Mohammad Sajjad Soltanmohammadi

Overview

Mohammad Sajjad Soltanmohammadi has spread anti-Semitic propaganda, supported Hamas and Hezbollah, supported “intifada” violence, and spread hatred of Israel.

Soltanmohammadi has organized anti-Israel rallies and, as of October 17, 2017, his LinkedIn page said he was the vice president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Maryland at College Park (SJP UMD) since June of 2016.

His LinkedIn page also said that he has “organized various Palestine Awareness Week events that accuse [sic.] Israel of war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

As of the same date, Soltanmohammadi was listed on Facebook as having attended the 2016 National SJP Conference.

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

Soltanmohammadi was also a member of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at UMD (MSA UMD).

As of May 2019, Soltanmohammadi’s LinkedIn page said he graduated from UMD in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in “Biology - Neurobiology and Physiology.”

Anti-Semitic Propaganda

On June 21, 2016, Soltanmohammadi shared a video on Facebook titled “Israel is the Real Terrorist State" featuring anti-Semite and Holocaust denier David Duke,the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

In the video, Duke claimed [00:11:34]: “Israel is the real terrorist state and Israel gets away with all this evil. Why? Because the same supremacist tribe that runs Israel dominates the American and globalist media like the New York Times and Washington Post. Because they control the Federal Reserve, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund…”

Duke claimed [00:12:54] that “insane Zionist extremists in their bloodlust” are manipulating the U.S. into war with Iran and that [00:04:09] there are “Israeli fingerprints” covering the 9/11 terror attacks.

Duke later added [00:13:15]: “We need sanctions not against Iran but against Israel. The Zionist fifth column has infiltrated our government, our media and now controls the finances of United States and Europe. And they want to control the finances of Iran too. The U.S. at the behest of its Zionist master just launched sanctions to destroy Iran’s central bank and impoverish millions of people in that nation.”

On May 7, 2016, Soltanmohammadi endorsed the book “The Invention of the Land of Israel — From Holy Land to Homeland” by the discredited historian Shlomo Sand.

On April 19, 2016, Soltanmohammadi shared a post on Facebook denying the Jews’ historical and religious connection to Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

The post, authored by anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propagandist Abbas Hamideh, claimed: “There is no Jewish history at the Al-Aqsa Compound. There’s nothing Jewish about the ‘Wailing Wall’ which is the side structure of Al-Aqsa. All that is fabricated.”

Soltanmohammadi posed for a photo with Hamideh at a 2015 SJP UMD event.

On August 7, 2014, Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “hey man if Syrians get to murder innocent, why shouldn’t the poor Jews that suffered the holocaust be able to do the same?”

Supporting Hamas and Hezbollah

On August 5, 2014, Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “All of Palestine is Hamas. All of the support is Hamas. We are Hamas. We are the resistance. We are the Intifada, and were going Global.”

On September 18, 2014, Soltanmohammadi posed for an Instagram photo, at home, with a Hezbollah flag in the background.

On December 20, 2015, Soltanmohammadi again posed for a Twitter photo, at home, in front of a Hezbollah flag.

Supporting “Intifada” Violence

Since the early 2000’s, the term “Intifada” has carried the connotation of political violence.

On August 4, 2014, Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “Palestine Ramallah West Bank Gaza. It's about time we globalize the Intifada.”

On October 18, 2015, Soltanmohammadi shared an image on Facebook of a man draped in a blood-soaked keffiyeh accompanied by the hashtag “#ThirdIntifada.” The post was shared from the page Israel Is A War Criminal.

In October 2015, there was an upsurge in violence across Israel incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The wave of stabbings, known as the “Knife Intifada,” was characterized by young Palestinians throughout the country stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians.

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On August 5, 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE), Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “So tell me again why it's Israeli ‘soldiers/army’ vs Hamas ‘militants/terrorists.’”

Israel commenced OPEin July 2014, to stop rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

On August 7, 2014, Soltanmohammadi shared a graphic on Twitter accusing Israel of “GENOCIDE.”

On March 21, 2016, Soltanmohammadi shared a video on Facebook from an anti-Israel rally where protesters held signs reading “Israel = Racism & Genocide.” Marchers also held signs accusing Israel of “Apartheid.” Soltanmohammadi attended the rally.

On May 15, 2016, Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “One day, hopefully, Israel will be as apologetic to the world as Germany is today. #Nakba68 #AlNakba #RightOfReturn.”

On June 4, 2016, Soltanmohammadi shared a Facebook photo of attempted-murderer Yasmin Rashad Al-Tamimi. The heading read: “Palestinian girl was shot dead because she was suspected of carrying a knife.” Tamimi was shot, after she attempted to stab an Israeli soldier. She recovered after surgery in an Israeli hospital.

On February 5, 2017, Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “Apartheid walls are crime. Whether in berlin germany, gaza, or mexico.”

On the same day, Soltanmohammadi tweeted: “Also esterday at the protest, I started a chant 'From Mexico to Palestine, Apartheid walls are a crime' two people flipped me off .”

Anti-Israel Activism

On July 3, 2016, Soltanmohammadi organized an International Quds Day rally in central Washington, D.C. He spoke at the rally, flanked by a sign accusing Israel of “GENOCIDE.” Soltanmohammadi spoke at another International Quds Day rally, in 2017.

The Iranian government initiated International Quds Day in 1979, as an annual protest against Israel’s existence. The protest has historically been a platform for anti-Semitism.

On April 19, 2016, Soltanmohammadi led an SJP UMD “die-in” to disrupt Israel Fest, an annual cultural event at UMD. He led chants of “when people are occupied, resistance is justified” and “Israel is a terror state.” Later, he stated: [00:00:02] “The celebration of Israel is a celebration of apartheid, racism and an in-group out-group mentality.”

When some onlookers at the demonstration questioned SJP UMD’s propaganda, one SJP activist exclaimed: “When the textbooks are written and taught by the Jewish or the Israeli faculty? Of course they’re biased!” Another SJP UMD activist accused Israel of “genocide.”

Soltanmohammadi led the chant: “Netanyahu what do you say, how many kids did you kill today?” The demonstrators called for shutting down Israel’s “border wall” and accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and having “racist policies.” Some demonstrators held signs painted with simulated blood stains, reading: “Zionism Kills.”

Following the rally, Soltanmohammadi led the protestors in a march on Israel Fest, where — against campus rules — they laid down on an adjacent walkway for the die-in. During the march toward Israel Fest, they chanted: “Israel is an apartheid state. Israel is a terror state. Israel is a racist state.”

During the die-in, Soltanmohammadi claimed: “Zionism is based on ethnic cleansing and racism.” Students laid on the ground near the Israel Fest participants and blocked student walkways.

Several SJP UMD activists refused police requests to get off the ground and clear the area. Many demonstrators continued to occupy the space, in defiance of university rules and engaged in heated confrontations with campus police.

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.

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.

MSA

The MSA was established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 1963 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with the goal of "spreading Islam as students in North America." A 2004 FBI investigation uncovered an internal Muslim Brotherhood document in which a brotherhood leader identified the MSA as "one of our organizations."

The MSA reportedly has “nearly 600 chapters” located in the United States and Canada, and is “the most visible and influential Islamic student organization in North America,” boasting conferences, special events, publications, websites and other activities.

The organization includes a number of previous chapter presidents with explicit links to terrorist groups. Included are al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Colorado State University), Somali al-Shabaab militant leader Omar Shafik Hammami (University of South Alabama) and Pakistani Taliban recruiter Ramy Zamzam of the MSA's Washington, D.C. council.