Liz Cooper
Overview
Liz Cooper [Paul Cooper] has trivialized anti-Semitism, supported anti-Israel agitators, demonized Israel, as well as Zionism and condemned the Birthright Jewish heritage tour as part ofthe #returnthebirthright initiative, launched by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).Cooper has also promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and is an activist with JVP, as well as an affiliate of Students for a Free Palestine, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) affiliate at Oberlin College (Oberlin).
In November, 2017, Cooper was a 2017-2018 Resetting the Table campus fellow, seeking to “build courageous dialogue across political disagreements surrounding Israel on campuses across the country.”
As of November 2017, Cooper was a sophomore at Oberlin, reportedly studying Math. In April 2018, Cooper was Oberlin’s Jewish Student Union Representative and was elected to Oberlin’s student senate in September 2017.
Trivializing Anti-Semitism
On March 28, 2018, more than 90 Oberlin alumni reportedly called on their alma mater, in an open letter, to end “the concerted hostility toward Israel” on campus, saying it fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students and “triggers blatant attacks of antisemitism.”The letter specifically noted that Oberlin hosted: “eight times as many events portraying Israel negatively as there were portraying Israel positively:”
The signatories also noted: “While we do not support censoring or silencing speakers such as Ali Abunimah, who openly argues that the Jewish state should not exist, we do object to professors endorsing his position by offering extra credit to students who attend. We also believe that without offering students the opportunity to hear counter-narratives and robust debate and dialogue, Oberlin College is engaging in political indoctrination rather than offering rigorous education.”
Cooper reportedly dismissed the concerns of the alumni in her capacity as Oberlin’s Jewish Student Union Representative, as well as a JVP activist , saying: “Far from indoctrinated, I feel like my own sense of the diversity of political positions on Israel and Palestine has expanded greatly since I’ve gotten here.”
After admitting that the percentage of Oberlin students who support BDS was “certainly higher than that of the general American population, and likely most college campuses as well,” Cooper trivialized the alumni concerns noting that while “there are certainly students and student groups on this campus who are hostile toward Israel,” similar attitudes are also expressed toward the United States and other countries.
On May 24, 2018, Cooper shared to Facebook an Algemeiner article, titled: “The 40 Worst Colleges for Jewish Students 2017” and commented:“NUMBER TWELVE BABYYYYY WOOWOOWOOWOOWOOWOOWOO!!! Seriously though, we can break the top ten for 2018 if we really put our minds to it.”
The article listed the 40 US campuses most hostile to Jewish students, taking into account factors such as number of antisemitic incidents, the presence of Jewish and pro-Israel student groups and the success of a BDS campaign on campus. Oberlin was regarded as the 12th worst college for Jewish students.
Supporting Anti-Israel Agitators
On March 5, 2019, Cooper shared a statement on Facebook titled: “JewsWithIlhan,” which was signed by anti-Israel activists including Naomi Klein, Ilan Pappé, Sarah Jaffe and Rebecca VilkomersonOn March 6, 2019, Omar’s supporters released “An Open Letter,” claiming there was “absolutely nothing anti-Semitic” about Omar’s attack on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The letter also applauded Omar for her support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, concluding: “#WeStandWithIlhan.”
On February 15, 2018, Cooper changed her Facebook cover photo to a graphic of Ahed Tamimi holding a Palestinian flag and text reading: “There is a real Wonder Woman.” Cooper commented: “Free Ahed Tamimi and all Palestinian political prisoners.”
Demonizing Israel
Cooper retweeted a September 20, 2018 tweet from a British anti-Zionist account, “Jewdas,” that said: “This is your post Yom Kippur reminder that the State of Israel is most certainly a racist endeavour.”On July 20, 2018, Cooper shared to Facebook a post from someone named Sam Kalb condemning Israel’s “Nation-State Law.”
Kalb’s post claimed: “a powerful military, set up generations ago by a now-absent colonial power, legally enshrines and militarily enforces segregation by nationality” and “This government sows fear and racism in their own populace and uses their own history of oppression to justify...maintaining segregation.” Kalb also suggested that Israel was no different than apartheid South Africa.
On June 7, 2018, Cooper shared to Facebook a meme from the movie “Mean Girls,” featuring text that read: “Stop making the Zionist appropriation of Mean Girls happen. It’s not going to happen.” The post Cooper shared also contained text reading: “Down with Apartheid Israel! Free free Palestine!”
On June 2, 2018, Cooper shared to Facebook a photo of a sign that said: “It’s not ‘complicated’ it is Genocide. Free Palestine.”
On May 16, 2018, Cooper posted an article from the satirical newspaper, “the Onion” called: “IDF Soldier Recounts Harrowing, Heroic War Story Of Killing 8-Month-Old Child.” Cooper commented: “God bless The Onion and its brass balls.”
On May 15, 2018, Cooper posted to Facebook her opinion on Israel’s response to theMarch for Return riots on Israel’ Gaza border. Cooper charged Israel with “crimes against humanity,” in addition to “a continuation of atrocities enacted by Israel two weeks ago, in 2014, 2012, 2008, 2000, 1987, 1967, 1948.”
In her post, Cooper also said: “I wanna call on everyone who has yet to to [sic.] reject this warpig state, to call out its propaganda, to boycott its companies and state projects, and to stand with the Palestinian movement and justice in Palestine.” Cooper ended her post by charging Israel “Apartheid” and “settler colonialism.”
On May 14, 2018, Cooper posted to Facebook an article originally shared by Oberlin SFP from BBC.com called: “Gaza clashes: 52 Palestinians killed on deadliest day since 2014.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 of the protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that some of its members were killed at the same protest.
On June 7, 2014, Cooper shared to Facebook a letter written by IfNotNow (INN) and published in Jewish Currents, titled: “An Open Letter to NFTY and the Reform Jewish Movement.”
The letter was purportedly written by “current regional board members and alumni” of NFTY and blamed Israel exclusively for the violence during the March of Return, referring to the riots as “largely nonviolent protests” instigated by the U.S. government’s decision to move their embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Demonizing Zionism
On January 15, 2019, Cooper shared on Facebook “JVP’s Approach to Zionism.”JVP’s approach says: “We unequivocally oppose Zionism” and “the Zionism that took hold and stands today is a settler-colonial movement, establishing an apartheid state.”
It goes on to blame Zionism and say: “Palestinian dispossession and occupation are by design” and “Zionism, in practice, has resulted in massacres of Palestinian people.”
In its approach, JVP accuses Zionism of creating “a racist hierarchy with European Jews at the top” and that Zionism “teaches us fear, and that the best response to fear is a bigger gun, a taller wall, a more humiliating checkpoint.”
Condemning Jewish Heritage Tour
On March 29, 2018, Cooper was featured in a photo posted on the Return the Birthright Facebook page. The photo was tagged: “Oberlin College Jewish Voice for Peace.”The photo showed all the activists holding up placards on campus and literature in a cafeteria, promoting JVP’s#returnthebirthright initiative.
Return the Birthright Campaign
In September of 2017, JVP issued its #ReturntheBirthright campaign manifesto, calling on American Jews to boycott the Birthright Israel (Birthright) program. Birthright was founded by Jewish philanthropists “in 1999 to address the growing divide between young Diaspora Jewish adults and the land and people of Israel.”After decades of demographic decline in the American Jewish community, Birthright set out “to strengthen Jewish identity, build a lasting bond with the land and people of Israel, and reinforce the solidarity of Jewish people worldwide.” The program offers “the gift of a life-changing, 10-day trip to Israel to young Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26.”
JVP’s anti-Birthright campaign was launched precisely to coincide with “the very moment that college students across America are returning to campus and registration for Birthright winter visits are underway.”
The #returnthebirthright manifesto accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and alleged “the modern state of Israel is predicated on the ongoing erasure of Palestinians.”
The text claimed: “We reject the offer of a free trip to a state that does not represent us, a trip that is only ‘free’ because it has been paid for by the dispossession of Palestinians.”
The manifesto concluded: “And as we reject this, we commit to promoting the right to return of Palestinian refugees… Israel is not our Birthright… Return the Birthright.”
On June 22, 2017, just prior to the launch of JVP’s #returnthebirthright campaign, JVP received a $140,00 two-year grant for general support for its operations from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF).
Since 2015, JVP has received $280,000 from RBF, which has a history of supporting anti-Jewish causes, including BDS campaigns and various organizations that promote BDS campaigns throughout the United States.
Promoting BDS
Cooper retweeted a March 28, 2018 tweet that said: “Please consider joining my campus BDSM movement where, in addition to Boycotting, Divesting, and Sanctioning Israel, we also Malign the apartheid state.”On April 28, 2018, Cooper shared to Facebook a photo of a cartoon featuring Sabra hummus products. The cartoon’s caption warned: “Don't be like these racist snacks, spreading racist lies and racist spreads” and instructed: “Sign the Oberlin Sabra boycott petition today (link below). Because blood and chickpeas don't mix.”
Sabra Hummus is partially owned by an Israeli company, the Strauss Group.
Cooper’s Facebook post included a link to the SFP and JVP’s “Boycott Sabra Petition.” The petition said that Sabra “financially supports the occupying forces of the IDF” who “are notorious for their countless violations of human rights and international law.”
The petition went on to say: “As Oberlin students...we do not want our money to support the illegal military occupation of Palestine” and “no snack is worth the moral cost of complicity in oppression.”
Finally, the writers of the petition compared themselves to their “predecessors in the South African apartheid movement.”
On October 1, 2018, Cooper tweeted: “Hello ‘People Who Liked My Tweet’. If you liked my classic #RobertSexcauClapbacks but you haven't taken up the call to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel, what the heck is wrong with you bucko? Get on with it!”
On September 26, 2018 Cooper shared to Facebook an article from “Apartheid Divest CUNY,” called: “UK's Labour Party Passes Motion to Ban Arms Sales to Israel.” The caption read “Congratulations 👏 UK Labour Party 👏 in making it to the right path 👏🇵🇸🗝 #ApartheidDivestCUNY.”
Anti-Israel Activity
On May 15, 2018, Cooper posted on Facebook an event called: “Emergency Vigil for Palestine: Nakba Day,” hosted by Oberlin JVP and SFP. Cooper commented: “Everyone should be here for this.”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.
The event’s Facebook description invited participants to “commemorate 70 years of the Nakba, Jerusalem, and the Right of Return.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Cooper indicated on Facebook she “went” to an October 3, 2018 event, called: “Ali Abunimah: How to End Israeli Apartheid” hosted by Oberlin JVP is SFP. The event featured a lecture by the anti-Israel co-founder of the website Electronic Intifada (EI).
Abunimah is also a member of ISM and currently serves as Vice President of the Arab American Action Network and in his view, Palestinian violence and terrorism is caused entirely by Israel's “land confiscation”, its “ongoing orgy of violence” and its “routine human-rights abuses” that have “made life under a seemingly endless occupation so intolerable.”
Cooper indicated on Facebook that she “went” to a November 30, 2017 event, called: “Deadly Exchange Teach-in,” hosted by Oberlin JVP. The event’s Facebook description invited participants to “learn about JVP's Deadly Exchange campaign.”
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.”
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.
IfNotNow (INN)
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/100000457530112Twitter: https://twitter.com/supposedlcooper
Academia: https://www.oberlin.academia.edu/LizCooper
Photos & Screenshots
