Leila Elaqad

Overview

Elaqad is a member of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at Ohio State University (OSU) and a member of Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) in Columbus, Ohio.

Elaqad supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and has worked to advance divestment efforts on campus. Elaqad is actively campaigning to include a divestment referendum on the 2017 University Student Government election ballot.

Elaqad is a senior at OSU, majoring in Sociology and is employed as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Political Science.

Supporting Terrorism

On October 2, 2016, Elaqad shared a link on Facebook criticizing Israel for the "fatal shooting" of terrorist Mahmoud Shaalan. Shaalan attempted to stab soldiers stationed at a security crossing.

On November 11, 2014, Elaqad shared a "Justice for Rasmea" event on Facebook in support of terrorist Rasmea Odeh.

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 July 30, 2014, Elaqad tweeted support for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), stating: "@WakaFlockabsm thx for caring about the children in #Gaza... Thought you should know that @pcrftweets helps those poor kids #hint".

PCRF has been financially affiliated with The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Global Relief Foundation and The International [Islamic] Relief Organization – all of which were closed down by the United States government for funneling donations to terrorist organizations.

Spreading Anti-Israel Propaganda

On May 12, 2016, Elaqad tweeted: “the creation of the state of israel was a nefarious western plot to destabilize the arab world in so many ways ugh.”

On March 9, 2016, Elaqad tweeted: ""Palestinians face discrimination similar to Africans suffering under apartheid in South Africa -Model African Union #OSUDivest."

On the same day, Elaqad tweeted: "OSU was among the last educational institutions that divested during South African apartheid, dont[sic] make the same mistake again #OSUDivest."

Demonizing Israel and Israel Supporters

On December 17, 2015, Elaqad co-wrote an article in which she claimed that Israel’s support for the gay community is "pinkwashing", used “ in the nationalist quest to justify Israel’s egregious human rights violations.”

On July 13 2014, Elaqad posted a picture of herself on Instagram holding the sign which reads "Queers against Pinkwashing, in solidarity with Palestine."

On March 7, 2015, Elaqad tweeted: “#OSUDivest 's opposition is so paternalistic and money hungry.”

On October 30, 2014, Elaqad posted a picture on Instagram of the map of Israel filled in with the colors of the Palestinian flag. Elaqad wrote: "My people's ability to create gorgeous, prideful art never ceases to amaze me #Palestine#israeliapartheidweek #arabiccalligraphy."

The map was drawn on the mock "apartheid wall" created by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for Israeli Apartheid Week at OSU.

Pushing BDS at OSU

Elaqad supported and endorsed a divestment resolution presented by OSU Divest to the University Student Government (USG) on March 23, 2016. The resolution, which targeted companies the group claimed were "complicit in human rights violations," failed in a secret ballot by 21-9 votes with 15 abstentions. During the pre-vote discussion of the bill, OSU divest members accused Israel of “apartheid” and claimed that presidential election candidates were “paraded to AIPAC to pledge allegiance to a foreign government.”

The OSU Divest campaign was launched in late January, 2015. In March of 2015, the group attempted, unsuccessfully, to put a last-minute divestment referendum on the USG election ballot.

On April 6, 2016, Elaqad joined Students For Justice in Palestine (SJP) and other groups staging a "sit-in" in front of OSU President Michael Drake’s office, as part of a “#ReclaimOSU” campaign. The campaign accused the university of placing profits over people” and demanded “complete, comprehensive and detailed access to the Ohio State budget and investments immediately, as well as personnel to aid students in understanding this information.”

Following repeated discussions and warnings, the university released a statement declaring the groups’ occupation of the premises after business hours illegal. Police were called in to prevent access to the building past closing time.

Supporting Anti-Israel Performers

On November 24, 2013, Elaqad advertised the 2013 SJP event "Raise the Keffiyeh" and later posted a picture of anti-Israel performer Remi Kenazi at the event.

Kanazi is a New York-based poet and writer who tours widely around the world performing anti-Israel poetry and spoken-word performances. Kenazi’s social media is replete with posts inciting violence against Israelis, mocking post-Holocaust Jewish fears, comparing Israel to ISIS and demonizing Jews.

The Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) describes itself as "a coalition of individuals and groups in the city of Columbus opposed to the occupation of Palestine." PSG’s Facebook posts have celebrated violence against Israel, demonized Israel and justified terrorism.

MSA

The MSA was established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 1963 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with the goal of "spreading Islam as students in North America." A 2004 FBI investigation uncovered an internal Muslim Brotherhood document in which a brotherhood leader identified the MSA as "one of our organizations."

The MSA reportedly has “nearly 600 chapters” located in the United States and Canada, and is “the most visible and influential Islamic student organization in North America,” boasting conferences, special events, publications, websites and other activities.

The organization includes a number of previous chapter presidents with explicit links to terrorist groups. Included are al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Colorado State University), Somali al-Shabaab militant leader Omar Shafik Hammami (University of South Alabama) and Pakistani Taliban recruiter Ramy Zamzam of the MSA's Washington, D.C. council.

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.