Margarita Akopyan

Overview

Margarita Akopyan has spread hatred of Israel and the police, promoted bigotry and celebrated an anti-Semitic bylaw [p. 3] supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement at University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law).

In August 2022, a bylaw was initiated and adopted [p. 3] by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Berkeley Law, known as Berkeley LSJP. The bylaw banned [p. 3] any speaker who “expressed and continued to hold views…in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.” Berkeley LSJP also reportedly “asked other student groups to adopt” their own version of the bylaw.

As of December 2022, Akopyan’s LinkedIn page said she was pursuing a JD from Berkeley Law, slated to graduate in 2024. She also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Corrections from California State University, Sacramento (CSU Sacramento) in May 2021.

As of the same date, Akopyan was a member of the 2022-2023 Editorial Board at the Berkeley Journal of International Law (BJIL).

As of November 2022, Akopyan’s LinkedIn page said she had been a legal intern at the Immigration Justice Project (IJP) since May 2022. She also did a student advocate internship at the California Asylum Representation Clinic at Berkeley Law from January 2022 through May 2022.

As of November 2022, Akopyan went by the name “Marge” and used the handle “@makoma2005” on Twitter. She used the handle “@margaritaakop” on TikTok.

Also as of November 2022, Akopyan’s LinkedIn page said she was located in Carmichael, CA.

Hatred of Israel

On October 17, 2022, Akopyan tweeted: “z*onists will scream and cry about being oppressed and then have the most racist and xenophobic undertones and encourage harassment on POC meanwhile its just four white kids who've been to isr*el once and had the trip bankrolled by the isr*eli govt.”

On October 4, 2022, Akopyan tweeted: “the term progressive zi*nist is the funniest thing I've ever heard. ‘I am against human rights violations unless isr*el is the one committing them’."

On May 17, 2021, during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against Hamas and other terrorists, Alhakim tweeted: “Um why are they acting like they dont murder innocent children on a faily [daily] basis? Like they dont have bomb shelters and the iron dome. Like they dont shoot rockets into gaza everyday. How are u gonna play the morally superior card while also doing all those things?”

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 May 11, 2021, Akopyan tweeted: “Yea sorry but fighting ethnic cleansing and oppression is not terrorism.”

Akopyan’s tweet was in response to a tweet by American politician Andrew Yang that said: “I'm standing with the people of Israel who are coming under bombardment attacks, and condemn the Hamas terrorists…”

On May 9, 2021, Akopyan tweeted: “Just a reminder that the way zionism has been practiced in the modern day through israel is in a way that depends on the displacement, murder and oppression of Palestinians for it to thrive.”

On October 20, 2020, Akopyan tweeted: “Omg i have a whole list of things abt israel i dont like but idk how to write a speech

but i would def mention how the jewish state was created as a safe haven for survivors of the holocaust yet they are supplying a genocidal state.”

Hatred of Police

On May 28, 2022, Akopyan tweeted: “I swear cops are the scum of the earth. Lets not forget how 40% of cops commit domestic abuse too.”

On January 6, 2021, Akopyan tweeted: “Police take part in systemic racism everyday and enable white supremacy, and if yall cant see that after this idk what else to tell u.”

Bigotry

On October 7, 2020, Akopyan tweeted: “Some ppl (yt [white] especially) need to learn to shut up

”

On November 16, 2020, Akopyan tweeted: “I cant w ‘woke’ yt ppl anymore

”

Berkeley LSJP Anti-Semitic Bylaw

On August 6, 2022, Berkeley LSJP amended its group constitution to include a bylaw banning pro-Israel speakers from participating in club events. The bylaw explicitly excluded [p. 3] any speaker who had “expressed and continued to hold views…in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.”

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.

Berkeley LSJP claimed it created the bylaw “in the interest of protecting the safety and welfare of Palestinian students on campus.”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights multiple forms of contemporary anti-Semitism related to Israel, including “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and “Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.

Berkeley Law student Malak Afaneh was the president of Berkeley LSJP when the group adopted its bylaw. She has spread hatred of Zionists and has expressed support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, which has a history of suicide bombings, stabbing attacks on civilians and airplane hijackings.

After Berkeley LSJP adopted the bylaw, it attempted to get other Berkeley Law student groups to also adopt the bylaw. The bylaw committed a group to not “host, sponsor, or promote” pro-Israel events and to mandate its leaders to participate in Berkeley LSJP’s “Palestine 101” training course “to learn ways to create a safe and inclusive space for Palestinian students and students that are in the support of the liberation of Palestine.”

On August 21, 2022, Berkeley LSJP celebrated a “BDS VICTORY!!” on Instagram, announcing [slides 2 and 3] that eight Berkeley Law student groups had adopted a version of the anti-Semitic bylaw. The post said: “LSJP is calling ALL student organizations at Berkeley Law to take an anti-racist and anti-settler colonial stand and adopt the bylaw into their constitutions ASAP!”

The eight groups included Berkeley Law’s Muslim Student’s Association (BLMSA), Middle Eastern and North African Law Students Association (MENALSA) and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA).

Around the same time, 30 members of the Berkeley Law faculty issued a statement “in Support of Jewish Law Students.” The statement said that groups adopting the bylaw “impermissibly exclude a large majority of the UC Berkeley School of Law faculty from participating in the work of these organizations.” Berkeley Law alumni, Jewish student groups and faculty at other law schools also condemned the bylaw as anti-Semitic.

On August 25, 2022, Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky sent an email to student leaders criticizing the bylaw as “troubling.”

On August 26, 2022, Chemerinsky was quoted in an article as saying that the bylaw “would exclude about…90 percent or more of our Jewish students.” He also said: “Indeed, taken literally, this would mean that I could not be invited to speak because I support the existence of Israel…”

On August 27, 2022, the Jewish Students Association at Berkeley Law (JSABL) wrote an open letter on Medium, where they said: “[O]ur organization was one of the few affinity groups not contacted” during the process of the bylaw’s adoption and passage.

On August 29, 2022, Berkeley LSJP wrote a statement on Instagram to the Berkeley Law community criticizing Chemerinsky’s email. Berkeley SJP accused Israel of “genocide and apartheid” and of “murdering, disabling, and displacing Palestinian families day and night.” They also said: “Apartheid is a crime against humantiy [sic]...”

On August 30, 2022, Akopyan tweeted about U.S. Senator Ted Cruz who showed support for Chemerinksy. Akopyan wrote that she was “so happy the orgs im a part of are taking a stance against zionism.”

Akopyan’s tweet was in a response to a tweet by Cruz that read: “More and more leftists are explicit & unabashed about their anti-Semitic hatred for Israel. Nine left-wing groups pledge not to invite invite any speakers who support Zionism or ‘the apartheid state of Israel.’ Bravo to Dean Chemerinsky for condemning.”

On October 6, 2022, Berkeley Chancellor Carol T. Christ criticized the Berkeley LSJP bylaw as “regrettable,” and in “direct opposition to our essential Principles of Community…”

On October 21, 2022, Berkeley LSJP published a “Statement of Solidarity” with the other eight student groups that adopted the bylaw, claiming that they were subject to “baseless allegations of antisemitism.” The first group to sign the statement was the Student Association at Berkeley Law (SABL), the Berkeley Law student government.

The 169 individuals and groups that signed the statement included various SJP chapters, BDS groups and branches of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an anti-Israel group. Also among the signatories was Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (Samidoun), an NGO that glorifies terrorists in Israeli jail and whose leadership includes three PFLP members [pp. 22–28].

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.