Lena Badr Abdelhamid

Overview

Lena Badr Abdelhamid has spread hatred of Israel, defended the Hamas terror organization, expressed support for violent protesters and engaged in anti-Israel activism.

In March 2012, Abdelhamid said she was the “former president” of the George Mason University (GMU) Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter (SJP GMU).

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

As of December 2022, Abdelhamid’s LinkedIn page said she had been working as a “Social Media and Web Consultant” at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) since December 2020 and that she was located in Washington, D.C.

Also as of December 2022, Abdelhamid’s LinkedIn said she had worked at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Washington, D.C., as a finance and administrative officer, from February 2015 to July 2017.

As of the same date, Abdelhamid’s LinkedIn said she graduated from GMU with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government in 2011. She also did coursework for a master’s degree in Public Policy at Georgetown University (GU) between 2013 and 2014.

As of December 2022, Abdelhamid used the handles “@lenambadr” on Twitter and “@lenabadrdesign” on Instagram. She used the handle “@lenabadr” on Facebook and on her second Instagram account.

Hatred of Israel

On March 12, 2012, Abdelhamid spoke [00:04:27] at a GMU SJP event. She said: “Zionism is apartheid…Zionism is the Holocaust repeated…Zionism can best be described as bullying.”

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.

On July 13, 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas, Abdelhamid tweeted: “...lets rid of zionism this time…”

Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

On July 12, 2014, during OPE, Abdelhamid tweeted: “...let's talk numbers. there have been 2100 airstrikes on gaza as compared to 600 measily homemade rockets. #freepalestine.”

Hamas fired over 4,564 missiles and rockets at Israeli population centers during Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014.

On July 28, 2014, also during OPE, Abdelhamid tweeted: “stop justifying the murder of my innocent family and their children. there aren't rockets hidden in parks and hospitals.”

Hamas fired rockets from Shifa Hospital (Shifa) at Israeli population centers during Operation Protective Edge. Hamas misfires also struck Shifa and the nearby al-Shati refugee camp. Hamas cleanup crews then concealed the evidence of the misfires, as was confirmed by Amnesty International and an independent Italian journalist.

On March 2, 2022, Abdelhamid posted [slide 24] to her “Palestine” Instagram Stories Highlights a post dated May 12, 2021, which was during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against Hamas. The post said: “When it comes to Israelis and Palestinians, you can’t talk about ‘both sides’ as if they are equal…”

In May 2021, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists fired over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at major population centers in Israel. Israel responded by launching OGW, carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

On the same date, Abdelhamid posted [slide 77] to her “Palestine” Instagram Stories Highlights a post dated May 23, 2021. The post said [slide 2]: “Israel has declared war against Palestinians who dare to resist its colonial project…”

On March 2, 2022, Abdelhamid posted [slide 9] to her “Palestine” Instagram Stories Highlights a post dated May 10, 2021, the beginning of OGW.

The post said: “It’s not a f**king clash. It’s a settler colonial war machine ethnically cleansing a native population…And gtfo [get the f**k out] if you’re gonna talk about both sides. Violence against an oppressor is self defense and fully justified.”

Defending Hamas

On July 24, 2014, during OPE, Abdelhamid tweeted: “i blame hamas for innocent lives it's taken. but they are fighting an occupation and under int'l law that's legal.”

On July 26, 2014, also during OPE, Abdelhamid tweeted: “every #palestinian knew that #hamas wasn't behind death of three israeli boys since the very beginning. so did #israel for that matter.”

In August 2014, Hamas admitted responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers at a bus stop on June 12th of that year. The bodies of the abducted boys were found buried in Palestinian-controlled territory on June 30, 2014.

Supporting Violent Protesters

On March 30, 2018, Abdelhamid tweeted: “thinking of my fellow gazans today who are bravely participating in the #greatreturnmatch on the #gaza border and peacefully protesting the blockade and occupation…”

On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests,” or the “March of Return.” The march was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel. The “right of return” has since been discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

Israel and Egypt implemented a United Nations-approved [pp. 39–41] joint blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2011 to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.
On April 9, 2018, Abdelhamid tweeted: “...#gaza participates in the #greatreturnmarch …they're standing together to demand the rights that are due to them. this is why they protest.”

Media reports confirmed [00:00:20] the March of Return protesters’ breaches and attempted breaches of Israel’s border fence, some by armed Palestinians. One Hamas leader declared [00:00:30]: “We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.”

SJP Activism and Supporting BDS

Abdelhamid retweeted a December 12, 2017 tweet by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR). The tweet promoted a fundraising appeal on their website regarding “the role of sports boycotts in the movement for Palestinian rights.”

On January 14, 2015, Abdelhamid signed [p. 16] a letter condemning [p. 10] the pro-Israel Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI).

MLI "invites North American Muslim leaders to explore how Jews understand Judaism, Israel and North American Jewish identity through a Zionist lens," and to expand their understanding of Jewish “ethics, faith, and practice.” According to MLI founder Imam Abdullah Antepli, “MLI aims to put mainstream North American Jewry in conversation with their Muslim counterparts.”

The letter continued [p. 11]: “We strongly believe in the need for increased engagement by Muslim Americans with the issue of Palestine but only in ways that promote Palestinian liberation and comply with Palestinian demands…We pledge to be in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and to do so by honoring the BDS call.”

On March 5, 2012, Abdelhamid wrote on Facebook’s “Students For Justice In Palestine: George Mason University Chapter” group: “Maen Areikat, #Palestinian Ambassador to the United States will be talking …today at 5:30pm…”

On March 4, 2012, Abdelhamid tweeted: “THERE'S A MILLION REASONS TO HATE @ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB & THE BEST ONE IS B/C THEY SUPPORT ISRAELI TOURISM…”

On November 22, 2011, Abdelhamid wrote on Facebook’s “Students For Justice In Palestine: George Mason University Chapter” group page: “get excited for our meeting tonight guys!...

”

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.