Kristian Vasquez

Overview

Kristian Vasquez [Kristian Emeliano Vasquez] has expressed support for terrorists and demonized Israel.

Vasquez indicated on Facebook that he attended the 2018 National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Conference.

The 2018 National SJP conference was held on November 16-18, 2018 at 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.”

Vasquez has also expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of August 2019, Vasquez’s LinkedIn page said he was a PhD in Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). His LinkedIn also said he graduated from UCLA in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in “American Indian Studies & Chicano/a Studies.”

Vazquez’s LinkedIn also said that he graduated from Los Angeles Southwest College in 2016 with an associate’s degree in Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Vasquez’s LinkedIn page said he was a “student organizer” with the Eagle and Condor Liberation Front at UCLA (ECLF UCLA) and that he was active with El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Atzlan de UCLA (MEChA de UCLA).

Supporting Terrorists

On August 23, 2018, Vasquez shared to Facebook a story showcasing a statement reportedly released by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group in Israeli jail. The statement was titled: “Palestinian prisoners’ message of solidarity to U.S. National Prison Strike” and was reportedly first published on the pro-PFLP website freeahmadsaadat.org.

Ahmad Sa’adat is the Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He is currently sentenced for terror activities, including his role in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi and is in an Israeli prison. Under Sa’adat’s leadership, the PFLP perpetrated many suicide bombings against Israeli civilians during the second intifada.

On October 26, 2018, Vasquez shared a Facebook post from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), in support of terrorist Khader Adnan.

Khader Adnan was a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization. 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?” In May 2023, Adnan died in prison after refusing medical treatment during a hunger strike.

On January 17, 2019, Vasquez shared to Facebook a link to a letter from the Abolition Media Worldwide (English) version of a letter written by terrorist Leila Khaled. The letter identified Khaled as a “member” of the PFLP and glorified Khaled, it called her an “iconic and historic Palestinian revolutionary.”

Khaled is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of PFLP's Political Bureau.

Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

The PFLP claimed credit for the 2014 Har Nof Massacre where six people were murdered during morning prayers in a Jerusalem synagogue. The PFLP also claimed credit for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.

On January 30, 2019, Vasquez shared a story that displayed a PFLP poster. The link called Israel a “racist, settler-colonial state” and honored PFLP leader Ghassan Kanafani.

Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the terrorist organization’s early years. Kanafani announced the PFLP’s responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre of May 1972 and was linked to the airport attackers. The attack killed 26 people and wounded 80 others.

Demonizing Israel

On February 10, 2019, Vasquez shared a Facebook post from San Francisco State University (SFSU) Professor Rabab Abdulhadi that accused Israel of “continued colonialism and racist violence.”

Professor Rabab Abdulhadi has, since 2014, sought to cultivate alliances between SFSU and two Hamas-dominated Palestinian universities.

On February 2, 2019, Vasquez wrote on Facebook: “FREE PALESTINE. DISMANTLE US AND ISRAELI SETTLER COLONIALISM.”

On November 13, 2018, Vasquez shared an ECLF Facebook post that accused Israel of “settler colonialism.”

On July 19, 2018, Vasquez shared to Facebook a story that accused Israel of “terror” and of being “barbaric.” The story Vasquez shared was originally published on July 15, 2018 and titled: “The World is Silent as Israel Bombs Palestine.”

On July 15, 2018, Israel conducted airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza after Hamas launched hundreds of rockets and other projectiles at Israeli civilians.

On May 16, 2018, Vasquez shared a Facebook post which featured a graphic that said: “Stand with GAZA! Say NO to Zionist genocide.”

On May 15, 2018, Vasquez shared a May 14, 2018, Facebook said: “Israel is a genocidal entity!!!! At leasts 52 Palestinians massacred today.”

On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.

In May 2018, terror organization Hamas instigated the “March of Return.” Thousands of violent rioters attempted numerous breaches of Israel’s border fence with Gaza, seeking to harm Jews across the border. Media reports confirmed [00:00:20] protesters’ breaches and attempted breaches of the fence, some by armed Palestinians. On May 15, 2018, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahhar said the Gaza protests were only a pretext of “peaceful resistance.”

Supporting BDS

On January 29, 2019, Vasquez posted a photo of himself to Facebook overlaid with an image that promoted BDS and used the hashtag “#RightToBoycott.”

On February 5, 2019, Vasquez shared a Facebook post from the pro-BDS organization Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) that used the hashtag “#righttoboycott.” The post urged people to call their senators, in opposition to anti-BDS legislation.

Attending the 2018 National SJP Conference

On November 10, 2018, Vasquez shared to Facebook a National SJP post that featured support for the logo for the 2018 National SJP Conference.

Vasquez indicated on Facebook that he attended the 2018 National SJP Conference from November 16 - 18, 2018.

On November 16, 2018, Vasquez shared to Facebook a National SJP post that said: “When zionists are THIS mad about the #NSJP2018 logo, you HAVE to make make stickers 😂😂😂” The post featured an image of the 2018 National SJP Conference logo.

On November 17, 2018, Vasquez shared a link to Facebook that called Zionism “an ethno-supremacist political ideology” and supported the 2018 National SJP Conference.

On November 18, 2018, Vasquez shared a Facebook post that urged people to watch the keynote speech from the 2018 National SJP Conference by Hatem Abudayyeh. In his speech, Abudayyeh expressed [00:08:45] support for terrorists.

On November 19, 2018, Vasquez shared to Facebook a National SJP post which featured a group photo from the 2018 National SJP Conference and said: “Thank you for making the 2018 NSJP conference powerful. Thank you for fighting with us.”

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.