Nicole Bindler
Overview
Nicole Bindler has spread hatred of Israel and glorified violent protesters. She has alsodemonized a Philadelphia philanthropist and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of April 2022, Bindler was a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Artists and Cultural Workers Council. The council’s website said they “support local and national Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) campaigns, especially cultural boycott…”
Bindler was an organizer with JVP Philadelphia (JVP Philly) in 2020 and a JVP Philly chapter leader in 2017. Bindler indicated on Facebook she has been a member since 2014.
Also, as of April 2022, Bindler’s personal website said she was “a Body-Mind Centering practitioner” and wrote on “dance, somatics and politics” for various publications, including Jewish Currents and Contact Quarterly.
As of the same date, Bindler’s Facebook page said she was a teacher at The Whole Shebang since 2015 and a writer at ThINKingDANCE since 2014.
Bindler’s Facebook also said she graduated from Hampshire College (Hampshire) with a bachelor’s degree in Dance and Poetry in 1999, and from the Muscular Therapy Institute with a degree in Muscular Therapy in 2002. It said she was a Former Adjunct Instructor in Dance Science and Somatics and Yoga at Temple University from 2013 to 2017 and a Former Senior lecturer in Improvisation/Performance Practice, Experiential Anatomy and Yoga at University of the Arts from 2011 to 2017.
As of April 2022, Bindler’s Facebook said she was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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.
In 2017, Bindler co-authored a petition opposing a statement by dance organization, the Glasgow Jam, declaring itself to be “politically neutral” in respect to Israel and the BDS movement. The petition said: “It is not possible to have an equal dialogue about Palestine/Israel if one of the parties is trapped behind a separation wall [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.
In the spring of 2018, Bindler published an article about the 2017 petition in Contact Quarterly, in which she accused Israel of “ military occupation and apartheid.”
Glorifying Violent Protesters
In May 2018, thousands of rioters attempted numerous breaches of Israel’s border fence during violent riots, instigated by Hamas on the Israeli-Gaza border. Participants declared their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
At JVP Philly’s protest, a JVP Philly activist read from poetry by Dareen Tatour and led [00:00:20] the other JVP Philly protesters in chanting Tatour’s words: “resist, my people, resist them; resist, my people, resist them.”
In October 2015, Tatour was placed under house arrest for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization on social media.
JVP Philly tweeted from the May 21, 2018 protest, saying: “We mourn the deaths of all the Palestinians who have been murdered by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] since the beginning of the #GreatReturnMarch. #Gaza.”
The majority of Gazans who died from March 30, 2018 to April 6, 2018 were confirmed as terror operatives, killed while rioting against Israeli forces, carrying out terrorist attacks or trying to infiltrate Israel by destroying the border fence on its border with Gaza.
On May 14, 2018, JVP Philly held a rally to condemn Israel’s response to the March of Return riots on the Israeli-Gaza border and to protest [00:03:30] the raising of the Israeli flag at Philadelphia’s City Hall.
JVP’s narrator of the event on its Facebook live stream said [00:00:23]: “we’re here ‘coz we think it’s a disgrace that our public officials are celebrating seventy years of occupation and apartheid and turning a blind eye to violence against unarmed protesters.”
Participants at the March sent kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes, threw Molotov cocktails and firebombs and shot firearms.
JVP activists displayed [00:01:38] a banner with the names of Palestinian protesters that had been killed between [00:07:36] March 30 and May 11, 2018. The narrator added [00:01:40] that they didn’t have time to include the names of another 50 Palestinians who had been killed at the May 14, 2021 Gaza border protest.
Demonizing a Philadelphia Philanthropist
JVP Philly protesters gathered there with signs that said: “YASS FUNDS FASCISTS” and “YASS FUNDS ISRAELI APARTHEID,” as well as “YASS CASH HARMS OUR PLANET” and “YASS CASH HARMS OUR SCHOOLS.”JVP Swarthmore also participated in the protest.
A JVP Philly Facebook post about the protest claimed: “...his money is making the world a more dangerous, violent, and unequal place…But we are watching…His neighbors are hearing about it. His employees are hearing about it. The word is out. #AllEyesOnYass 🧿.”
JVP Philly passed out a flyer to Yass’s neighbors that claimed Yass was financing “Israeli apartheid policies which cause great harm to Palestinians and any possibility of peace in the region.”
The flyer also said: “TIRED OF SEEING US HERE? TELL JEFF HIS CHOICES ARE NOT JUST HARMING THE WORLD, THEY’RE BUGGING HIS NEIGHBORS TOO. MAYBE THAT WILL MAKE HIM CHANGE HIS WAYS!”
The protest reportedly marked the launch of JVP Philly’s “All Eyes on Yass” campaign, following two other protests they had held earlier that year against Yass.
On June 4, 2021, JVP Philly held a protest with around 100 participants outside Yass’s home. JVP Philly accused Yass of funding “the displacement and murder of Palestinians” and demanded that he stop his support of pro-Israel initiatives.
Protesters stood in Yass’s front yard holding [00:00:24] a large sign that said: “ISRAELI APARTHEID FUNDED HERE” and shouted [00:01:30] “shame” while banging on tables.
In a Facebook live stream of the protest, Elana Baurer, a JVP organizer, said [00:00:35] the protesters were calling on Yass to “stop participating in the ongoing 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.
At the protest, Alissa Wise, a JVP leader, said [00:11:30] into a megaphone: “last week we were at his office…this week we’re at his house because his employees, his staff, his colleagues, his neighbors, they know what he’s doing,” and continued [00:12:20]: “we must build outrage in everyone in his community until we get what we want.”
On May 21, 2021, JVP Philly held a sit-in at the lobby of Yass’s office in Philadelphia. Protesters held anti-Israel banners outside the office and accused [00:00:40] Yass and his business partner, Arthur Dantchik, of “funding genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing” in Israel, as they chanted [00:00:52]: “Israeli apartheid is funded here, Jews say Free Palestine.”
JVP Philly activists also placed flyers on employees’ cars that accused Israel of “the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians…and violent murder and destruction.”
The protest ended with JVP Philly leader Alissa Wise leaving a voicemail on Yass’s personal number, saying [00:21:08]: “what you’re doing to the Palestinian people is a shande [disgrace]...we’re really disgusted by what you’re funding and we want to urge you to cease funding it now...and we’ll keep coming back as long as it takes.”
Supporting BDS
On June 20, 2021, Bindler commented on an article promoting BDS that she shared to Facebook: “... I hope readers take time to fully absorb all the information you're sharing about… the case for cultural boycott of Israeli state-funded artists...Thanks for all your work to bring these issues to light, and thanks to thINKingDANCE for publishing it!”On January 31, 2014, Bindler wrote on Facebook: “Omar Barghouti rocks!” Bindler’s post linked to an article promoting BDS written by Barghouti.
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.”
On January 30, 2014, Bindler posted to Facebook: “In case you were thinking about taking a hammer to your soda stream, just thought I'd give you a heads up that I just tried and it's f**king indestructible.”
Israeli company SodaStream, a manufacturer of carbonating devices with a main office located in the West Bank, has been the target of continuous BDS campaigns since 2011, including by JVP in 2014.
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish values.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
JVP Philly Chapter Overview
JVP Philly whitewashes terrorism, shows support for terrorists, demonizes Jewish organizations and actively promotes the BDS movement. In 2021, JVP Philly led a campaign of harassment against a Philadelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass and organized a series of anti-Israel protests.JVP Philly - Promoting BDS 2018
On April 4, 2018, JVP Philly posted to Facebook a link to the campaign page to stop the Philadelphia Orchestra from playing in Israel. JVP Philly wrote in their Facebook post that they had “signed onto this coalitional effort to uphold the #culturalboycott. Tell the Philadelphia Orchestra to cancel their upcoming trip to Israel.”On May 19, 2018, two protesters for the campaign disrupted a Philadelphia Orchestra performance by playing a pre-recorded message that accused [00:01:05] the orchestra of complicity in “carnage” by Israel and of collaboration [00:01:39] “with that murderous gangster state.”
On May 31, 2018, JVP Philly posted to Facebook that they had held weekly protests against the orchestra for three months and that anti-Israel protesters in European cities were also protesting wherever the orchestra was playing. JVP Philly wrote in their post: “Now, more than ever we must call for #culturalboycott and #BDS…”
JVP Philly - Promoting BDS 2021
JVP Philly signed a May 19, 2021 statement by Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine (PAO) that called on the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to “divest from companies that profit from and/or are complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”The statement accused Israel of the “ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” a “massacre of Gaza” and of having “genocidal intentions.” It also urged Penn students, faculty, staff and alumni to “call on the US government to place sanctions on Israel.”
JVP Philly - Spreading Incitement 2021
On May 15, 2021, JVP Philly co-hosted an event with other anti-Israel groups, including Philly BDS and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at Temple University and Drexel University in Philadelphia, titled: “PHILADELPHIA: #SaveSheikhJarrah.”Protesters held signs that said: “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED” and “WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW… RESISTANCNCE (SIC) BECOMES A DUTY!!!” Other signs said “F**K ISRAEL,” claimed that “ZIONISM IS GENOCIDE” and called to “END ZIONISM.”
Zionism is the belief in the right to self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. The word Zion originates in the Bible, where it refers to the land of Israel and Jerusalem.
Demonstrators also displayed signs that read: “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE” and “HANDS OFF OF OUR LAND.”
The chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. It is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel.
The cover photo on the Facebook page of the event JVP Philly co-hosted was a flyer featuring a graphic of Palestinians armed with rifles and text that read: “RESISTING COLONIALISM SINCE 1948.”
The Facebook event description called for protesters to “march against the state-sanctioned violence, settler-colonialism and apartheid occurring in Sheikh Jarrah and all of Occupied Palestine” and accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
JVP Philly - Whitewashing Terrorism 2019
On May 6, 2019, JVP Philly shared a Facebook post by anti-Israel agitator Linda Sarsour that said: “...Friday, Israel gunned down 4 Palestinians peacefully protesting. No condemnations. No one saying how immoral it is to kill Palestinians…”On May 3, 2019, two Israeli soldiers, patrolling near the Gaza border, were shot and injured from sniper fire in Gaza. In response, the Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas base nearby, killing two members of Hamas’s armed wing. Two other Palestinians were killed while participating in riots along the Gaza border.
On March 30, 2019, JVP Philly held a “GreatReturnMarch Memorial and Teach-In.” The Facebook event description claimed: “Since March 30th, 2018 tens of thousands of Palestinians have marched peacefully every Friday along the Gaza/Israel border…” A JVP Philly email promoting the event described it as “A Martyrology Inspired Memorial Teach-In.”
Approximately 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border on March 30, 2018 as part of the “March of Return,” which was organized and funded by Hamas. This was used as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
JVP Philly retweeted a January 30, 2019 tweet by JVP that said: “Another day, another Palestinian child murdered Samah Mubarak was killed by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] at a checkpoint for an alleged ‘knife attack’...”
On January 30, 2019, 16-year-old Samah Mubarak attempted to stab an Israeli security officer and was shot by Israeli Security forces.
JVP Philly - Demonizing Jewish Organizations 2018
On June 3, 2018, JVP Philly held a protest against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as part of JVP’s “Deadly Exchange” campaign.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.”
JVP Philly protested at the ADL’s annual “Walk Against Hate” event held to “celebrate diversity and challenge bigotry.” The ADL’s first Walk Against Hate took place in 2011 in Philadelphia.
As ADL representatives were speaking on stage at the event, JVP Philly activists stood [00:00:10] in front of the stage, holding a large banner that said: “ADL STOP THE HATE END POLICE XCHANGES W/ ISRAEL.”
JVP Philly also published a petition that claimed that U.S. participation in counter-terrorism seminars in Israel contributes to “the normalization of the Israel Defense Force’s daily brutality against the Palestinians.” The petition called for activists to “pledge to not participate in the Walk Against Hate...”
JVP Philly - Expressing Support for Terrorists 2017
On March 14, 2017, JVP Philly posted to Facebook a JVP press release titled: “JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE IS PROUD TO HOST PALESTINIAN ORGANIZER RASMEA ODEH.” JVP Philly commented: “A powerful, informative statement about the trials of Rasmea Odeh.”Odeh was a military operative with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist organization. In 1969, she masterminded a bombing that killed two university students in a Jerusalem supermarket. Odeh also attempted to bomb the British consulate.
The statement concluded: “Rasmea’s life is a story of Palestinian resilience: a story of persistence…building grassroots leadership…”
On April 5, 2017, JVP Philly posted a link to recorded sessions from the 2017 JVP NMM for those who didn’t attend and wrote: “We missed you so much! Check out Linda Sarsour, Rasmea Odeh, and more here--and hopefully we'll be together at 2019's NMM!”
Sarsour has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism” and frequently uses the word “Zionist” as a pejorative.
Zionism is the belief in the right to self-determination and statehood of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, Israel. The word Zion originates in the Bible, where it refers to the land of Israel and Jerusalem.
On April 17, 2017, JVP Philly promoted on Facebook an article written by Marwan Barghouti titled: “Why We Are on Hunger Strike in Israel’s Prisons.”
On May 8, 2017, JVP Philly posted to Facebook, promoting a JVP event featuring then-JVP Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomersoninterviewing Marwan Barghouti’s son, Aarab Barghouti, who started the “Saltwater Challenge” in support of the hunger strikers.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.bindlerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_bindler/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/nicolebindler
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/nicolebindler
Website: https://www.nicolebindler.com/
http://thedanceapocalypse.org/
Blog: http://nicolebindler.blogspot.com/
http://thedanceapocalypse.blogspot.com/
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/Bindler/about