Lujain Assaf

Overview

Lujain Assaf has spread incitement, glorified violence and whitewashed terrorism while she was the 2020-2022 Vice President of the Palestine Student Club (PSC) at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q). Assaf was also PSC’s Social Media Manager from August 2018-April 2020.

Assaf has also demonized Israel and spread hatred of Israel and Zionists.

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

As of November 2021, Assaf’s LinkedIn said she was a part-time Teaching Assistant for Professor Dana Atrach at NU-Q since August 2020. Assaf’s LinkedIn also indicated that she was a part-time Research Assistant for Professor Sam Meeking at NU-Q, since May 2021.

Assaf’s LinkedIn noted that she was a Writer for ARMONíA, since February 2021, as well as a fiction editor at Wisteria Journal since September 2020. Both Armonia and Wisteria Journal are teen online magazines.

Assaf’s LinkedIn indicated that she was a part-time Reader for The Young Writers Initiative (TYWI) at Juven publishing press since January 2021. Her LinkedIn said that Assaf was a part-time Social Media Manager with Outspoken since February 2021, and the Assistant Director with Studio 20Q since June 2020.

As November 2021, Assaf’s LinkedIn said she was studying for a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies at NU-Q, slated to graduate in 2022.

Incitement

Assaf retweeted a May 9, 2021 tweet that said: “i love my people” and included a tweet with a video of Palestinians outside of the Al Aqsa mosque, chanting “ya hamas ya 7abib udrub udrub Tal-Abib ya Qassami ya 7abib udrub udrub Tal-Abib [Oh dear Hamas bomb bomb Tel Aviv, Oh dear Qassam bomb bomb Tel-Aviv].”

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the armed wing of the Hamas terror organization.

On May 7-10, 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al Aqsa compound, following claims the Al Aqsa mosque was in danger.

The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.

Assaf retweeted a May 10, 2021 tweet that said: “This is inside Al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in Islam. Make no f**king mistake, these are not ‘clashes’. This is colonial state massacring Palestinians.” The tweet included a video of masked, violent rioters hurling rocks and debris from inside the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Incitement surrounding Al Aqsa and looming evictions of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israeli population centers from May 10-21, 2021.

Israel responded by launching “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

On May 15, 2021, Assaf tweeted: “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free

#GazaUnderAttack #SaveSheikhJarrah #AlAqsaUnderAtrack #FreePalestine,” andattached a photo of herself participating in an anti-Israel demonstration.

“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.

In May 2021, Palestinian violence erupted in anticipation of an Israel High Court ruling on eviction proceedings concerning over 70 Palestinian tenants illegally residing in Jewish-owned properties in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

On May 15, 2021, Assaf tweeted: “#GazaUnderAttack #Savesheikjarrah #FreePalestine” and attached a video of a large anti-Israel demonstration.

On May 16, 2021, Assaf posted a photo of herself to Instagram, participating in a large anti-Israel demonstration, and added: “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. keep posting, keep sharing, don’t let the momentum online die 🇵🇸.”

On June 7, 2021, Assaf tweeted: “we demand the return of homes stolen from Sheikh Jarrah over the years, beginning with the house of the Al-Shanti family, which was seized by settler organizations without a trial after the illegal occupation and annexation of Jerusalem in 1967 #SaveSheikhJarrah.”

Glorifying Violence

Assaf retweeted a May 9, 2021 tweet that read: “من حيفا للشيخ جراح رح نواصل الكفاح

[From Haifa to Sheikh Jarrah, we will continue the fight]” and included a tweet with a video of Palestinians chanting, in Arabic: “I am returning......to Jaffah... to Haifa... from Haifa to Sheikh Jarrah we'll continue the fight.”

Assaf retweeted a May 12, 2021 tweet that stated: “Palestinians reclaiming their cities and towns during the Nakba week. In 1948, Israeli troops captured the town, expulsion of 70,000 Palestinians. Now, in Lydd [Lod] the Israeli flag taken down+replaced by Palestinian one. #FreeLydd #FreePalestine.”

On May 11, 2021, during OGW, violent Arab riots broke out in Israel’s mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod and in other Israeli cities with large Arab populations. The Lod rioters reportedly raised Hamas and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags, and attacked Israeli civilians with slabs and rocks, firebombs and metal rods. Rioters also torched synagogues, cars and businesses, and vandalized hospital medical equipment, schools and government buildings.

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.

Assaf retweeted a May 19, 2021 tweet that said: “My heart. #PalestineIsRising” accompanied by a manifesto celebrating an ongoing “Unity Intifada.”

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

Assaf retweeted a May 21, 2021 tweet that said: “الله يرحم جميع الشهداء [May Allah have mercy upon all the Martyrs] A liberated Palestine is near and we will all return. And when we return, we will carry the names of every single martyr with us. We will paint Palestine from the river to the sea with their names. We will never forget.”

Whitewashing Terrorism

Assaf retweeted a May 16, 2021 tweet that said: “The IOF [Israel Occupation Force] shot & reportedly killed a man after his car crashed into a police car in Sheikh Jarrah...”

That day, a Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into a police checkpoint in Jerusalem, injuring seven Israeli border police officers, before he was shot dead.

During OGW, Assaf retweeted a May 12, 2021 tweet that said: “Your discomfort with the methods Palestinians use to resist ethnic cleansing is not more important than their lives. Civility is a tool of oppressors, and it too is a form of violence.”

Assaf retweeted a May 10, 2021 tweet that said: “Notice that Reuters completely omitted the fact that he ran his car into TWO Palestinian protesters before crashing” and included a Reuters tweet that read: “Palestinians stone Israeli car, which crashes, as Jerusalem seethes.”

On May 10, 2021, Palestinian rioters threw stones at an Israeli vehicle near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, injuring the driver who then lost control of his car and swerved off the road, hitting several pedestrians. The rioters attempted to attack the driver, before a police officer arrived at the scene and fired warning shots to disperse the mob.

Assaf also retweeted a May 10, 2021 tweet that said: “nothing is accidental about this. STOP watering down the actions of these heartless murderers,” referring to the Jewish driver.

Demonizing Israel

Assaf retweeted a May 19, 2021 tweet that said: “UNRWA: the [Israeli] occupation refuses entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. #GazaUnderAttack #GazaUnderFire.”

On May 18 and 19, 2021, during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, Hamas fired mortar shells at Israeli soldiers transferring humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Hamas struck a supply-carrying convoy, donated by international aid organizations. This attack killed two Palestinian civilians and injured ten others, including an Israeli soldier. Israel closed the crossing after this attack.

Assaf retweeted a May 15, 2021 tweet that said: “ZIONIST WARPLANES ARE COMMITTING MASSACRES IN GAZA. THEY'RE TARGETING CITIZENS HOUSES RANDOMLY AND TENS ARE MARTYRING AND STUCK UNDER THE RUBBLE. #GazaUnderAttack.”

On October 18, 2020, Assaf tweeted: “this white person in a webinar confidently said ‘will you and this club include/address different interpretations of Zionism’ people will truly reach to avoid admitting isra*l is a colonizer and oppressor and Zionism is a violent racist ideology

”

On August 13, 2020, Assaf tweeted: “If you think the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel is a religious war between Muslims and Jewish people, then you don’t know s**t about the topic. The issue was never about religion, it was always about colonization and oppression.”

On July 25, 2020, Assaf tweeted: “Israel is the one occupying and killing Palestinians. Palestinians are the ones who are self-defending, not Israel... Israel literally killed villages to send a message to Palestinians that this land is theirs …”

Hatred of Israelis and Zionists

Assaf retweeted a May 22, 2021 tweet that said: “Some of you are making it sound like you think being pro-Palestine and antisemitism go hand-in-hand. They don’t. Zionism and antisemitism/fascism are much more closely linked.”

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.

Assaf retweeted a May 16, 2021 tweet that said: “I don’t want to f**king coexist with israelis they have nothing to do with me they have 0 relationship to the land they’ve stolen I don’t want to be in the same space as them I don’t want to dialogue with them. They’re genocidal sociopaths I have nothing in common with Europeans.”

On May 8, 2021, Assaf tweeted: “Isr*elis are literally settlers and colonisers and oppressors…”

On December 20, 2020, Assaf tweeted, referring to Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who starred in the film Wonder Woman, writing: “She’s a Zionist” in response to the comment: “Wonder Woman 1984 was better than the first… I dare anyone to tell me ONE GOOD reason this movie isn’t great.”

Supporting BDS

Lujain retweeted a May 22, 2021 tweet that said: “also it is very important to call out zionist celebrities, this is where boycotting also plays a role. once you know someone is a zionist or supports/works for anything zionist/israel related you SHOULD boycott them and all of their work.”

Lujain retweeted a May 15, 2021 tweet that said: “Not only does Ben and Jerry’s operate & sell ice cream in Is**** settlements, in 2014, their freezers had to be used as morgues for Palestinian children. There are tons of alternatives— use the Buycott app to find out if your ice cream is BDS compliant.”

On May 14, 2020, Assaf tweeted: “Never understood how people justified not boycotting a company or person that supports Israel by saying ‘well, everyone supports Israel, you can’t avoid everything’ and ‘Palestine will never be free.’”

Lujain retweeted a May 9, 2021 tweet that said: “There is something you can do to actively support Palestinians and put pressure on Israel to end the occupation, ethnic cleansing and apartheid: support & advocate for BDS — the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Ask your local representatives to sign on.”

Qatar - Terrorism

Qatar is one of the primary state backers of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and has provided funding for Hamas in the past. Qatar facilitates funding to advance extremism around the world, including the West.

Founded in Egypt 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist organization, listed as a terrorist organization in at least six countries, including Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction, is listed as one of the Brotherhood’s offshoots.

Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the European Union, Canada, Australia, the United States and Israel.

The Hamas founding charter has called for the murder of Jews, and Hamas has hosted “summer camps,” that taught children how to wage war.

Qatar Foundation

In 1995, the then-Emir of Qatar and his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, created the Qatar Foundation (QF) to “advance education, science, and cultural development.”

In 1995, QF was given two billion dollars in resources by the Qatari Government “to address knowledge and capacity deficits” and transform into a “knowledge-based economy.”

QF launched Education City (EC) in 1997, with the stated goal of providing “world-class education to the people of Qatar.”

In 2003, the campus was officially inaugurated.

Qatar Foundation - Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the Muslim Brotherhood

In 2007, Yusuf al-Qaradawi announced QF’s establishment of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) in EC. The QFIS structure was to be created by an advisory committee, chaired by al-Qaradawi.

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi [Yousef Al-Qaradhawi] was the founder and, as of April 2020, remained head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. In 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported the council used the anti-Semitic fabricated text, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as a basis for some of its deliberations.

al-Qaradawi said in a statement that aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 30, 2009: "Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the Jews...The last punishment was carried out by Hitler...Allah Willing, the next time will be at the hand of the Believers."

al-Qaradawi has also called for the murder of American civilians, as well as American troops in Iraq, homosexuals and Jews and expressed support for domestic violence against women.

In 2008, Moza bint Nasser and QF established within QFIS, the al-Qaradawi Centre for Research in Moderate Thought, also known as the “Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal,” in honor of “His Eminence” Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

QFIS described al-Qaradawi as “a pioneer of Islamic moderate thought” and the research center’s “main theorist.”

In January 2012, QF opened the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), “under the guidance of Director Dr. Tariq Ramadan.” In October 2015, Ramadan was listed as the CILE Director.

Tariq Ramadan is the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) founder Hassan al-Banna and son of senior Brotherhood operative Said Ramadan. Tariq Ramadanis also alleged to be a serial-rapist, as well as a terrorist supporter.

In 2015, Ramadan gave a “Principles of Leadership in Islam” seminar series, open to all EC students.As of May 2020, CILE listed Ramadan as part of “Our Team” on their website.

NU-Q - Qatar Foundation

In 2008, QF invited Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois to set up a Qatari satellite campus in EC, Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), focusing on journalism and communications.

The degree that NU-Q awards students upon graduation would be identical to that earned at NU’s Evanston, IL campus.

On July 10, 2009, the Chronicle of Higher Education released an article critical of the academic standards of EC, noting that: "Administrators at several branch campuses of American universities in Qatar acknowledge that they accept students with admissions standards that fall below those expected on their home campuses…"

On April 5, 2014, Everett Dennis, NU-Q’s then-Dean and CEO said [00:12:25] in an interview with Richard Heffner, a former professor of Communications and Public policy at Rutgers University (Rutgers), that QF was “paying the bill” for NU-Q’s building, faculty, research and housing.

In March 2015, Stephen F. Eisenman, President of the Northwestern Faculty Senate, reported to the NU Faculty Senate that Qatari students receive full scholarships from the QF, while non-Qatari students, with some exceptions, must pay full costs. Eisenman also reported that “that five new endowed professorships at NU were recently funded out of QF money.”

In 2016, NU signed a 10-year extension to its agreement with QF, enabling NU-Q to operate through the 2027-2028 school year.

As of November 2019, the United States Department of Education (DoE) reported that Qatar gave NU $323.4 million in contract revenue since January 2013, averaging $49.6 million per year.

As of April 2020, Qatar Foundation’s contract with NU-Q was not available to the public.

As of May 2020, EC hosted six American university satellite campuses, in addition to NU-Q, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Texas A&M University.

QF lawyers, according to a January 2016 Washington Post article, petitioned the Texas attorney general in an attempt to keep the operational and financial details confidential.

However, the Washington Post was able to publish the 2012 10-year contract between VCU and QF because it was “disclosed as a matter of public record.” The projected budget included a VCU management fee of $3.6 million dollars for 2013, to rise to $4.1 in 2015.

The Washington Post article added: “The other four U.S. schools involved are private: Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern and Georgetown universities. They all declined Post requests for their Qatar contracts.”

The Washington Post later published the 2014 contract between Texas A&M and QF in a March 2016 article. The contract stated: “Texas A&M is eligible for a management fee for running the branch — an amount set at $8.2 million in fiscal 2014.”

In 2019, the U.S. DoE was reportedly “quietly investigating Georgetown and three other universities — Texas A&M, Cornell and Rutgers — over their funding from Qatar.”

Qatar Foundation - Anti-Israel Campaign

In 2009, the Qatar Foundation hired the U.S. public relations firm, Fenton Communications, to develop “a communications action plan for an 18-month campaign,” using Al Fakhoora, a Qatari-based pro-Palestine initiative.

The Fenton plan aimed to delegitimize Israel and generate international support for the Hamas-run Gaza strip, with a reported budget of $120,000.

Al Fakhoora was reportedly launched in 2009, following “the Israeli aggression on Gaza,” in support of promoting and facilitating access to higher education.

Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead (OCL)in 2008-09 in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians. In 2010, Hamas admitted that nearly 700 of the Palestinian casualties in OCL were combatants.

In May 2010, Farook Burney, director of Al Fakhoora, reportedly participated in the Mavi Marmara attempt to “break the siege in Gaza.”

The Mavi Marmara was the lead ship in a “Freedom Flotilla” of six ships that attempted to sail to Gaza in May 2010 to “break the siege.” A 2011 United Nations’ report found that the flotilla activists initiated a violent confrontation with Israeli forces. Following the incident there was no humanitarian aid found onboard the ship, only crude weaponry.

In June 2010, Burney reportedly told students at QFIS that "Al Fakhoora has launched an advocacy campaign to file legal charges against Israel and change the public perception in the West about its actions."

As of 2020, Fakhoora was located in Education City (EC), Qatar.

Qatar Foundation -EC Mosque Hosting Anti-Semitic Preachers

In April 2015, QF opened the Education City (EC) Mosque, located in Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) campus, adjacent to NU-Q.

Since the opening of the mosque, QF’s newspaper has encouraged readers to “join the QF community for prayer” at the EC Mosque, which has hosted 18 preachers and clerics who have variously spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for terror, spread [00:00:20] a conspiracy theory that radicalized Muslims played no part in 9/11 or the Charlie Hebdo attacks and declared that the Jews use pornographic movies to “destroy the world and control it.”

One preacher, Salman al-Audah, claimed [00:02:48] in a sermon broadcast on a major Gulf media channel in August 2012, that Jews use “human blood” for Passover matzah.

A cleric, Tareq al-Hawas, stated [00:04:11] about Jews "If only Hitler had finished them off, thus relieving humanity of them." Hawas was reportedly a member of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in 2013.

Another cleric, Mohammed al-Arifi, proclaimed in 2012, that “one’s devotion to jihad for the sake of Allah and one’s will to shed blood, smash skulls, and chop off body parts...constitute an honor.”

On March 18, 2016, preacher Mudassir Ahmed spoke at the EC mosque, urging attendees to [00:37:47]: “Kill the infidels... Count them in number and do not spare one.”

On April 1, 2016, preacher Khalid Al-Bakr, who has expressed support for Hamas, spoke at EC’s Mosque, calling [00:36:47] for Allah to “render victorious our brothers the mujahideen...in every place” and to “guide their shooting.”

On October 30, 2015, during the “Knife Intifada,” al-Hawas used his pulpit at the EC mosque to condemn [00:30:18] “the aggressor Zionists,” adding: “Allah, Help out Islam and Muslims, humiliate the heathens; destroy the foes of the religion.” al Hawas also said: "Protect your house, Al-Aqsa mosque from the hands of the Zionist aggressors."

October 2015 saw a wave of stabbings, known as the “Knife Intifada,” where young Palestinians throughout Israel were stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians. The upsurge in violence across Israel was incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The attacks were sparked and fueled by Palestinian leaders propagating the libel that Israel intended to desecrate the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

NU-Q - Al Jazeera

Since 2008, NU-Q has worked closely with the Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera). In 2013, NU-Q signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) with Al Jazeera “which deepens ties between the two organizations.”

Al Jazeera is a multinational multimedia conglomerate and parent company of the Qatari state-funded Al Jazeera. AJMN comprises an entirely state-owned network, chaired by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.

AJMN has been repeatedly accused of slanting news reports to promote and advance the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), as well as MB’s offshoot, the Hamas terrorist organization.

On March 13, 2013, Qatari-based news site Marhaba reported that NU-Q’s MoU with Al Jazeera aimed to “further facilitate collaboration and knowledge transfer between the two media organisations.” NU-Q’s announcement of the MoU referred to itself and Al Jazeera as “two of Qatar’s foremost media organisations.”

The MoU was created, in part, so NU faculty would provide consultations to launch Al Jazeera America (AJAM), based on NU’s “expertise in the American Media Industry.”Al Jazeera, for its part, expressed “willingness to support NU-Q students with scholarships as well as training opportunities.”

Al Jazeera launched AJAM, an American news channel, 2013. However, the channel closed in April 2016 due to low viewership and following a crisis in 2015 when CEO Ehab Al Shihabi reportedly stepped down after accusations of sexism and anti-Semitism.

NU-Q’s MoU with Al Jazeera was signed by Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani, Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce and Director General of Al Jazeera, as well as Everette Dennis, the Dean and CEO of NU-Q.

Since the MoU, Al Jazeera has maintained a close partnership with NU-Q, including funding NU-Q’s professorial research.

NU-Q Joint Advisory Board

Since NU-Q and Al Jazeera signed their initial MoU in 2013, NU-Q has a Joint Advisory Board (JAB), which consists of ten to eleven people; five or six positions filled by Qatari-connected members and five positions filled by Western members.

All eleven of the current or previous Qatari-connected JAB members were directly affiliated with QF, Al Jazeera or the Qatari government.

There is little information available about the role of NU-Q’s JAB. The role of the Texas A&M University, Qatar (TAMUQ) JAB was exposed by the Washington Post in a 2016 article, to include general oversight and close monitoring and review of every aspect of TAMUQ, with QF paying the JAB TAMUQ expenses.

Multiple people associated with the NU-Q’s JAB have whitewashed al-Qaradawi, including the QF CEO and JAB Co-Chair from 2008-2019, Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, JAB 2019-2020 member and president of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Ahmad Hasnah, as well as JAB 2012 - 2014 member and QF Vice President of education Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani.

Qatari State Minister, NU-Q JAB 2019-2020 member and AJ Vice Chairman Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, reportedly recommended a book that spread anti-semitism and authored an introduction praising the book. Yaser Bishr, 2017-2020 JAB member and Executive Director of digital media at Al Jazeera has demonized Israel.

Professor Rami Khouri was a Western NU-Q JAB member from 2012-2020 and a senior fellow at American University of Beirut (AUB). As of January 2020, Khouri was also an Al Jazeera contributor.

Khouri has legitimized terrorism, defended the “Knife Intifada,” has glorified violent protesters and spread anti-Israel conspiracy theories.

NU-Q - Hosting Annual Al Jazeera Speaker Series

Since the signing of the MoU in 2013, NU-Q has hosted an annual Al Jazeera Speakers Series. Thirteen of the 17 speakers who participated in the series at NU-Q from 2013-2019 have whitewashed terrorism, demonized Israel or expressed supportfor the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Dima Khatib, managing director of AJ+, spoke at NU-Q as part of the series on November 8, 2016. Khatib has spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, defended Hamas terror and whitewashed Hezbollah. She has also glorified a terrorist, demonized Israel and is a supporter of the BDS movement.

Elia Ghorbiah, a journalist at AJ’s immersive storytelling studio Contrast VR [Virtual Reality], spoke at NU-Q on November 8, 2018, as part of the series, helping to launch the NU-Q’s new Media Innovations Lab (MIL).

Ghorbiah has compared Israel to Nazi Germany, exressed support for terrorists, as well as the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and urged the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. She is also a supporter of the BDS movement.

NU-Q - Anti-Israel Middle East Studies Minor

In 2017, NU-Q launched a Middle East Studies minor in their Liberal Arts program. From 2017-2019, four of the seven members of the NU-Q’s Middle East Studies committee included anti-Israel NU-Q professors Justin Martin, Ibraham Abusharif, Khaled Hroub and Sami Hermez.

Khaled Hroub, a Professor at NU-Q who taught the 2018 and 2019 course “Islamism & Politics in the Middle East,” has reportedly whitewashed the terror group Hamas.

Sami Hermez, an NU-Q Professor who taught the 2018-2019 NU-Q courses “Anthropology of Palestine” and “Advanced Topics: Violence/Power/Resistance,” has promoted a terrorist and demonized Israel.

All of the required reading for Hermez’s “Anthropology of Palestine” course was authored by anti-Israel professors, eight of whom were activists in or supporters of the BDS movement. One of the authors, Edward Said, has advocated for the “right of return,” a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

Justin Martin, an Associate Professor at NU-Q, has mocked America’s suffering following the 9-11 terror bombings and demonized Israel. Martin has also broadcast his desire for Qatari funding to boost the BDS movement on U.S college campuses.

Ibrahim Abusharif was an editor and Treasurer of the Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI) from 1990 to 1998. The QLI “was allegedly part of a large web of organizations and individuals that were funding terrorist groups.”

QLI, along with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), and the Islamic Association of Palestine, was found to have funded Hamas militant activities and therefore liable for the death of David Boim, an American citizen killed by Hamas in the West Bank. This was later reversed as it could not be proven the funds were intended to be used to kill Boim.

The minor also required students to attend two guest lectures a year, chosen by the Middle East Studies Committee.

NU-Q - Student Internships in International Media

As of January 2020, third-year NU-Q Journalism and Strategic Communication students were required to intern for ten weeks at media or public relations firms, off-campus.

In 2019, students reportedly interned at international communication firms and news outlets in Washington D.C., New York City, London, Berlin, Stockholm and Doha.

As of February 2020, news outlets where NU-Q students have interned included: BBC News, TIME Magazine, Forbes, the Washington Post, National Geographic, the Guardian, National Public Radio (NPR), the Boston Globe, USA Today, Vox, the Financial Times, the Huffington Post and VICE

.
Students also interned at sports outlets, including: Sports Illustrated and ESPN, as well as fashion outlets Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire.

NU-Q reported in 2012 that they were able to offer students residencies at prestigious media organizations “because of the high-level contacts that NU-Q faculty and staff have in the international media.”

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.