Neelima Anwara

Overview

Neelima Anwara is an IT specialist and business owner who ripped down posters meant to raise awareness of Israeli civilians kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and held hostage in Gaza. The December 2023 incident occurred in New York, New York. Anwara also blamed Israel for Hamas terrorist war crimes.

Hamas kidnapped the civilians, including women and children, during a series of terror attacks and war crimes that left over 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded. Hamas executed the terror attacks on October 7, 2023. 

Other Hamas war crimes included mass murder, torture, rape and beheadings. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”

Ripping Down Posters of Israeli Civilians Kidnapped by Hamas

On December 18, 2023, Anwara was filmed ripping down posters of Israeli civilians kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. The incident reportedly occurred in New York, New York. 

When confronted by the individual recording the incident on camera and told that the poster she was tearing down was private property, Anwara responded [00:00:09]: “Okay. You F-ing s**t! You be ashamed of yourself.” 

Anwara then walked away from the scene.

Blaming Israel for Hamas Terrorist War Crimes

Anwara signed an October 17, 2023 anti-Israel letter titled: “CUNY Faculty and Staff Reject the Palestine Exception to Free Speech.” 

The letter stated: “And there is also no equivalence between the October 7 military operation by Hamas and the subsequent military attack by the Israeli state, and certainly no equivalence to the systemic and the violence of Israeli settler colonialism. Israeli state violence has defined Palestinian life in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip since 1948.”

The letter went on to accuse Israel of carrying out a “collective punishment of civilians” during the war and “a second ‘Nakba’ that echoes 1948.”

The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by drawing a comparison to the Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, meaning “catastrophe.”

The statement concluded by saying: “We stand with them in opposition to Israeli occupation, apartheid, and war crimes, and in support of Palestinian liberation.”

Biographical Information

As of December 20, 2023, Anwara was listed online as an IT assistant in the Office of Information Technology at the CUNY (CUNY) School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) in New York, New York. As of December 24, 2023, Anwara was no longer listed on the CUNY SPS site as an Office of Information Technology employee.

In June 2025, StopAntisemitism posted on X: “Update: antisemite Neelima Anwara is no longer employed by CUNY School of Professional Studies.”

As of December 21, 2023, Anwara’s since-deleted LinkedIn profile said she was “#OPENTOWORK.”

Also as of December 21, 2023, Anwara was listed online as the process agent for Murphy Anwara Jewell LLC, company number 5505106.

As of the same date,Anwara was also listed online as the process agent for Kamranga LLC, company number 5645143.

As of December 20, 2023, Anwara’s since-deleted LinkedIn profile said she graduated from the City College of New York (CCNY), which is part of CUNY, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government, as well as a bachelor’s degree in fine/studio arts.

Social Media and Weblinks

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/neelima-anwara/ [Deleted]