Michael Zalta
Overview
Michael Zalta [Michael Reynold Zalta] urged the passage of a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement resolution at New York University (NYU), in 2018. He was affiliated Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) (NYU SJP) and with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) (NYU JVP).As of August 2019, Zalta’s LinkedIn page said he was a Legal Assistant at Sloss Eckhouse LawCo, an entertainment law firm in New York City, New York.
Zalta’s LinkedIn page also said he received a bachelor’s degree from the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2019 and was awarded the NYU Gallatin Global Fellowship in Human Rights in 2018.
Support for BDS
On December 6, 2018, Zalta presented a statement to NYU’s SGA urging the passage of a BDS resolution that was co-authored and introduced by then-student senators and members of SJP Rose Asaf, Leen Dweik and then-student senator Bayan Abubakr, who was reportedly a member ofNYU SJP.The resolution, titled: “Resolution on the Human Rights of Palestinians,” claimed Israel practiced apartheid and invoked the “threefold” goals of the BDS movement, including “ending Israel’s occupation and colonization of all Arab lands.”
The resolution was reportedly passed by a narrow margin, via secret ballot.
On December 7, 2018, Zalta posted a copy of his statement in favor of the resolution on Twitter and commented: “My statement presented at yesterday’s landmark BDS resolution vote at NYU. Thank you @EsorFasss for the opportunity to speak and congratulations (Mabrouk) to @NYUSJP @nyujvp and all of those facing the violence of the nation state on this important victory
In his statement promoting the BDS resolution, Zalta wrote: “I find it vexing that we could light our [Hanukka] candles which symbolize the miraculous resilience of the Jewish people with our right hand and raise our left hand in support of NYU’s investment in the continued destruction of peoples, cultural heritage, homes, and material culture from Palestine to Yemen.”
Hanukka is a Jewish festival, known as the Festival of Lights, which commemorates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire.
Zalta concluded his statement by suggesting that Israel was complicit in “ethnocidal violence.”
On May 16, 2019, Zalta tweeted: “If you want to buy me a graduation gift consider buying me BDS friendly halva please”
Anti-Israel Activity
Zalta indicated on Facebook that he “went” to an April 15, 2019 event, co-hosted by NYU SJP and NYU JVP, that would be moderated by Leen Dweik, the 2018-2019 President of NYU SJP. The event’s Facebook page also said it would feature as panelists Executive Director of the anti-Israel organization JVP, Rebecca Vilkomerson, Marc Lamont-Hill and Omar Barghouti.In November 2018, Marc Lamont Hill was fired from his position as a contributor to CNN News network following controversial comments where he reportedly whitewashed Palestinian violence and accused Israel of “state violence and ethnic cleansing.” He also called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
At the event, which Barghouti attended via video link, he said [00:00:01]: “When I heard that the divestment resolution passed with 50 groups supporting it I said NYU must be called the student capital of the BDS movement of the world.”
Barghouti, the founder of the BDS movement, has claimed [00:04:28] that international law grants everyone with Palestinian ancestry the unqualified right to settle in Israel. Barghouti has also insisted [01:18:21]that the demands of BDS are “inflexible” and “non-negotiable,” and if people object, then “tough.”
Zalta indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a November 14, 2018 event titled: “BDS 101,” co-sponsored by NYU JVP and NYU SJP, “for a discussion about the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement and its significance in Palestine liberation.”
Zalta indicated that he “went” to an October 30, 2018 event co-sponsored by NYU SJP, NYU JVP, and Zochrot, titled: “Making the Invisible Visible:Uncovering the Nakba.”
Zochrot is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Israel that calls for the right of return and promotes the Nakba.
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.
Zalta indicated on Facebook that he “went” to a February 5, 2018 NYU SJP and NYU JVP where “We'll be discussing the conflict and write letters to Ahed Tamimi.”
NYU SJP Support for Anti-Israel Agitators
On March 13, 2019, NYU SJP posted to Facebook an image from a petition calling to “Disinvite Linda Sarsour” and wrote: “This is just a list of Islamophobes. As always, solidarity with Linda Sarsour!”On July 26, 2018, NYU SJP posted to Facebook a statement supporting Ahed Tamimi’s release from Israeli prison.
NYU SJP Anti-Israel Activity
On May 9, 2019, NYU SJP staged a “die-in” protest, next to Realize Israel’s annual "Rave in the Park" event celebrating Israeli Independence Day. Realize Israel is a pro-Israel club at NYU.The Facebook description of the protest, titled: “ACTION: Resisting the Celebration of Apartheid,” said: “speak out against the lack of acknowledgement of the expulsion, massacre, and destruction of Palestinians and their homes.”
NYU SJP also called Israel’s Independence on Twitter an “act of ethnic cleansing and apartheid.”
On April 18, 2019, NYU SJP posted a photo on Facebook of students with their faces obscured by emojis, in front of a table featuring the Israeli flag and a banner that said: “Jews are Indigenous to the Land of Israel CHANGE MY MIND.”
The Facebook post said: “Thumbs Up If You’re a Racist: they intimidated to sue us because they don’t like getting called out version!”
NYU SJP’s post referred to anoriginal version of the NYU SJP post which reportedly showed the faces of the pro-Israel students and said: “Thumbs Up If You’re a Racist.”
On April 27, 2018, NYU SJP organized a protest against the annual “Rave in the Park” celebration of Israel’s Independence Day. The protest’s Facebook description said: “We refuse to let such a disturbing public celebration of colonialism and apartheid on our campus and in our park go by without a response.”
During the protest, activists chanted [00:04:55]: "Intifada, Intifada, Long live the Intifada" and two protestors were reportedly arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and assault after grabbing [00:00:41] a microphone and an Israeli flag out of the hands of a student singing the Israeli national anthem.
Other protesters wiped [00:00:10] their feet on the Israeli flag and stomped on it.
That same day, NYU SJP posted to Facebook, urging anyone “angered at this celebratory event” to file a noise complaint with the police.
NYU SJP hosted Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) 2017, from March 20-24, 2017.
During IAW 2017, NYU SJP exhibited a mock apartheid wall, with text that demonized Israel, simulating Israel’s security barrier.
Israel’s security barrier, 97 percent of which is a low chain-link barrier, was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.
NYU SJP 2018 Divestment Campaign
On November 1, 2018, members of NYU SJP presented a divestment bill to the NYU Student Government Association (SGA), to further the agenda of the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement.The resolution was co-authored by then-student senators and members of SJP, Rose Asaf, Leen Dweik and then-student senator Bayan Abubakr, who was reportedly a member ofNYU SJP.
The resolution demonized Israel, invoked the “threefold” goals of the BDS movement and was passed by the SGA on December 6, 2018, using a secret ballot. NYU’s administration opposed the BDS resolution.
NYU’s then-President Andrew Hamilton said: “‘A boycott of Israeli academics and institutions is contrary to our core principles of academic freedom, antithetical to the free exchange of ideas, and at odds with the University's position on this matter...and divestment from Israeli-related investments is not under consideration.’”
NYU SJP Promoting BDS
On April 15, 2019, NYU SJP hosted an event featuring a panel that included Omar Barghouti. The panel was moderated by Leen Dweik, then-President of NYU SJP.On November 19, 2018, NYU SJP wrote on Facebook: “When we fight, we win.BDS works” and attached an article in the post reporting the decision by Airbnb Inc. to remove listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
On October 24. 2018, NYU SJP hosted a panel about BDS where anti-Israel Professor Jasbir Puar was listed among the panel of speakers. Puar is on the Advisory Board of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) and applauded the American Studies Association (ASA)’s move for an Academic Boycott of Israeli universities.
NYU SJP hosted NYU Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) 2018, from April 15-21, 2018. The Facebook event description said: “IAW will be an opportunity to reflect on this history of resistance and further advance BDS campaigns for the continued growth and impact of the movement.”
On April 9, 2018, NYU SJP posted to Facebook: “We are proud to announce a coalition of 50 NYU student groups who have pledged to support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement for Palestinian human rights by pledging not to spend NYU club funds on Israeli goods, to boycott pro-Israel groups at NYU and off campus, and to call on NYU to divest from companies that profit off the violation of Palestinian human rights.
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.
