Lena Ghannam

On April 8, 2022, Ra’ad Hazem opened fire on a bar in Tel Aviv killing three and wounding several others.Hazem opened fire a second time after he was tracked down by Israeli forces.He was killed during the firefight. Hazem’s father, a former security officer with the Palestinian Authority, praised his son for the terror attack.  

On June 8, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “zionist settlers have no right to exist in Palestine and an occupied people have the right to armed resistance, as enshrined by international law. Choke on it, colonizer...”

On May 15, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “Death to israel and every single one of their supporters and apologists. Full f**king stop.”

On May 11, 2021, during Israel’s “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW)” in response to over 4,300 rockets fired by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from Gaza at major population centers in Israel, Ghannam tweeted: “Reminder: we don’t care about your settler family in Tel Aviv or how they’re feeling right now. We also don’t care that you’re scared for them. No one wants to hear how you can ‘hold both’ that fear and your concern for Palestinians. Keep allll that s**t to yourself.”

On May 11, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “...zionists should simply go home if they don't want to ‘tolerate’ palestinian resistance.”

On May 5, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “the thing about me is that when it comes to zionist settlers, i’m absolutely capable of murder. no doubt, guilt, or hesitation.”

On November 15, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “the burning, devastating rage i have for zionists every second of every day of my life...it can't be overstated.”

On February 16, 2020, Ghannam tweeted, referring to Malkah Fleisher, a Jewish resident of Hebron: “anxiety levels are too high to even entertain the *existence* of this trash european zionist colonizer. just seeing her name and stupid f**king glasses sends my heart into panic-mode. no amount of agony and pain on this woman would be enough to satisfy my soul.”

On May 18, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “please please please i hope corona kills all the settlers by drowning them on dry (palestinian) land.”

Celebrating the Death of a Jewish Philanthropist

On January 12, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “no better gift on my birthday than the timely death of sheldon adels**t. it’s all a girl could ever want.”

Ghannam’s tweet referred to the American Jewish philanthropist, Sheldon Adelson, who passed away the previous day on January 11, 2021.

Calling for Death to Israel

On May 7, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “...Death to Israel…”

On May 8, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “...my soul is with my people in palestine from the river to the sea. death to zionism, death to 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.

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.

On May 13, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “...The zionist project must be euthanised.”

On the same day, Ghannam tweeted: “death to israel. death to zionism. can't shout it loud enough.”

On June 8, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “‘The resistance will remain until the demise of the Zionist enemy’ .”

On November 11, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “i'd give a lot for just an hour in a world in which israel doesn't and has never existed. a lot. now THAT's peace.”

Promoting Incitement

On May 9, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “Al-Aqsa defenders.” 

Ghannam’s tweet featured a photo of masked Palestinian militants inside the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.


On May 22, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “Reminder: ALL of this is part of the zionist project to steal the homes that Palestinians have been living in since they were displaced at the start of the Nakba in 1948. This is the judaization of Al-Quds [Jerusalem]. All eyes on Sheikh Jarrah, we’re not looking away #SaveSheikhJarrah.”

Incitement surrounding Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israeli population centers from May 10 to 21, 2021. In response to rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.

Spreading Anti-Semitism

On April 15, 2022, Ghannam tweeted: “on Good Friday, the 2nd Friday of Ramadan…and Passover. It’s their own holiday of liberation. The irony.” 

Ghannam’s tweet referred to a tweet that said: “On #GoodFriday & 2nd Friday of #Ramadan Israel turned occupied #Jerusalem into a more barricaded, segregated & militarised zone… #EthnicCleansing #Palestine”

On May 30, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “listening to antizionist Jews reflect on their zionist upbringing is oddly similar to listening to people who escaped scientology reflect on its cultish horrors.”

On May 13, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “A demonic society where genocidal fanaticism is blithely agreed upon by virtually all Jewish Israelis. Cool. casual.
The zionist project must be euthanised.”

On May 6, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “facebook and all their platforms are effectively doing the bidding of the zionist state.”

The assertion that Jews control the media has been traced to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic fabricated text that depicts wealthy Jews conspiring to take over the world. 

On May 5, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “facebook is an arm of the zionist entity...”

On March 26, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “zionists are firmly embedded in US empire, this is nothing new. still, my rage is renewed with each disgusting revelation.”

Supporting Terrorists

On September 14, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “so proud.” Ghannam’s tweet featured a photo of people protesting “in support of the six security prisoners who escaped Gilboa Prison…”
 
On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped through a tunnel from Gilboa Prison, a maximum-security prison in northern Israel. The incident is considered to be the most significant prison break in Israel's history. By September 19, 2021, all six escapees had been recaptured.  

On September 6, 2021, in response to a tweet about one of the Gilboa prison escapees Zakaria Zubeidi, Ghannam tweeted: “so, he’s a resistance fighter. and?”
 
Zakaria Zubeidi was the former Jenin commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is listed as a foreign terror organization (FTO) by the U.S. government. Zubeidi was involved in several terror attacks on Israeli civilians. On September 6, 2021, Zubeidi was one of six prisoners who escaped from Israel’s Gilboa prison. They were all recaptured by September 19, 2021.

On July 8, 2021, Ghannam tweeted a photo of 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.  

On June 8, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “After 20 years in a zionist prison, during which time he was only permitted *two* visitations, Abdullah Abu Jaber is free. His parents and sister passed while he was inside. In his first interview he speaks on the power of the resistance in between kisses. This is who we are.”
 
Abdullah Abu Jaber, a Jordanian-Palestinian terrorist, reportedly served a “20-year sentence” in an Israeli prison “for planting a bomb on an Israeli bus that injured more than a dozen people” during the second intifada (2000–2005). He detonated his bomb remotely on a bus in Tel Aviv in December 2000.  

On June 8, 2021, another Twitter user commented on Ghannam’s tweet, saying: “‘20-year sentence for planting a bomb on an Israeli bus that injured more than a dozen people.’There I fixed it for you.”

Ghannam replied on the same thread: “‘20-year sentence for planting a bomb on an Israeli bus in an act of resistance. It only injured about adozen colonizers living on occupied Palestinian land’There I fixed it for you.”

On November 14, 2020, Ghannam tweeted a poster featuring a photo of Leila Khaled holding a rifle.

Leila Khaled is a leading member 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 [00:36:07] for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.  

Glorifying Terrorism

On April 11, 2022, following a Palestinian terror attack that targeted Israeli civilians in Tel Aviv, Ghannam tweeted: “...we’re going to see more resistance operations as time goes on, not less. as it should be!...”

On April 7, 2022, Ghannam tweeted: “” in reference to initial reports about the Tel Aviv attack.

On the same date, Ghannam tweeted: “lol [laughing out loud] no” in response to a tweet calling for Palestinians to stop celebrating the Tel Aviv terror attack.

Also, on April 7, 2022, Ghannam tweeted: “in this house we celebrate fidayin [martyrs].”

On the same date, in reference to the attack, Ghannam tweeted: “all power to the resistance.” In the same thread, Ghannam tweeted: “meanwhile, gaza is in the streets celebrating the resistance attack. they’ll be up til suhoor [pre-dawn meal during Ramadan] probably.”

Also, on April 7, 2022, Ghannam tweeted in reference to a photo of Ra’ad Hazem, the Palestinian terrorist who carried out the Tel Aviv attack: “iconic ‘Hebrew sources: The published photo of the ‘Tel Aviv’ bomber while he was sitting on the bench, came after he carried out the operation.”

On September 21, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “yes craig, it is. and it's also a legitimate response to israeli apartheid and the seige on gaza. international law, get into it.”

Ghannam’s tweet was responding to a tweet that read: “Surely you don’t mean to imply that targeting (not to be confused with collateral) innocent civilians is a legitimate response to settlement policy?”

On September 13, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “I’ve never said ‘peace’ or ‘human rights’ in my entire life. i say ‘liberation’ and ‘resistance’ all the damn time though. know your enemy, james.”

On June 8, 2021, Ghannam tweeted a photo of masked Hamas militants, one of whom was holding a rocket launcher, and wrote: “If armed resistance is wrong (it’s not) i don’t wanna be right!...”

On May 14, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “All power to the People. All love for the Resistance.”

Ghannam was responding to a tweet that read: “Palestinians set fire to occupation police station in [the city of] Nablus.”

On May 11, 2021, Ghannam also tweeted: “Just so we’re all clear, international law protects the right of armed resistance for an occupied people. Crude rocket fire from Gaza is a protected right, full stop. But the occupying power using US-funded fighter jets to drop bombs on a captive population? That’s a war crime.”

On December 11, 2019, Ghannam tweeted: “palestinians have the right to armed resistance under international law bc [because] israel is an occupying nightmare bent on genocide and enthno-nationalism at any price :).”

Demonizing Israel 

On May 14, 2021, Ghannam tweeted to an Israeli Twitter user: “...the end is near for the zionist project [Israel] and everyone knows it. choke on it, nubby d*ck looking settler scumbag.”

On May 13, 2021, Ghannam tweeted, accusing Israel of “genocide” in Gaza. 

On August 13, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “it's f**k israel and f**k the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and f**k the US. every day.”

On August 13, 2020, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to a joint statement referred to as the “Abraham Accords” in which the UAE consented to formally normalize its relationship with Israel. 

On March 2, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “...the zionist occupation of Palestine is pure apartheid and slow genocide. they have zero intention of ever stopping…”

On December 20, 2019, Ghannam tweeted: “israel has absolutely no right to do anything, much less exist. the gall.”

On December 11, 2019, Ghannam tweeted: “...Israel is the *ultimate* terrorist regime...”

On December 3, 2019, Ghannam tweeted: “israel is a nightmare.”

Demonizing Zionism

On April 15, 2022, Ghannam tweeted: “i’ve learned so much about Judaism in the last few years, and it resonates with me so incredibly deeply…particularly Passover. it will truly be a day of liberation for us all when the death cult that is zionism is finally dismantled, forever.”

Passover is a Jewish holiday where Jews commemorate the story of the Israelites’ Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt, to travel to the Promised Land.  

On May 27, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “zionism is predicated on exclusion and superiority. there is no imagining of solidarity in this ideology, let alone a practice of joint struggle. and aside from all that, it's a project of white supremacy and that's says everything.”

On July 2, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “i'd literally sacrifice my life to put a permanent end to zionism.”

On March 9, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “...zionism is objectively an antisemitic ideology…”

On April 24, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “i maintain that zionism is a cult.”

On May 14, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “...zionism is a genocidal ideology and everything…”

On May 19, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “zionism is not just willing to take from indigenous people...it’s designed to.”

On May 19, 2021, Ghannam also tweeted: “...zionism is predicated on Palestinian death…”

Hatred of America

On June 20, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “f**k the united states. another $38 billion to kill my people without so much as a word? i hope the whole thing bursts into flame and crumbles into dust and ash.”

Ghannam added to the same thread: “and f**k anyone who says they 'love' this trash-heap or any of the people involved in running it or policing it. they can all burn.”

Anti-Israel Activism

On May 17, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “There is no age limit on organizing. WE NEED EVERY ONE OF YOU. Liberation is near #FreePalestine #SaveSheikhJarrah #GazaUnderAttack #Gaza.”



Ghannam’s tweet featured a video promoting an International Day of Action on May 18, 2021, calling on anti-Israel activists to host [00:00:06]: “AN ACTION AT AN ISRAELI EMBASSY OR CONSULATE IN YOUR REGION,” to make [00:00:14]: “A PUBLIC COMMITMENT TO PALESTINIAN LIBERATION AND BDS,” and call [00:00:17] “ON YOUR GOVERNMENT TO PLACE SANCTIONS ON ISRAEL.” 

On May 14, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “Palestinian allies! Take action tomorrow to end the ongoing Nakba and the massacre in Gaza: - Join a local protest - Boycott products of israeli apartheid - Agitate within your community - Lead a teach-in for your union local - Join the BDS movement - Get loud, go ALL OUT.”

The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.

Ghannam’s tweet featured a flyer she had designed for a protest with a caption that read: “PALESTINIANS CALLING FROM GAZA TO JERUSALEM: ALL OUT ON SATURDAY MAY 15th.” The caption continued, saying: “END THE MASSACRE IN GAZA END THE ONGOING NAKBA.”

The flyer linked to a page on the BDS movement’s website, calling on its supporters to “Take to the streets on Saturday May 15th with a united demand for sanctions and arms embargo on Israel.”

On May 15, 2021, Ghannam tweeted multiple photos taken at the protest, including one of a crowd of protesters and wrote: “INTIFADA INTIFADA.”

Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.  

On the same day, Ghannam tweeted a photo of protesters holding signs that read: “THIS IS NOT CONFLICT OR WAR THIS IS GENOCIDE!!!” and “ZIONISM = ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

Supporting BDS

As of April 2022, Ghannam endorsed the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI).

On July 19, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “#BDS works.”

On May 14, 2021, Ghannam tweeted: “The way israeli zionists call BDS as ‘the BDS’ is triggering tbh [to be honest]. It transports me back to IOF [Israeli Occupation Forces] thugs demanding to know if I'm ‘a member’ of ‘the BDS’ meanwhile their massive automatic rifles would be just inches from my body, and sometimes even my face Join the movement  #BDS.”

“IOF” stands for Israeli Occupation Forces, a derogatory name used by anti-Israel activists to demonize Israel’s army in place of its official name, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

On December 8, 2020, Ghannam tweeted: “israel punitively holds bodies of Palestinians they kill, storing them at Tel Aviv University, denying families the right to mourn and bury their loved ones. #BDS is critical for many reasons, including holding universities accountable for their complicity in apartheid policies.”

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.

JVP

JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.

JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).

Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.” 

JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish value.”

The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans  comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”

According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”

Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lenaG [Deactivated]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lenapalestena [Deleted]

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/lenapalestena/ [Private]

https://www.instagram.com/lenaghannam [Private]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenaghannam/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/lenaghannam/
 
Coursicle: https://www.coursicle.com/gwu/professors/Lena+Ghannam/

Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20171212145259/http://www.lenaghannam.com/about
http://www.siksik.studio/about

Palestine Poster Project Artist Page: http://www.palestineposterproject.org/artist/lena-ghannam