Melissa Otero

Overview

Melissa Otero has glorified terrorists, demonized Israel and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In November 2015, Otero was an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC SJP).

As of September 2021, Otero ran her own fiber arts studio and shop called “Tangled Up In Knots” located in Knightstown, Indiana.

As of September 2021, Otero’s LinkedIn page said she was an administrative assistant at the anti-Israel organization Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) in Portland, Oregon since September 2017. In December 2015, Otero was listed on the FOSNA website as one of its interns.

Also as of September 2021, Otero’s LinkedIn page said she graduated from UCSC with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology in 2016.

Glorifying Terrorists

On May 20, 2018, Otero shared to Facebook a post with an image of 116 people killed during violent clashes on the Gaza-Israel border, including uniformed members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 2] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a terror group “whose objective is the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of a sovereign, Islamic Palestinian state.” PIJ is backed by Iran and has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks.

Otero’s May 20, 2018 Facebook post said all of the people featured in the image were “Palestinian civilians who got killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of the #GreatReturnMarch protests in #Gaza on March 31.”

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.

On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.

On May 22, 2017, Otero posted to Facebook a photo of herself holding a sign that said: “Today I hunger strike in solidarity with 1600 Palestinian political prisoners on Day 36 of the #DignityStrike #DignityStrike36.”

“Dignity Strike” refers to a hunger strike initiated by Marwan Barghouti on April 16, 2017. More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners participated in the strike – most them also convicted for acts of terrorism. Barghouti headed the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms by an Israeli civilian court for some of his crimes, including his role in the Sbarro Cafe bombing.

On May 10, 2017, Otero shared to Facebook an AJ+ video that highlighted [00:00:34] Barghouti’s leadership of the hunger strike and said [00:00:42]: “Barghouti has been in prison for over a decade for his role in resisting the Israeli occupation.”

On July 5, 2015, Otero shared to Facebook a post glorifying terrorist Khader Adnan, who had agreed to end a hunger strike the previous week and was released from Israeli prison a week after Otero’s post. When released, Adnan continued to promote incitement against Israel and claimed: “Al-Aqsa Mosque is being threatened and attacked.”

Khader Adnan was a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization. A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?” In May 2023, Adnan died in prison after refusing medical treatment during a hunger strike.

Demonizing Israel

On May 15, 2018, Otero shared to Facebook a post from TeleSUR that featured anti-Israel propaganda maps.

The maps claim that lands once controlled by Britain, Egypt and Jordan as autonomous “Palestinian land” were purportedly stolen by Israel. In February 2016, publisher McGraw-Hill Education recalled copies of a college textbook containing the fraudulent maps. In October 2015, American cable news network MSNBC apologized for airing a similar series of maps and retracted them.

The post Otero shared contained text that read: “Share to tell the world of this historic injustice and to support the Palestinian resistance against Israeli settler colonialism. #FreePalestine #Nakba.”

On May 15, 2017, Otero shared to Facebook a post from the anti-Israel group Addameer. The post linked to an article from the BDS movement website accusing Israel of an “ongoing Nakba.”

Addameer is an NGO that advocates on behalf of prisoners held in Israeli jail, including many terrorists such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) recruiters Mohammad Allan and Khader Adnan. Addameer’s senior leadership includes [pp. 29-35] senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorists like Khalida Jarrar, whom Addameer also advocates for. In 2021, Israel officially designated Addameer as a terror organization.
On April 26, 2016, Otero posted to Facebook two online flyers promoting “Israeli Apartheid Week” events at UCSC. One of the events promoted BDS and accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing.”

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is presented internationally as a “series of events that seeks to raise awareness of…Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people.” One of its goals is to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. IAW has been renamed Palestine Awareness Week.

In December 2015, Otero was listed on the FOSNA website as an intern and that she “has primarily researched afforestation projects in Israel/Palestine and its effect upon Palestinians, including their right to return.”

Supporting BDS

As of September 18, 2017, Otero had signed a statement authored by a group called the “Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions” (Anthro Boycott). The statement called on their colleagues at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to support BDS and boycott Israeli academic institutions.

In June 2016, Anthro Boycott mounted an unsuccessful attempt to pass a BDS resolution mandating that AAA boycott Israeli academic institutions.

On April 29, 2016, Otero posted to Facebook a photo of her holding a sign that said: “Support #anthroboycott.”

On April 22, 2016, Otero posted to Facebook a photo of herself holding a sign which said she “voted YES on #anthroboycott, because I believe in academic freedom...”

In April 2016 and November 2015, Otero posted two other graphics supporting the #anthroboycott campaign.

SJP Activism

On November 20, 2015, Otero was a member of SJP UCSC when the UCSC Student Union Assembly (SUA) held a hearing two days earlier where it adopted an anti-Israel divestment resolution.

The resolution was initially passed by the SUA in May 2014, but was later nullified by the SUA chair on procedural grounds. In early November 2015, SJP UCSC appealed the nullification and on November 18, 2015, the SUA held a hearing during which it upheld the initial May 2014 passage of the resolution.

On November 11, 2015, Otero and other SJP UCSC members presented in front of the UCSC SUA in support of the divestment resolution.

UCSC SJP - Whitewashing Terrorism

On November 8, 2015, UCSC SJP members held a “die-in” to oppose a pro-Israel student group’s show of solidarity with Israelis who were murdered during a wave of terror attacks that Fall.

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.

At the same die-in, UCSC SJP members laid down in front of the student group’s table for the protest, along with signs that said, “Resistance is Not Terrorism” and “Why Can’t Israel Colonize Palestine in Peace?”

UCSC SJP - Hosting Steven Salaita

On February 20, 2015, UCSC SJP co-hosted an event featuring Steven Salaita, where group members posed for photos with him after his talk.

The University of Illinois (U of I) rescinded a job offer made to Steven Salaita in 2014, after becoming aware of anti-Semitic tweets he made. Not long after three Israeli high school students were kidnapped by Hamas, Salaita tweeted: “You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the f**king West Bank settlers would go missing.”

During Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in 2014, Salaita tweeted: “There's something profoundly sexual to the Zionist pleasure w/#Israel's aggression. Sublimation through bloodletting, a common perversion.”

Salaita was ultimately unable to find a teaching position and claimed that he took a job as a school bus driver in the Washington, D.C. area.

UCSC SJP - Spreading Hatred of Israel

On August 4, 2016, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook: “Beautiful to see the official Black Lives Matter platform recognize Israel as an apartheid state and endorse BDS!” The post also quoted a story stating that the platform also accused Israel of “genocide.”

On April 29, 2016, UCSC SJP hosted an event titled, “Legacies of Ethnic Cleansing,” featuring anti-Israel activists Lara Kiswani and Ilan Pappe.

Lara Kiswani has called for Israel’s destruction “to benefit everyone in the world," demonized Israel as well as America and expressed support for terrorists. As of April 2021, Kiswani had been the executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) in the San Francisco Bay Area, as early as 2014.

In August 2016, BDS leader Ilan Pappé admitted that BDS was not initiated by a “call” from Palestinian civil society; rather, it was initiated by a small number of radical anti-Israel extremists.

On October 21, 2015, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook an article titled: “A New Generation of Resistance.” UCSC quoted the article’s subtitle: “In showing that Palestinians won't submit to Israeli violence, the ongoing youth uprising has given the rest of Palestine hope.”

On May 12, 2014, UCSC SJP hosted an event titled: “Apartheid Israel - Oral Histories of Ethnic Cleansing and Apartheid.”

On August 5, 2013, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook: “Stop the Prawer plan - it is ethnic cleansing!!!”

On August 4, 2016, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook: “Beautiful to see the official Black Lives Matter platform recognize Israel as an apartheid state and endorse BDS!” The post also quoted a story stating that the platform also accused Israel of “genocide.”

On April 29, 2016, UCSC SJP hosted an event titled, “Legacies of Ethnic Cleansing,” featuring anti-Israel activists Lara Kiswani and Ilan Pappe.

In August 2016, BDS leader Ilan Pappé admitted that BDS was not initiated by a “call” from Palestinian civil society; rather, it was initiated by a small number of radical anti-Israel extremists.

On October 21, 2015, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook an article titled: “A New Generation of Resistance.” UCSC quoted the article’s subtitle: “In showing that Palestinians won't submit to Israeli violence, the ongoing youth uprising has given the rest of Palestine hope.”

On May 12, 2014, UCSC SJP hosted an event titled: “Apartheid Israel - Oral Histories of Ethnic Cleansing and Apartheid.”

On August 5, 2013, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook: “Stop the Prawer plan - it is ethnic cleansing!!!”

Also on March 4, 2015, UCSC SJP posted to Instagram a photo with its activists taking part in a mock Israeli checkpoint. One hashtag accused Israel of “#apartheid” and another was “#bringdownthewall,” referring to Israel’s security barrier.

Israeli checkpoints were built to protect Israel's civilian population against terror attacks, such as suicide bombings.

Israel’s security barrier, built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks, is 97% low chain-link barrier. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.

UCSC set up four mock checkpoints that day where its activists dressed up as Israeli soldiers and blocked students from entering a main library before final exams until they showed “proper identification.” UCSC administration received multiple “hate/bias” reports after the incident where students felt “particularly targeted.”

On January 28, 2015, UCSC SJP posted to Facebook a video of protesters trying to enter a campus pro-Israel event. The post said that after several of them entered, they read a message which included the line: “Participating in a study abroad program in Israel means participating in the ongoing apartheid and genocide of the Palestinian people.”

UCSC SJP member Katherine Berjikian participated in the protest where she held a sign that said, “LONG LIVE INTIFADA” and protesters chanted, “Long live the Intifada!”

The term “intifada” has carried the connotation of violence, since the early 2000’s.

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.

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.