busy day for ‘But both sides!’ online. No, there is one oppressor, one occupier, and one settler colonial state with its boot on the neck of a native people.” The post embedded a tweet by Kanazi’s from that day accusing Israel of having “apartheid laws.”

On June 5, 2020, Kiema said [00:37:04] in an Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) This Is Palestine podcast: “I see the people fighting back against the violence and oppression in Israel as an anti-colonial struggle.” Kiema also echoed [00:27:26] allegations made in JVP’s “Deadly Exchange” campaign.

In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign that accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses.
In the same June 5, 2020 podcast, Kiema also said [00:35:44]: “I was a student in Washington, DC, a college student, and I had friends who had traveled to Palestine and had sort of seen what was going on there and this is what motivated me to be involved with Students for Justice in Palestine because everything that they told me about what they witnessed, was, it just sounded like apartheid and segregation and also a lot of parallels to what Black people in the United States have experienced.”
 
On June 18, 2019, Kiema urged readers on Facebook to sign a letter to members of the Council of the District of Columbia “to demand DC’s elected officials refuse to participate in exchange trips to Israel, and instead commit to investing their time and money in learning from people right here in DC. Israeli military occupation is no model for DC!”

In her Facebook post, Kiema posted a graphic featuring text that read: “Police in DC harass and brutalize Black people. Police in Israel harass and brutalize Palestinians. And they train together.”

On May 17, 2018, Kiema shared to Facebook an Intercept article echoing allegations promoted by JVP’s “Deadly Exchange” campaign.

Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators

On February 12, 2019, Kiema promoted U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Facebook when she shared a Jacobin post that read: “Ilhan Omar is being attacked for telling the truth: the influence of AIPAC [American Israel Political Action Committee] on US policy toward Israel has been a disaster.”


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.”

The implication that AIPAC buys political support for Israel has been described as playing into “anti-Semitic tropes” that led to “centuries of stereotypes about Jews using money to control the world.”  

On May 28, 2017, Kiema featured in a Facebook photo posing with anti-Israel activist Angela Davis after an SJP at GWU event, which was part of the group’s Palestine Awareness Week (PAW). In a speech, Davis delivered at the event, she reportedly compared Israel to apartheid-era South Africa, saying: “This is the South Africa moment for the Palestinian people.” 

Angela Davis made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List in 1970 after being charged as a principal in an aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder, for purchasing the shotgun used in the abduction and killing of a judge.  

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.

As of January 2021, Kiema used a photo of herself posing with Davis as her Twitter profile photo.

Organizing a BDS Campaign

As of January 2021, Kiema’s LinkedIn page said she organized a BDS campaign with SJP at GWU to boycott Sabra Hummus, which is partially owned by the Israeli company the Strauss Group. The Sabra BDS campaign was promoted on social media under the hashtag “#NoJusticeNoChickpeas.”

As of the same date, Kiema’s LinkedIn page also said: “Activities and Societies: Students for Justice in Palestine: Organized Sabra boycott campaign: facilitated meetings, identified and developed leaders, and engaged stakeholders. Planned and marketed events for membership. Built relationships with on and off campus political organizations.”

On February 25, 2016, Kiema promoted on Facebook a “teach-in” co-hosted by SJP at GWU to launch their Sabra boycott campaign. 

Supporting BDS Campaigns at GWU

On March 28, 2017, Kiema appeared in a SJP at GWU Facebook photo with other SJP at GWU activists promoting their 2017 #DivestThisTime BDS campaign. In the photo, Kiema was holding a banner that read: “GW failed South Africa, don’t fail Palestine. Be on the right side of history... Divest This Time.”

#DivestThisTime is a coalition of students at GWU campaigning for the university to “divest from companies that profit off of the continued occupation of Palestine.” 

SJP at GWU hosted an event on March 27, 2017, to launch their BDS campaign with an event featuring anti-Israel activist Angela Davis. A day following the event, Divest This Time at GW quoted Davis on Facebook, writing: "‘I hope The George Washington University divests this time, for both South Africa and for Palestine!’”

On March 29, 2017, Kiema featured [00:01:56] in a #DivestThisTime promotional video posted by SJP at GWU on Facebook that featured SJP at GWU student activists and their supporters promoting the campaign. 

Students featured in the video invoked [00:00:44] “the Occupation of Palestine” to demonize Israel and companies that provided Israel with security technology. In the video, SJP at GWU student activists also equated [00:00:60] Israel with apartheid South Africa and accused [00:01:42] Israel of “using the identities” of transgender people to prove that Israel respects human rights. 

The campaign video incorporated [00:00:41] footage from a March 26, 2017 protest against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) organized by Al-Awda — The Palestine Right to Return Coalition — and attended by SJP at GWU. 

On March 29, 2017, Kiema appeared in a Facebook photo where she participated in a “die-in” with other SJP at GWU activists to promote the divestment campaign. Kiemawore a placard claiming: “I was killed by an unmanned aerial vehicle used to target and maim Palestinians provided by the Elbit System, Ltd.” 

On the same day, #DivestThisTime posted on Facebook: “Today, Students for Justice in Palestine staged a die-in in Kogan Plaza to demonstrate the human cost of GW’s investment in corporations that profit off of the occupation of Palestine.”

On April 24, 2017, following its passage by two student life committee hearings, #DivestThisTime activists submitted a BDS resolution to the GWU Student Association (SA) Senate that demanded the university divest from corporations that do business with Israel. 

The resolution blamed Israel for a list of alleged crimes, including “deliberately” causing “suffering to Palestinian populations,” discrimination against women, “deliberately” killing “Palestinian civilians” and causing an “epidemic of homelessness.” 

The resolution invoked the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), demanding punishment for ”crimes against peace, humanity, and of war.” 

On May 1, 2017, Kiema participated [02:19:45] in a GWU SA senate meeting during which the senate reportedly voted against the resolution by a vote of 14 to 15, with one abstention.

On April 24, 2018, Kiema shared a #DivestThisTime Facebook post announcing the passage of the 2018 #DivestThisTime BDS Resolution titled: “The Protection of Palestinian Human Rights Act ( SR-S18-21).” 

On April 23-24, 2018, the GWU Student Association (SA) held a hearing and vote on the 2018 BDS resolution. At least 18 SJP at GWU activists and affiliates addressed [01:07:50] the SA in defense of the resolution, where it passed [00:21:53] via [00:11:14] a secret ballot with 18 votes for, six against and six abstentions. 

Anti-Israel Activism

On November 9, 2015, Kiema was listed on Facebook as having attended an ANSWER Coalition demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to the White House to meet with then-President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders. The event page called Netanyahu an “infamous war criminal,” and claimed he was “Wanted for Torture, Murder, Ethnic Cleansing, Racist Apartheid.”

The ANSWER Coalition organizes large anti-Israel rallies and has faced allegations of anti-Semitism. The group has expressed support for a terrorist.

SJP at GWU - Chapter Overview

SJP at GWU supportsthe Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. On March 27, 2017, SJP at GWU launched the #DivestThisTime campaign to introduce a BDS resolution on campus.

As of January 2021, the Facebook About page for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the George Washington University (GWU), SJP at GWU, stated: “We are a student solidarity group working to educate and organize GWU in support of Palestinian rights.”

SJP at GWU - Supporting Terrorists  

On May 11, 2017, SJP at GWU posted a Facebook video of its activists led by SJP at GWU member Maryam Alhassani participating in the “#SaltWaterChallenge." 

 

On April 6, 2017, SJP at GWU shared a post on Facebook supporting Rasmea Odeh. SJP at GWU’s post included a quote from Odeh that read: "I will continue the struggle for justice for my people wherever I land."

SJP at GWU - Spreading Hatred of Israel  

On December 8, 2017, SJP at GWU posted to Facebook a “Statement on the Declaration of Al-Quds as Official Capital of the Zionist Entity” to protest the U.S. government’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The statement accused Israel of “human rights violations” and “ethnic cleansing and dehumanization.”

On October 30, 2017, SJP at GWU promoted on Facebook Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)’s #DeadlyExchange campaign.

In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.

On September 17, 2017, SJP at GWU shared an article published by the Intercept on Facebook titled: “ISRAEL SECURITY FORCES ARE TRAINING AMERICAN COPS DESPITE HISTORY OF RIGHTS ABUSES.” The article suggested a parallel between the increased militarization of the U.S. police force and Israeli-U.S.exchanges.  

On September 28, 2017, SJP at GWU shared a JVP article on Facebook titled: “‘Why I, A Palestinian, Want Young Jews to Boycott Birthright.’” The article also called on readers to join the BDS movement

Birthright Israel is a heritage trip to Israel for Jewish young adults from across the world.

On June 19, 2017, SJP at GWU shared a video to Facebook in which Izzadine Mustaffa, a Palestinian trans-activist accused [00:03:19] Israel of "pinkwashing.”

“Pinkwashing” is a claim that Israel advocates manipulate the LGBTQ community in order to garner support for Israel.  

SJP at GWU - Promoting Incitement  

On July 17, 2017, SJP at GWU shared an Al Jazeera English (AJE) post and video on Facebook showing Palestinians praying outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque to protest [00:00:09] security measures added by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

SJP at GWU - Hosting Anti-Israel Agitators  

On November 14, 2017, SJP at GWU hosted anti-Israel professor Rabab Abdulhadi for a speaking event titled: “Shifting the Discourse on Palestine: Silencing and the Politics of Dissent.”

Since 2014, San Francisco State University (SFSU) Professor Rabab Abdulhadi has tried to cultivate ties between two Palestinian Hamas-dominated universities and SFSU.
On May 27, 2017, SJP at GWU hosted an event featuring Angela Davis titled: “GWU SJP Palestine Awareness Week Keynote - Angela Davis.” At the event, Davis delivered a keynote address titled: “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Why Movements for Social Justice Should Support Palestine.” In her lecture, Davis reportedly compared Israel to South African apartheid. 

In 1970, Davis was charged as a principal in the aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of a judge and listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List.  

On April 13, 2017, SJP at GWU hosted an event featuring Sa’ed Atshan, then Assistant Professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies Department at Swarthmore College (Swarthmore). The event was titled: “Tel Aviv Night Clubs & West Bank Check Points// Sa'ed Atshan.” 

On April 9, 2015, SJP at GWU hosted a speaking event featuring Iyad Burnat titled: “Iyad Burnat: To Exist is to Resist.”

Burnat is the head of the Bil’in popular resistance committee and has, since 2005, organized weekly demonstrations against the Israeli West Bank security barrier. These demonstrations have often turned violent.

Burnat has repeatedly equated Israel with Hitler and ISIS. He has also accused “Zionists” of controlling American politics.   

On March 2, 2015, SJP at GWU hosted aneventthatfeatured anti-Israel author Miko Peled titled: “Palestine Beyond Zionism - Hope for Peace and Co-Existence.” The event’s Facebook description claimed: “In South Africa removing Apartheid was the key to ending the plight of black South Africans, in Palestine removing Zionism is the key to resolving the plight of the Palestinians.”

SJP at GWU - Supporting BDS  

In March 2017, SJP at GWU hosted a series of events as part of the #DivestThisTime divestment campaign during 2017 Palestine Awareness Week held on campus from March 27 to April 7, 2017.

A re-branding of Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) for American audiences, Palestine Awareness Week (PAW) was originally presented to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and present “an international series of events that seek to raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people.”

On March 27, 2017, SJP at GWU launched the #DivestThisTime campaign to introduce a BDS resolution on campus with an event featuring Angela Davis as a keynote speaker. At the event, Davis promoted the BDS campaign. 

On March 28, 2017, SJP at GWU held an event titled “Why Divest?” in order to recruit support for divestment. The event’s Facebook description read: “We will be hosting an information session about Divest This Time for students to learn more about the campaign, why divest, and how they can get more involved with the coalition!”

On March 29, 2017, SJP at GWU staged a “die-in” on campus as part of their #DivestThisTime campaign, during which student activists lying on the ground held signs that demonized Israel. One of the students had a sign that said: “I could not visit my family in Jerusalem because of the apartheid wall created with cement produced by Cemex.”

On March 29, 2017, SJP at GWU wrote on Facebook: “As part of our Divest This Time campaign, we are calling on the George Washington University to divest from these corporations to end our complicity in this horrific violence, which the university failed to do during apartheid in South Africa.”

On April 6, 2017, SJP at GWU tweeted: “Join #DivestThisTimeGW in pressuring @GWtweets to fulfill their moral obligation to divest from companies that profit from the occupation.”

SJP at GWU retweeted a June 16, 2015 tweet by the anti-Israel organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) that read: “Support BDS, join our boycott against Israeli Occupation Dates.”

SJP at GWU -Boycotting Sabra Hummus  

On February 17, 2016, SJP at GWU launched a campaign to boycott Sabra Hummus, which is partially owned by the Israeli company the Strauss Group, on campus. The Sabra BDS campaign was promoted on social media under the hashtag “#NoJusticeNoChickpeas” and was organized by SJP activist Kinjo Kiema.

SJP at GWU posted on Facebook: “What's one way you, an individual GW student, can have an impact on the situation in Palestine? By boycotting goods made by companies that profit off of and support the Israeli occupation and human rights violations of Palestinians, like Sabra hummus!”

On February 25, 2016, SJP at GWU hosted an event titled: “Free Hummus Night and Teach-In about Sabra.” The Facebook event page for the teach-in alleged that Sabra was “a corporation that profits off of the suffering of Palestinians.”

On March 4, 2016, SJP at GWU sent a letter to GW Dining complaining that “the SJP community at GW, as well as several others in our student body” were “deeply disturbed” that “J Street, as well as other on campus stores” sold Sabra Hummus.

SJP at GWU - Anti-Israel Events  

On February 21, 2017, SJP at GWU hosted an event titled: “Palestine 101 Part 4: Checkpoints and the Apartheid Wall.” The event’s Facebook description read: “At this session we will be discussing the Israeli apartheid wall and racist checkpoints manned by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Come out to learn about the forced segregation of Palestinians in the West Bank from their families in Jerusalem and Gaza, and how you can get involved to end the occupation.”

Israeli checkpoints were builtto protect Israel's civilian population against terror attacks, such as suicide bombings.  

Israel’s security barrier, built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks, is 97% low chain-link barrier. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.  

On April 5, 2016, SJP at GWU hosted an event titled: “2016 Right to Education Tour: The Impact of Colonialism on Education in Palestine.”

The Right to Education Tour brings Palestinian students from schools such as Birzeit University to U.S. college campuses, where they accuse Israel of obstructing the access of Palestinians to higher education. These students routinely demonize security sweepsby the Israeli military to shut down terror cells. These cells are also linked to Hamas, whose ideology dominates on Palestinian campuses, like Birzeit. 

The event’s Facebook description read:“SJP @ GW is excited to host two Palestinian students from Birzeit University in the West Bank who are travelling the US on the Right to Education Tour. Come hear first hand accounts of life as a college student under Israeli Occupation.”

The Facebook event page linked to a video “to learn more about R2E," by Birzeit University students, published in 2013. The video celebrated [00:06:18] the creation of the Palestinian curriculum and attacked what it called [00:06:55] “a Jewish-American organization,” The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE), formerly known as the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP), for exposing [00:07:14] the curriculum’s “anti-Israel bias.”

On October 28, 2015, SJP at GWU held a “Vigil for Palestine.” The event’s Facebook description urged students to “Come out and show respect to those who have recently been killed in the West Bank.”October 2015 saw a wave of stabbings, known as the “Knife Intifada,” where young Palestinians throughout Israel were stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians. The upsurge in violence across Israel was incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The attacks were sparked and fueled by Palestinian leaders propagating the libel that Israel intended to desecrate the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.  

SJP at GWU - Anti-Israel Activism

On November 20, 2017, SJP at GWU posted on Facebook: “On the morning of November 20th 2017, Students for Justice in Palestine at the George Washington Universty pinned 1,391 Palestinian flags and 13 Israeli flags on their main campus grounds. This action symbolized the number of fatalities as a result of Operation Cast Lead and to mourn the lives lost.”

Operation Cast Lead (OCL)was commenced by Israel in 2008-09 to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians. Two years later, Hamas admitted that nearly 700 of the Palestinian casualties in OCL were combatants.  

SJP at GWU also commented: “...Access is restricted to the most basic needs to sustain life for Palestinians living within the blockaded Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza was approved by the United Nations in 2011, as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple attempts have been made to breach the blockade, with at least one flotilla initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.  

On March 26, 2017, SJP at GWU participated in a demonstration held outside the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)’s Annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. The demonstration was titled: “Support Palestine and Protest AIPAC” and promoted on social media as “#SupportPalestineInDC2017.” 

AIPAC’s mission, as stated on their website, is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”  

Abbas Hamideh, the head of Al-Awda - The Palestine Right of Return Movement, organized [00:00:37] the March 26, 2017 rally in Washington, D.C. Hamideh is known for spreading antisemitism and terror support.

At the rally, Hamideh called [00:02:19] for the right of return and led [00:05:27] protestors in the chant “From the River to the Sea.”

The Palestinian demand for a “right of return” has been discredited as a way to eliminate the State of Israel.  

The chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. It is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel.

Ryan Dawson, who has promoted Holocaust revisionism and equated Israel with Nazi Germany, also spoke at the rally, during which he said [00:14:21]: “AIPAC is a parasite."

Another anti-Israel activist and author Miko Peled also spoke at the rally, claiming [00:10:07]: “We know very well that the Palestinian resistance is not terrorism. Palestinian resistance is legitimate resistance. And all of us here today are part of that resistance.” 

On March 27, 2017, SJP at GWU shared a video on Facebook produced by Al Jazeera English (AJE) with footage from the rally that included [00:00:13] David Feldman, a member of the Neturei Karta.

#DivestThisTime at GWU 2017 - Organized by SJP

#DivestThisTime is a coalition of students at George Washington University (GWU) campaigning for the university to “divest from companies that profit off of the continued occupation of Palestine.”

As of January 2021, #DivestThisTime’s Facebook About page said its mission was “to educate the student body about the occupation of Palestine and pressure the university to divest using nonviolent tactics. 

The #DivestThisTime campaign logo included a map of Israel that did not distinguish between Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, invoking a“one-state solution” that been denounced as a scheme to dissolve Israel as the Jewish State. 

SJP at GWU hosted an event to launch the #DivestThisTime campaign as part of its 2017 Palestine Awareness Week (PAW).

A re-branding of Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) for American audiences, Palestine Awareness Week (PAW) was originally presented to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and present “an international series of events that seek to raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people.”

However, as of January 2021, #DivestThisTime’ Facebook About page said: “We are a coalition of students who believe that George Washington University has a moral obligation to divest from companies that profit off of the continued occupation of Palestine, in accordance with the 2005 call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions from Palestinian civil society.”

#DivestThisTime at GWU 2017 - 2017 Divestment Campaign

On March 27, 2017, SJP at GWU hosted an event to launch their #DivestThisTime campaign to introduce a divestment resolution on campus in support of BDS.

The resolution, titled: “The Advancement of Palestinian Human Rights Act (SR-S17-14),” called for GWA to divest its endowment funds from ten companies the authors claimed “profit off human suffering in the Palestinian Territories and other communities globally.”

On April 6, 2017, the GW Hatchet, a student newspaper, reported that prior to the launch of the campaign, SJP at GWU sent a letter to then-president of GWU, Steven Knapp, requesting that he confirm the university’s investment in 13 companies they claimed were “complicit in and profiting from apartheid policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.” 

The article reported that a GWU spokeswoman “declined to provide information on the endowment’s holdings as they relate to Israel and Palestine, or if the University has an official stance on divestment for political or humanitarian reasons.”

The article also reported a statement made by SJP at GWU member Maryam Alhassani who said “the group is now looking for students to sign a divestment petition to bring to the Student Association in hopes that they will pass legislation supporting divestment.”

In March 2017, SJP at GWU hosted a series of events as part of the #DivestThisTime campaign during 2017 Palestine Awareness Week, held on campus from March 27 to April 7, 2017.

On March 27, 2017, SJP at GWU hosted an event to launch their BDS campaign with an event featuring anti-Israel activist Angela Davis.

In 1970, Davis was charged as a principal in the aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of a judge and listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List.  

At the event, titled: “GWU SJP Palestine Awareness Week Keynote - Angela Davis,” Davis delivered a keynote address titled: “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Why Movements for Social Justice Should Support Palestine." 

A day following the event, #DivestThisTime quoted Davis on Facebook, writing: "‘I hope The George Washington University divests this time, for both South Africa and for Palestine!’ We are so honored to have Professor Davis' support for the Divest This Time campaign! ...Let's demand that GW supports Palestinian human rights and stands on the right side of history!”

On March 28, 2017, DivestThisTIme and SJP at GWU held an event titled: “Why Divest?” in order to recruit support for divestment. The event’s Facebook description read: “We will be hosting an information session about Divest This Time for students to learn more about the campaign, why divest, and how they can get more involved with the coalition!”

On March 29, 2017, #DivestThisTime released a Facebook promotional video that featured SJP at GWU student activists and their supporters promoting the campaign. 

Students featured in the video invoked [00:00:44] “the Occupation of Palestine” to demonize Israel and companies that provided Israel with security technology. In the video, SJP at GWU student activists also equated [00:00:60] Israel with Apartheid South Africa and accused [00:01:42] Israel of “using the identities” of transgender people to prove that Israel respects human rights. 

The campaign video incorporated [00:00:41] footage from a March 26, 2017 protest against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) organized by Al-Awda — The Palestine Right to Return Coalition — and attended by SJP at GWU. 

At the die-in, SJP at GWU activists lay on the ground holding signs. One of the activists had a sign referring to Israel’s security barrier that read: "I could not visit my family in Jerusalem because of the apartheid wall created with cement produced by Cemex."

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.

On April 24, 2017, following its passage by two student life committee hearings, #DivestThisTime submitted a BDS resolution to the GWU Student Association (SA) Senate that demanded the University divest from corporations that do business with Israel. Text of the resolution was “leaked to the general public,” just ahead of Israeli and International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

On May 1, 2017, GWU’s SA voted down the resolution by a vote of 15-14, with one abstention.

On May 2, 2017, SJP at GWU released a statement on Facebook that read: “At GWU, this action has only just begun — SJP will continue the fight for Palestinian human rights and for those who are oppressed around the world. The Divest This Time coalition is passionate about the GW community and thus looks to further justice on campus.”

On the same day, #DivestThisTime also released a statement on Facebook that read: “We will continue to pressure the The [sic] George Washington University to maintain an ethical endowment, and divest from companies that profit off of Palestinian suffering…”

On May 4, 2017, SJP at GWU student activist Abby Brook, who is reportedly a founder of #DivestThisTime, told The GW Hatchet student newspaper that SJP at GWU would push for a referendum vote, in which the entire student body would be able to vote on divestment.

On May 15, 2017, the Editorial Board of the GW Hatchet published an article titled: “Divestment referendum would marginalize part of the student body.” 

The article also said: “The resolution and discussion around it has been criticized by some student organizations for being one-sided and anti-Israel” and stressed the need for student groups to facilitate increased dialogue about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead of pushing for a campus-wide divestment vote.

#DivestThisTime at GWU 2017 - Demonizing Israel

On May 1, 2017, the GWU Student Association (SA) held a hearing and vote on the BDS resolution. 

The resolution blamed Israel for a litany of alleged crimes, including “deliberately” causing “suffering to Palestinian populations,” discrimination against women, “deliberately” killing “Palestinian civilians” and causing an “epidemic of homelessness.” 

The resolution invoked the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), demanding punishment for ”crimes against peace, humanity, and of war.” 

Rock throwing is a deadly form of violence, despite being romanticized as a form of “popular resistance.”  

#DivestThisTime at GWU 2017 - Denying Support for BDS

The 2017 BDS resolution was co-sponsored by then GWU SA senators and SJP at GWU activists Jack Jomarron and Keiko Tsuboi. Both attempted to distance the resolution from BDS. 

On April 24, 2017, Jomarron posted on Facebook that the resolution was “not a Divestment from the State of Israel” and commented: “I understand your fear of a hidden agenda and it was something, to be honest, I was wary of as well. The national BDS movements and the national SJP groups are frankly super troublesome to me.”

On May 1, 2017, during the student senate hearing on the anti-Israel resolution she co-sponsored, Keiko Tsuboi insisted that the resolution was not a call for BDS and claimed [02:42:09]: “ ... we're not doing this to personally attack any of you, personally attack Israeli, or to smear Israel…”

SJP at GWU’s tactics at the BDS vote hearing matched tactics suggested and explicitly articulated by BDS founder Omar Barghouti, shortly thereafter. On May 5, 2017, Barghouti said [00:58:53] to an audience at The Palestine Center in Washington, D.C.: “If you join a campaign for justice and freedom, it doesn’t have to carry the BDS logo. It doesn't have to say ‘boycott’ and it doesn’t have to say ‘BDS.’ There are many creative ways to do things without labeling it as BDS.”

#DivestThisTime at GWU 2018 - Instigated by SJP at GWU 

On March 24, 2018, student groups at GWU launched the second BDS campaign in two years; both were titled “#DivestThisTime.” Activists with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at GWU (SJP at GWU) led both campaigns. 

On the campaign launch day, #DivestThisTime released a Facebook promotional video, in which activists alleged [00:01:23] that Israel has committed “crimes against humanity.” They also claimed [00:03:34] that Palestinians are “bombed every day” and blamed Israel [00:02:06] for police violence against black Americans in Ferguson, Missouri.

#DivestThisTime at GWU 2018 - Demonizing Israel

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.

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