Mena Attia
Overview
Mena Attia [Mena M Attia Sharafeldin] has spread hatred of Zionists, glorified a terrorist and demonized Israel. She also participated in a 2021 Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) protest in support of anti-Israel violence at Cornell University (Cornell).Attia was active with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Cornell in 2021.
As of March 2022, Attia’s LinkedIn page said she was studying for a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at Cornell, slated to graduate in 2023.
As of the same date, Attia’s LinkedIn said she was located in Brooklyn, New York.
Hatred of Zionists
On February 4, 2021, Attia posted a series of anti-Israel images to her Instagram. One of the images featured a poem in Arabic and English [slide 2] that said: “...if I get hungry I eat the flesh of my usurper. Beware...Beware...of my hunger. And of my anger.”
Attia also featured in her post a series of posters, including [slide 3] “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED” written over a Palestinian flag and [slide 4] “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE” written on a background of a Palestinian keffiyeh.
“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.
Attia also attached [slide 5] an image of a figure swinging a shepherd's sling used for rock-throwing with the text: “END THE ANNEXATION AND THE OCCUPATION FIGHT FOR LIBERATION BRING THE WHOLE THING DOWN.”
Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.
In her post, Attia accused Israel of “war crimes” and wrote: “I said what I said. Palestinian resistance will not be silenced.”
In the same Instagram post [slide 6], Mena said: “I've been seeing too many zionist posts in my feed, so this is for the zionists who think that calling antizionism antisemitism is going to make me stop being antizionist."
Glorifying a Terrorist
On June 5, 2021, Attia posted to Instagram: “Some powerful quotes from Ghassan Kanafani’s Returning to Haifa,” and attached quotes by Kanafani in further slides in the same post.
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.
Demonizing Israel
On May 18, 2021, Attia posted to Instagram, referring to Israel as a “terrorist state” and accusing Israel of “ethnic cleansing, apartheid, settler colonialism, and genocide.”
Protest in Support of Anti-Israel Violence
In May 2021, Attia participated [slide 9] in Cornell SJP’s “March for Palestine” in support of anti-Israel violence.
On May 12, 2021, Cornell SJP promoted on Instagram their upcoming May 15, 2021 “March for Palestine” on Cornell’s Ho Plaza. The event poster featured calls to: “SAVE SHEIKH JARRAH” and “SAVE AL-AQSA.”
Incitement around Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel’s major centers on May 10-21, 2021. In response, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.
On May 12, 2021, Cornell SJP promoted their upcoming march on Facebook, calling on their followers to “show support for the ongoing rebellion in occupied Palestine against the Zionist occupation” and condemn “Zionism and Israeli state terrorism.”
On May 15, 2021, Cornell SJP demonstrators participated in the group’s march. Protesters displayed a banner that read: “Stand with Palestinian Resistance,” as well as signs that read: “End the Palestinian Holocaust” and “Stop the US Funding of Genocide.”
Attia held a sign [slide 5] showing the Dome of the Rock in the Al Aqsa compound, a Palestinian flag and text that read: “STOP THE ETHNIC CLEANSING & FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF PALESTINIANS” and “#SaveSheikhJarrah.”
On May 12, 2021, Cornell SJP promoted on Instagram their upcoming May 15, 2021 “March for Palestine” on Cornell’s Ho Plaza. The event poster featured calls to: “SAVE SHEIKH JARRAH” and “SAVE AL-AQSA.”
Incitement around Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel’s major centers on May 10-21, 2021. In response, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.
On May 12, 2021, Cornell SJP promoted their upcoming march on Facebook, calling on their followers to “show support for the ongoing rebellion in occupied Palestine against the Zionist occupation” and condemn “Zionism and Israeli state terrorism.”
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 15, 2021, Cornell SJP demonstrators participated in the group’s march. Protesters displayed a banner that read: “Stand with Palestinian Resistance,” as well as signs that read: “End the Palestinian Holocaust” and “Stop the US Funding of Genocide.”
Attia held a sign [slide 5] showing the Dome of the Rock in the Al Aqsa compound, a Palestinian flag and text that read: “STOP THE ETHNIC CLEANSING & FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF PALESTINIANS” and “#SaveSheikhJarrah.”
At the protest, one demonstrator accused [slide 2] Israel of “white supremacy,” as well as [slide 1] “ethnic cleansing” and “violent brutal occupation.”
On May 16, 2021, Cornell SJP posted photos of their demonstration to Facebook and commented: “Cornell students and Ithaca residents turned out in force today to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation and apartheid!”
Cornell SJP - Overview
Cornell SJP has dismissed anti-Semitism, supported anti-Israel violence and whitewashed terrorists. The student group has also disrupted Israel Day campus events multiple times, demonized Israel and campaigned for the BDS movement.Cornell SJP activists wrote an anti-Israel statement and presented it at Cornell’s Student Assembly (SA) in May 2021.
Cornell SJP - Dismissing Anti-Semitism 2020-2021
On May 28, 2021, Cornell SJP posted to Instagram, opposing [Slide 1] a May 26, 2021 letter [Slide 1] by Cornell President Martha Pollack, which took notice of the “alarming national rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes...amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East,” and appealed for “rigorous discourse and debate, devoid of personal invective and attacks.”Cornell SJP condemned [Slide 4] the term “ongoing tensions” and blamed Israel exclusively for Palestinian-Israeli tensions, accusing Israel of “apartheid” and “provocations against Palestine, from the occupation of Sheikh Jarrah to the assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the bombings of the Gaza strip.”
Incitement around Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel’s major centers on May 10-21, 2021. In response, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.
Cornell SJP also rejected [Slide 7] President Pollack’s call for “rigorous discourse and debate,” promoting, instead, “the duty to resist colonial violence.”
Cornell SJP called on their Instagram followers to “send an email to [the Cornell] administration in regards to their complete dismissal of the ethnic cleansing and apartheid of Palestinians.”
Cornell SJP attached a link in their Instagram bio to a google document of an email condemning President Pollack’s letter, signed by Cornell professors, as well as Cornell students and student groups.
Cornell SJP - Glorifying Terrorist Ghassan Kanafani 2019-2020
On January 28, 2020, Cornell SJP shared to their Facebook a post from a local communist collective known as the Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists (CORS), glorifying terrorist Ghassan Kanafani and promoting Kanafani’s rejection of any negotiations with Israel.Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during their formative years. Kanafani was also involved in the Lod Airport Massacre near Tel Aviv, for which PFLP took responsibility.
Cornell SJP Activists Push an Anti-Israel Statement 2020-2021
In May 2021, Laila Abd Elmagid, Cornell SJP activist and Vice President of Internal Affairs with the Cornell Student Assembly (SA), reportedly helped write an anti-Israel statement titled: “Recognizing and Condemning Violent Attacks Against Palestinians.”The statement, published on Cornell SA letterhead, said: “We, the undersigned, are writing to condemn the violent and vicious acts of terrorism, ethnic cleansing, and settler-colonialism, that have been plaguing Palestinians for years and specifically regarding recent events.”
The statement also alleged Israel carried out “illegal evictions” and deliberately targeted Palestinians celebrating Ramadan for violent attacks. Claiming “Mosques full of Muslims observing the last 10 days of Ramadan in solitude were attacked with grenades and ransacked,” the statement also alleged that Israel was considering an invasion of Gaza during the Islamic holiday of Eid.
Incitement around Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel’s major centers on May 10-21, 2021. In response, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.
The statement then called on the university administration to “act immediately” to end “their relationship with Technion in Haifa, Israel” and “any relationship between the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD) and Israel.” The statement also called on the University to issue a statement in defense of Palestinian rights and to reconsider investments in Israel.
On May 13, 2021, Cornell’s student newspaper, The Cornell Review, reported that Abd Elmagid, as well as Uche Chukwukere, SA Vice President of Finance and SJP Cornell affiliate, and Joseph Mullen, an SJP Cornell activist and incoming College of Arts and Sciences Representative, introduced the anti-Israel statement during the final SA meeting of the year.
The statement was signed by 23 students, but neither voted on nor enacted by the SA.
Cornell SJP - Demonizing Israel 2020-2021
On April 21, 2021, Cornell SJP promoted an April 22, 2021 “virtual teach-in” on the “Deadly Exchange” and encouraged students to “tune in to find out what it will take to end the militarization of campus police and (one aspect of) Cornell's complicity in the occupation of Palestine!”Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign in 2017. The campaign claimed that American Jewish organizations promoted human rights abuses. A video for the campaign by JVP accused American Jewish organizations of planning programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance“racist policies.”
On December 13, 2020, Cornell SJP hosted a teach-in titled: “Health and the Israeli Occupation.”
The event description alleged: “The apartheid system imposed by the Israeli occupation of Palestine extends to all facets of life, including health and medical treatment…Hospitals in Gaza are frequently demolished by Israeli bomber planes.”
Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza as command centers, weapons storage and launch sites for missile and rocket attacks against Israel in violation of international humanitarian law in regard to armed conflicts.
Cornell SJP - Demonizing Israel 2019-2020
On February 21, 2020, during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, Cornell SJP hosted a webinar titled: “Mental Health Under Siege - the Case of Palestine” given by four members of the Palestine Global Mental Health Network (PGMHN) steering committee.The Facebook event description accused Israel of “political violence, institutional racism, and internal colonialism,” claiming that Israel does not “just target the physical living conditions of the Palestinians, but aims to break the very fabric of their society, their souls, and their psyche as well.”
One of the speakers, Mustafa Qassoqsi, described [00:11:53] the founding of the state of Israel as the “colonization of Palestine by European Jews” and accused [00:13:15] Israel of “settler colonialism” and [00:15:00] “ethnic cleansing.”
Another presenter, Samah Jabr, head of the Mental Health Unit within the Palestinian Ministry of Health, claimed [00:38:15] that Israel’s humanitarian aid to Gaza is a “deceiving mask for sadistic intentions.”
Rana Nashashibi, a psychologist living and practicing in Jerusalem, alleged [00:46:54] that the Gaza Strip and most of the West Bank today is “very much like a huge, overcrowded prison, whose inmates are kept in check by heavily armed guards at the gates.”
Nashashibi added [00:47:11]: “If…this prison were to be called anything, it would be ‘a ghetto.’”
On November 22, 2019, Cornell SJP hosted an event titled: “Teach-in Gaza: Life inside the world's largest open air prison.”
The event description on Facebook said: “we will be discussing the history of Gaza from the Nakba to the Great March of Return to last week's military aggression by Israel. Learn more about U.S ally Israel's role in creating the world's largest open air prison...and how Palestinians today are fighting back for their lands.”
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 “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
In November 2019, Israel launched Operation Black Belt to stop rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. From November 12 to November 14, 2019, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group sent hundreds of rockets into Israel, targeting major civilian population centers.
Cornell SJP - BDS Overview
In February 2019, Cornell SJP launched an anti-Israel divestment campaign, calling on the University to divest from Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and any companies which Cornell SJP claimed “profit directly from Israeli military occupation.”Cornell SJPmembers tried to [00:23:03] deny that the resolution was part of the larger BDS movement, a tactic encouraged [00:58:53] by BDS-founder Omar Barghouti. Cornell senators also used a secret ballot to vote on the bill. The bill ultimately failed to pass.
In October 2019, Cornell SJP moved to direct confrontation, disrupting the quarterly meeting of Cornell’s Board of Trustees and calling on the Board to “sever ties” with the Technion. Cornell SJP also called to eliminate the Board’s power of discretion in investments in “the occupation of Palestine.”
Cornell SJP - Divestment Campaign 2019-2020
On October 19, 2019, Cornell SJP in conjunction with Islamic Alliance for Justice (IAJ) and other student organizations disrupted the quarterly meeting of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, and then held a protest outside the meeting venue.Protesters called on the Board to “sever ties” with the Technion and claimed the Technion engaged in “morally reprehensible” behavior. Protesters also called to eliminate the Board’s power of discretion in investments, so as to “stop funding atrocities in Palestine” and end “the 71 year long Israeli occupation of Palestine!”
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menaa2001Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mena_attia/ [Private]
Github: https://github.com/menaattia
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- Cornell
- Organizations:
- SJP
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
Videos
4 videos
Photos & Screenshots
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Infamous Quotes
“I've been seeing too many zionist posts in my feed, so this is for the zionists who think that calling antizionism antisemitism is going to make me stop being antizionist."
“I said what I said. Palestinian resistance will not be silenced.”