Laila Zayed
Overview
Zayed was a 2020 board member [slide 2] of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 2020. Zayed was also an SJP UIC activist in 2019 .
As of February 2021, Zayed was listed as the ‘Primary Contact” on the UIC SJP Roster webpage.
Zayed attended the 2019 National SJP Conference at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (UMN) as an activist with SJP UIC.
Zayed is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of February 2021, Zayed was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design at UIC and was the Artistic and Creative Practices Coordinator for UIC’s Arab American Cultural Center (ArabAmCC).
As of March 2021, Zayed used the name “pettystinian” on Instagram, and “LailaGrace” on her website. Zayed’s privated Twitter account used the name “west bank bi**h

@Okayarabreally f**kin Palestinian
.“Spreading Anti Semitism
As of December 2020, Zayed posted a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” propagating the widely debunked Al-Dura hoax.The Al-Durah hoax is an iconic piece of anti-Israel propaganda, fabricated on September 30, 2000 at the start of the Second Intifada by a France 2 reporter.
Zayed wrote in the comment section of the pin: “Together hand in hand to liberate Palestine from the Jews dogs - the whole world against Israel.”
Whitewashing Hamas
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a tweet to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a man holding a sign that read: “BLAMING HAMAS FOR FIRING ROCKETS IS LIKE BLAMING A WOMAN FOR PUNCHING HER RAPIST.”On October 7, 2017, Zayed tweeted: “Hamas was literally created BECAUSE the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] mistreated/s Palestinians. They were formed with israels blessing.”
Glorifying a Terrorist
On January 6, 2021, Zayed posted to her website.a poster she designed glorifying Leila Khaled.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.
Zayed commented: “Recently, Leila Khaled was banned from being on a zoom call with SF State due to her association with the popular front for the liberation of Palestine because it is wrongfully considered a terrorist organization.” She added: “#freedomfighter.”
In September 2020, anti-Israel professor Rabab Abdulhadi co-organized an online open classroom panel event titled “Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice, and Resistance: A Conversation with Leila Khaled,” scheduled for September 23, 2020.
On September 22, 2020, the digital video conferencing platform Zoom reportedly refused to stream the panel event, citing Khaled’s “reported affiliation or membership in a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, and SFSU’s inability to confirm otherwise” a likely violation of Zoom’s Terms of Service.
On September 24, 2020, the online video conferencing platform YouTube also cancelled its broadcast of the Khaled event “approximately 23 minutes in after Khaled began discussing the right of occupied peoples to fight their occupiers ‘by any means possible, including weapons.’”
On February 28, 2021, Zayed tweeted a tweet that said: “leftists will be like ‘don’t girlboss political figures they’re all war criminals!!!!!’ and then girlboss leila khalid,” and added: “Yes that’s right I love her
."On November 24, 2020, Zayed posted to her website a poster of a SJP UIC event that she designed, featuring likenesses of Leila Khaled and Yasser Arafat painted onto Israel’s security barrier.
Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a visual with a woman holding a sign with text that read: “WELL DONE ISRAEL, HITLER WOULD BE PROUD.”As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic juxtaposing a 2014 picture of an Israeli checkpoint to a picture from Buchenwald, a Nazi death camp taken on the day of liberationThe graphic was headlined: “Israel Zionism = Nazism.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic with the text: “ZIONISM DO UNTO OTHERS AS THE NAZIS DID TO YOU?”
As of December 2020, Zayed posted a photo from urbanbedougirl.tumblr.com to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a man holding a sign that read: “ONE HOLOCAUST DOES NOT JUSTIFY ANOTHER.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a poster with the text: “APARTHEID IT WASNT OKAY IN SOUTH AFRICA IT WASNT OKAY IN NAZI GERMANY WHY IS IT OKAY IN PALESTINE?”
Zayed commented on the pin: “Why is it okay in Palestine? - Not just because I'm Arab but as a human being this makes me furious. FREE PALESTINE.”
Promoting Violence
On January 26, 2021, Zayed posted to her website a photo she designed of anti-Israel activists, surrounded by a ribbon of words that read, repeatedly, “We want the Intifada.”Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a Facebook post to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a visual saying: “THE ONLY WAY TO SUPPORT A REVOLUTION IS TO MAKE YOUR OWN!” The visual showed a keffiyeh-masked woman, holding a placard with the word “Intifada.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved to her Free Palestine Board on Pinterest a pin showing a keffiyeh-masked man, offering a flower to a young girl with one hand, while holding a stone behind his back in his other hand. The pin contained text reading: “RESISTANCE IS NOT TERRORISM” and “RESIST TO EXIST.”
Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that read: “WE EAT, SLEEP AND BREATHE RESISTANCE WE RESIST TO EXIST WE ARE PALESTINE”
Zayed commented on the pin: “Resist to Exist. Free Palestine
.”Demonizing Israel
As of December 2020, Zayed posted on her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board”: “Dear israel, don't try to hide we already caught you. Don't talk, we know your [sic] lying, Don't pretend to be good, we know you're evil. FREE PALESTINE.”As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a photo of British politician George Galloway, with a reported quote by Iranian leader Mahmound Ahmadinejad: “‘Israel is a cancer at the heart of the Middle-East.’”
Galloway has a history of supporting terrorists and his anti-Zionist rhetoric has been condemned as anti-Semitic many times.
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic with text that read: “DEVIL AND ISRAEL have one thing in common. Neither one is human.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” with a graphic promoting a definition of Israel as a “Rogue state created by ethnic cleansing; specializes in state-terrorism and humanitarian crimes; sponsred [sic] by the United States.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic showing a protester at at an American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) conference standing next to a sign that read: “WHAT DO ISRAEL AND ISIS HAVE IN COMMON ? EACH HAVE HIJACKED A PEACEFUL RELIGION FOR SUPPORT IN FURTHERING BRUTAL AND INHUMANE POLITICAL IDEAOLOGIES [sic].”
On July 16, 2020, Zayed tweeted: “Me chilling knowing damn well Palestine has been removed from maps for years now. We’ve been screaming ethnic cleansing for years where have u been lol.”
Zayed added: “Oh my god I can’t believe they are trying to erase our history!!! And burn our history books!!! And appropriate our culture!! All this new information is crazy!!!!!”
Hatred of Zionism
On December 26, 2020, Zayed tweeted: “Y’all be like ACAB [All Cops Are Bastards] ACAB ACAB and then go watch Wonder Woman
.”In the same Twitter thread, Zayed added: “Btw saying your pirating the movie is not better. Ur still watching a whole a** IOF [Israel Occupation Forces] solider play a hero in a movie and that alone is gross. You are not exempt from that shame
.”Zayed added in the same thread: “To the people that don’t get my tweet, gal gadot is a Zionist, which is a racist ideaology similar to white supremacy. Sheserved in the IDF, or israeli police that literally run the occupation, aparthied and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that read: “THE WORLD STOPPED NAZISM THE WORLD STOPPED APARTHEID THE WORLD MUST STOP ZIONISM.”
Zayed wrote in the comment section of the pin: “Israel is an apartheid occupier.”
On July 27, 2019, Zayed tweeted about Israeli journalist Emily Amrousi: “It’s impossible to be a zionist and a Feminist and she shows it perfectly....Zionism is about racial supremacy (which is exactly what she is portraying). Feminism is about equality of gender/sex which INCLUDES Palestinians that aren’t supported under Zionism.”
On November 2, 2018, Zayed tweeted: “Zionism is also a racist ideaology created in EUROPE.

”Anti-Israel Propaganda
The photo in the pin Zayed posted was taken from a News Archive of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and showed a young girl alleged to have been burned in 2009 by white phosphorus, in Afghanistan. The charge against Israel of using chemical weapons has been debunked on multiple occasions.
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a 2014 graphic of American author Naomi Wolf, accusing Israel of apartheid and suggesting that Israel massacred civilians in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge (OPE).
Israel commenced OPEin July 2014, to stop rocket fire by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist factions from targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels. Throughout the summer of 2014, during OPE, Hamas's deployment of human shields was documented and publicized. Hamas encouraged Gazans to act as human shields, to specifically frustrate Israeli efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
In a comment to her pin, Zayed also blamed Israel for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, writing: “Who will stop the United States of Israel...Israel is now ON TOP of the USA, they did 9/11 and brought in a Police State - Next Syria and Iran then ALL the world...*”
Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
On June 9, 2018, Zayed posted a photo of herself to Instagram holding a sign that read “FREE AHED TAMIMI.”As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a 2012 photo of, Ahed Tamimi, and also promoted, Nariman Tamimi.
Also as of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that promoted anti-Israel activist, Dr. Mads Gilbert.
Gilbert has been banned indefinitely from entering Gaza through Israel because of his connections to the Hamas leadership. In 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014, Gilbert acted as a propagandist for Hamas.
In 2001, following al Qaeda's September 11 terrorist attacks, Gilbert expressed support for the terror acts as a “legitimate response.”
Boycotting Jewish and Israeli Institutions
Zayed linked in her Instagram bio to an SJP UIC “Open Letter”, calling on the university to cancel a talk by lsraeli academic Gabi Bin-Nun, titled: “Description of the Healthcare System in Israel: Implications for COVID Response.”
SJP UIC wrote: “This isn’t the first time we’ve protested UIC School of Public Health’s strong relations with colonial institutions,” adding: “Is social justice working with ethnic cleansers?”
SJP UIC then invited students to copy their email template protesting [slide 3] Professor Bin Nun’s talk and send it to UIC’s SPH.
On February 10, 2021, SJP UIC condemned UIC’s SPH for inviting Israeli speakers to campus, adding: “These speakers perpetuate the colonial ideology that Israel was founded on.”
On February 11, 2021, Zayed tweeted: “URGENT!!!! Please help my SJP with our campaign against the school of Public Health at UIC! They have been inviting israeli speakers for years and we say no more! (Scroll to the bottom where it is highlighted to fill out the google forum).”
Zayed also attached posters promoting SJP UIC’s campaign condemning UIC’s School of Public Health (SPH) for inviting Bin-Nun to discuss Israel’s health care system.
SJP UIC accused Israel of “colonization, military occupation, and apartheid” and called [slide 3] for the “immediate termination of ties to Israeli academic institutions and speakers representing those institutions.”
The event was ultimately not cancelled.
On February 19, 2021, SJP UIC encouraged students on Instagram to sign an “Open Letter” condemning UIC’s SPH event featuring Professor Bin Nun.
The letter suggested the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) was “racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian” and condemned SPH for allowing the JUF to fund the SPH Israeli Visiting Scholars program. The letter went on to suggest Israel blocked Palestinian access to COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
The SJP UIC letter also made a series of demands of UIC, including “the termination of ties between SPH and Israeli academic institutions” and the “termination of speakers that are visiting UIC as representatives of Israeli Institutions.”
On March 3, 2021, SJP UIC posted to Instagram that its representatives attended Professor Bin Nun’s talk and “persistently asked questions regarding Palestine.”
On March 11, 2021, SJP UIC posted to Instagram: “SJP is calling all organizers and activists to join us starting 12 pm on March 16th in our social media storm demanding the UIC School of Public Health answer for why they work with Islamophobic, anti-Arab, transphobic and homophobic organizations.”
On the same day, Zayed tweeted: “We attended a public health in israel event hosted by @uicpublichealth . When we asked about Palestinians, we were removed from the session.” Zayed then attached a series of UIC SJP testimonials of “students were unable to raise questions about Israeli oppression and mistreatment of Palestinians.”
Zayed retweeted a March 15, 2021 tweet that said: “Tomorrow we will be engaging in a social media storm demanding UIC School of Public Health answer for working with Islamophobic organizations and their elevation of Israeli institutions promoting apartheid; while, simultaneously silencing UIC students speaking out against this.”
On March 16, 2021, SJP UIC launched their #CutTheTiesUICSPH social media campaign on Instagram and Twitter. SJP UIC’s “Twitter storm for SPH campaign” contained over 60 tweets to copy and tweet out, as well as downloadable graphics and testimonies of anti-Israel student activists who had attended Bin-Nun’s lecture.
The campaign called to cut ties with the JUF and to object to future JUF-sponsored meetings “like any other anti-religious group” and suggested such meetings were affront to all of UIC’s Muslim students.
The JUF, also known as the Jewish Metropolitan Fund of Chicago and the Jewish Federation of Chicago, serves as the central philanthropic address of Chicago's Jewish community.
On March 16, 2021, Zayed tweeted: “JUF, an organization that provides funds to anti Arab, anti Muslim, anti Palestinian and anti LGBTQ+ groups should not be tolerated at UIC #CUTTHETIESUICSPH @uicpublichealth.”
On that same day, Zayed tweeted: “During the gabi bin nun visiting scholar event, provided by JUF, a racist and homophobic group, Students that asked about Palestine were removed. @uicpublichealth #CUTTHETIESUICSPH.”
Zayed also tweeted: “During our administration meeting with @uicpublichealth , they told us to come to the israeli scholar event to pose questions about Palestine. When we asked questions, we were removed from the session. It is clear what kind of narrative SPH wants #CUTTHETIESUICSPH.”
She also tweeted: “In 2013, JUF accepted $5.1 million from the Donors Capital Fund, an Islamophobic network in the United States. Shouldn't UIC SPH work with those who abide by their own program's mission of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice? #CutTheTiesUICSPH @uicpublichealth.”
On that same day, Zayed also tweeted: “Why is calling out JUF for being anti Arab, and islamophobic considered anti Semitic? LMAO [Laughing My A** Off].”
Zayed was responding to Arizona State House Representative Alma Hernandez’s tweet that said: “Just learned that @sjpuic is launching a discriminatory campaign to pressure @uicpulichealth to cut ties with #Israeli academic institutions using #CutTheTiesUICSPH. This is an unacceptable example of #antisemitism, and @thisisuic should not cave to antisemitism. #Shameful
#BDS.”Zayed also tweeted: “Only Zionist think that calling out anti Arab and Palestinian racism is anti Semitic. #cutthetiesuicsph.”
She also tweeted: “Despite 200+ signatures requesting the cancellation of this event, SPH administrators refused to cancel this event. WHY? Does SPH not care about their Muslim and Arab/MENA students? It’s evident they do not. #CutTheTiesUICSPH @uicpublichealth.”
Zayed retweeted SJP UIC’s April 7, 2021 tweet that stated: “We have great news! This past Monday at the USG meeting a resolution was passed declaring USG stands in solidarity with SJP and their allies in our campaign demanding SPH cut ties with the Islamophobic and racist JUF and other Zionist entities! Solidarity
!Supporting BDS
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic saying “Israel is a war criminal.” Zayed commented on the pin: “Boycott Israel and free Palestine.”As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic quoting Nelson Mandela and comparing Israel to South African apartheid. The graphic’s text read: “APARTHEID: Wrong in South Africa Wrong in Palestine Free Palestine Boycott Israel.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic calling to “BOYCOTT ISRAHELL.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic calling to “BOYCOTT ISRAELI DATES."
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a photo of BDS activist Ariel Gold, the national co-director of CODEPINK, calling to “Boycott Israel.”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic from the Al-Awda New York: the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, saying: “When you boycott Israel, you boycott racism”
As of December 2020, Zayed saved a pin to her Pinterest “Free Palestine Board” that featured a graphic calling to “BOYCOTT APARTHEID BOYCOTT ISRAEL.”
SJP Activism
On April 12, 2019, Zayed featured in a group photo posted to Instagram by SJP UIC, posing with fellow student SJP activists. The Instagram post was captioned: “The Apartheid wall display was an absolute success! So proud of our campus. Thank you to everyone who came out, contributed, and showed solidarity. We stand for justice together as a team and a family
#uicsjpapartheidweek”SJP UIC hosted IAW 2019 on campus from April 8 - 11, 2019.
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.
The Instagram post also featured [second slide] a painted window on campus with text that read: “END ISRAELI APARTHEID,” “RIGHT OF RETURN” and “from the river to the sea.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.
On November 20, 2019, Zayed featured in an SJP UIC Instagram photo participating in an SJP Chicago “die-in” rally held that day in Chicago. The rally was co-hosted by SJP UIC.
In November 2019, Israel launched Operation Black Belt to stop rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. From November 12 to November 14, 2019, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group sent hundreds rockets all over Israel, targetting its biggest civilian population centers.
At the “die-in” rally, Omar Awadh andMona Zubi, fellow SJP activists, held an Israeli flag displaying the word “GENO
CIDE.”The event’s Facebook description read: “This weeks [sic] bombing in Gaza is part of the larger ethnic cleansing of Palestine and a reoccurring attack on Gaza. Join us in a die-in to let the world know Chicago condemns Israel's war crimes!”
On November 26, 2019,Zayed featured in a group photo posted to Instagram by SJP UIC, posing with fellow SJP activists. The post was captioned: “From our moment of silence event on Friday. Thank you everyone who came and supported us! 🇵🇸 .#sjp #freepalestine #palestine #studentsforjusticeinpalestine #palestinianoccupation #chicago #chicagosjp #sjpuic #uic #universityofillinoisatchicago”
On March 13, 2020, Zayed was featured in an SJP UIC photo posted to Instagram, holding a bag of garbage, labelled “Israel.”
On May 2, 2020, SJP UIC board member Malak Kanan interviewed Zayed as an SJP UIC activist, as part [00:13:20] of SJP Chicago’s “Digital Apartheid Week” Instagram live stream.
Zayed introduced [00:13:38] herself as a member of SJP UIC’s “Social Media Board” and said she produced their infographics and expressed [00:14:25] the hope that “next year we’ll have an amazing Apartheid Week.”.
On September 22, 2020, Zayed tweeted: “Come to my event!!! SIGN UP!” and attached a poster promoting a SJP UIC Zoom event: “From the U.S. to Palestine: The Struggle for Freedom.”
On October 14, 2020, Zayed posted to her Facebook promoting SJP UIC’s “Greenwashing Under Occupation” event. SJP UIC accused Israel of advertising “itself as an environmentally-friendly vegan capital of the world while committing horrific human rights violations on Palestinians.”
On October 22, 2020, Zayed posted to her Facebook pagea sign-up sheet for SJP Chicago’s “Virtual Palestine 101” event.
Zayed added “Hey everyone, on October 27th, there is an online teach in on the history of the Palestinian occupation. Many people know that Palestinians go through very obvious human rights struggles on a daily basis, but how exactly did it come to this? In order to support Palestinians during this 70+ year struggle, it is important to understand the history of the horrific ethnic cleansing and occupation.”
On October 31, 2020, Zayed posted to Instagram an illustration she drew of the SJP UIC 2019-2020 board members..
On November 10, 2020, Zayed posted to her Instagram photos of an SJP UIC t-shirt she designed.
On November 24, 2020, Zayed posted to her website photos of a SJP UIC t-shirt she designed as well as several other SJP UIC posters she produced. On that same day, Zayed also posted to her website,a series of photos she took at the SJP Chicago “die-in” rally, from the year before - titled “Protest Photography: Palestine.
Attending the 2019 National SJP Conference
On November 4, 2019, Zayed featured in a photo posted by SJP UIC to Instagram at the 2019 NSJP Conference.The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.
2019 National SJP - Supporting BDS
The Conference website called to capitalize on shifts in the political climate, represented by the elections to the U.S. Congress of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who both support BDS. National SJP speakers also reportedly drew attention to Rep. Omar’s support for the BDS movement as the Representative for UMN’s Congressional district.During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”
The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.
2019 National SJP - Rejecting Israel and Zionism
The 2019 National SJP Conference website indicated that the goal of their “solidarity movement” was to push for policies that “demanded the end of” the state of Israel, referred to as “the Israeli occupation.”The website clarified that “the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, extends beyond the confines of 1967, and well before the Nakba,” and was based on the rejection of Jewish national self-determination in Israel.
Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
2019 National SJP - Heightened Secrecy
The 2019 National SJP Conference required attendees to be “verified and vouched for” by an SJP chapter to which they belonged and required each chapter to register as a group. The conference also required each group to be verified by a “reference––someone who is NOT going to this conference but who is or has recently been a part of your SJP.”2019 National SJP - Partnering Organizations
National SJP partnered with other anti-Israel organizations to table, sell merchandise and lead workshops, including CODEPINK, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Palestine Legal, Watan Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project.Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.
SJP UIC 2020 - Encouraging “Zionist Shaming”
On December 11, 2020, SJP UIC posted to Instagram a meme with text that said: “START ZIONIST SHAMING.” SJP UIC added: “Here’s some memes to end your finals week :).”The meme posted was a photo of a boy hiding his face as others pointed accusatory fingers at him. Text accompanying the meme read: “START ZIONIST SHAMING” as other text that said: “ZIONISTS HAVE NO CULTURE,” “racist!” “COLONIZER!” “how are you sunburnt if you’re indigenous?,” “chocolate hummus looking a**,” “steal anyone’s land today?” and “GO BACK TO BROOKLYN.”
SJP UIC 2019 - Spreading Incitement
SJP UIC added: “
Please take note of this and read the message above. The Dome of the rock and Al-Aqsa mosque are 2 different structures within the Al-Aqsa barriers . It's important to know this because it's a key aspect of Palestine's history.🇵🇸.”The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque served as the excuse for an upsurge in Palestinian violence that flared in the fall of 2015 and incited Palestinians to attempt mass casualty attacks on Israeli civilians in July 2016.
Such propaganda has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.
SJP UIC Promoting Terrorist
On March 22, 2019, SJP UIC promoted [slide 5] its “Apartheid Wall Display” to Instagram. The Instagram post featured murals of Leila Khaled and Yasser Arafat painted onto Israel’s security barrier.
Leila Khaled participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. She was a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Yasser Arafat, known as the “father of modern terrorism,” was the former leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). During the second intifada, Arafat encouraged children to carry out “martyrdom” operations against Israel.
Arafat reportedly told Arab diplomats in a secret meeting in 1996: "We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. Jews will not want to live among Arabs. I have no use for Jews. They are and remain Jews."
SJP UIC 2019 - Promoting Hatred of Israel
On November 19, 2019, SJP UIC promoted an SJP Chicago poster to their Instagram page, titled: “GAZA: The Largest Open Air Prision [sic].”On November 20, 2019, SJP UIC promoted and co-hosted SJP Chicago’s “Die-In Rally for Gaza” and seven other SJP chapters.
The event’s Facebook description read: “This weeks bombing in Gaza is part of the larger ethnic cleansing of Palestine and a reoccurring attack on Gaza. Join us in a die-in to let the world know Chicago condemns Israel's war crimes!” During the event, participants lay [00:05:36] on the floor, next to a sign that read: “Gaza Open Air Prison.”
During the rally, Mahmoud Awadallah, an SJP Chicago activist and student at DePaul University (DePaul), spoke into a bullhorn, declaring [00:03:11]: “We, as students of SJP Chicago, are here today to condemn Israel’s constant assault on the Palestinian people” and added [00:03:26] “...we condemn the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
On November 21, 2019, SJP UIC posted an Instagram photo of SJP UIC activists taken at the “die-in” rally, where SJP UIC activists held an Israeli flag, defaced with the word “GENO
CIDE.”On November 23, 2019, SJP UIC posted a series of Instagram photos of SJP UIC activists at the rally, including [slide 2, 7] two photos of SJP activist Mona Zubi, who held a poster that read: “Zionism is Racism.”
SJP UIC 2020 - Promoting Hatred of Israel
On March 13, 2020, SJP UIC posted [slide 7] an Instagram photo of SJP UIC Board Member Laila Zayed holding a garbage bag captioned “Israel.”On May 26, 2020, SJP UIC posted [slide 2] an Instagram photo of the SpongeBob cartoon character spraying cleaning fluid on an overflowing garbage can, superimposed with the Israeli flag, and the caption: “Can’t have dirty garbage.”
SJP UIC 2019 - Demonizing Israel
On November 22, 2019, SJP UIC held a “Moment of Silence for Gaza” rally.On November 22, 2019, and November 23, 2019, SJP UIC posted a series of videos of the Moment of Silence Gaza rally to their Instagram story highlights.
During the rally, protestors chanted [slides 3-4] “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!” One protestor held [slide 5] a sign that said “Zionism is Racism.”
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.
SJP UIC featured [slide 11] a video of SJP UIC board member Malak Kanan speaking into a megaphone during the rally, stating that “Israel launched dozens of air raids on Gaza… killing innocent civilians and residents.”
Kanan also said [slide 10] that “it is with our tax dollars that Israel is able to commit these crimes against humanity,” and added [slide 14] “we condemn the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
SJP UIC Digital Apartheid Week 2020
From May 11-15 2020, SJP UIC promoted and participated in SJP Chicago’s “Digital Apartheid Week” designed to replace SJP’s “Israel Apartheid Week” across Chicago due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.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.
Social Media and Weblinks