Nidaa Lafi
Nidaa Lafi’s Support for Terrorists and the Student Intifada
Nidaa Lafi has expressed support for terrorists online. In 2024, she celebrated the “student intifada” as an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), a pro-terror activist group. She was also an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in 2022.Lafi is a supporter [slide 2] of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In January 2023, Lafi participated [slide 4] in an anti-Israel rally in Texas where participants showed support for terrorism and called for Israel’s destruction.
In November 2022, Lafi was affiliated [slide 1] with the activist group Within Our Lifetime (WOL). WOL’s “Points of Unity” states: “We defend the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation by any means necessary.”
As of February 2023, Lafi’s LinkedIn page said she was a pre-law student at UTD, graduating in May 2023.
As of the same date, Lafi’s LinkedIn said she had been working as a paralegal at Elbially Law Office since December 2021. She was also listed as a Bill Archer Fellow at the Archer Center since August 2021.
As of February 2023, Lafi’s LinkedIn said she was located in the “Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.”
As of the same date, Lafi went by the username “nidaa 𓂆” on Twitter where he used the handle “@nidaaistired.”
Support for Terrorists
On November 24, 2022, Lafi featured [slide 1] in a photo posted by WOL on Instagram. In the photo, Lafi held a sign that read: “FREE SHUKRI ABU BAKER FREE THE HLF5 #FREESHUKRI #FREETHEHLF5.”The Holy Land Five (HLF5) were five individuals associated with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) indicted for funneling funds to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid. The men were all convicted and sentenced in 2009 to federal prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.
Lafi retweeted an October 19, 2022 tweet that said: “May Oday al-Tamimi rest in power. Glory to all of Palestine’s martyrs! Today, Oday was martyred defending his homeland against occupation forces. In the hours since his martyrdom, Palestine has erupted.”
On October 8, 2022, Palestinian terrorist Udai al-Tamimi killed Noa Lazar, an 18-year-old female Israeli soldier, and shot a civilian security guard in the head. Al-Tamimi also shot another guard in a second attack before he was killed by Israeli security forces later that month..
Lafi retweeted an August 9, 2022 tweet that said: “All our lives, we wonder what our last words might be if we are martyred. Ibrahim Nabulsi’s were: ‘I love my mother. Take care of homeland after me. I request for the sake of our honor, no one abandon the gun. I am here besieged, I am going to be martyred. Pray for me.’”
Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, a “commander” of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, was known as “the lion of Nablus.” On August 9, 2022, he was killed [p. 5] in a gun battle with Israeli forces. The Brigade is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department.
Lafi retweeted a September 28, 2021 tweet by anti-Israel agitator Mohammed El-Kurd that said: “Today marks 21 years since the start of the Second Intifada. Glory to those who resisted and sacrificed. Glory to the martyrs, the women and men whose makeshift weapons confronted artilleries, the children whose stones intimidated tanks. The struggle continues, until liberation.”
The second intifada took place from 2000 to 2005 where Palestinian terrorists carried out over 130 suicide bombings, murdering over 1,000 Israeli civilians and soldiers. Terrorists targeted city buses, shopping centers, dance clubs and cafes. Palestinian leadership encouraged children to carry out “martyrdom” operations against Israel.
Lafi retweeted a September 10, 2021 tweet that said: “
BREAKINGTwo of the six political prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison, Mahmoud Arda and Yacoub Qadri, were rearrested by occupation forces in Nazareth today. Following the news of their arrests, protests have erupted across Palestine.”Yaquob Qadiri and Mahmoud al-Arida were among the six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel’s maximum-security Gilboa prison on September 6, 2021. They were both recaptured by Israeli police four days later. Qadiri was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for his role in a September 2002 attack on Israelis. Al-Arida was first imprisoned by Israel in the early 1990s but was released in following the Oslo Accords. In 1996 he was imprisoned again for life for his role in attacks on Israel on behalf of the terror organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Lafi retweeted a July 8, 2021 tweet that said: “On this day, we observe the anniversary of the martyrdom of Palestinian revolutionary writer and critic, Ghassan Kanafani.”
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.
Celebrating the Student Intifada
On May 26, 2024, BreakThrough News uploaded a video to YouTube featuring Lafi speaking as a moderator at a plenary session titled: “The Student Intifada: Zionism Off Our Campus,” at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan.The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.
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. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.
PYM co-organized the conference during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, launched after Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023. For more information on the terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
In her speech, Lafi referred to the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia University (Columbia) and said [00:19:03]: “For the past eight months…The student movement has played a crucial role in re-energizing the broader movements for Palestinian liberation both in the US and around the world. What began as a small encampment at Columbia University, quickly spurred into a chain series of escalations on college campuses with clear goals.”
On April 17, 2024, Columbia students and anti-Israel activists set up a pro-Hamas “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the university's main lawn. Many participants were arrested and the encampment featured multiple violent incidents, including taking over a campus building and taking a university worker hostage.
Activists protested Israel’s war against Hamas and demanded that Columbia “divest from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation…”
The action had reportedly been planned for months and was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. The encampment was also organized by Columbia’s banned pro-Hamas activist group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the university chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Activists reportedly received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.
At the PYM conference in May 2024, Lafi also said [00:20:12]: “Defining a new character for the struggle for Palestinian liberation in the diaspora, Students for Justice in Palestine and other student groups have risen to meet the demand that this moment begs of us which is to pressure every institution and everybody that is complicit in the genocide and make Palestine unavoidable in every sense of the word.”
Lafi continued [00:20:34]: “And so, these couple of weeks have kicked off what is now being referred to as the Student Intifada, characterized by the fight for divestment and the creation of popular universities on college campuses everywhere. You see, the truth is, the student movement has historically been at the forefront of the struggle.”
Lafi then said [00:21:59]: “Our students are only becoming stronger. And in fact, not only are they getting stronger, but they are also defining a new level of escalation that they are willing to take for our people in Gaza.”
Lafi also said [00:22:16]: “The students have made their commitment to our people clear. They are saying ‘We will risk arrests! We will risk suspensions! We will risk losing our scholarships, having our diplomas withheld, and we will do whatever it takes to end the onslaught of our people and to push forward the demand for liberation and return.’”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Anti-Israel Activism (SJP, BDS)
On September 19, 2022, Lafi featured [slide 2] in a photo standing next to a smartboard that read: “Divestment Campaign Last Year” and “UT Divest.” The photo was from an SJP UTD Palestine 101 workshop on September 12, 2022.The UT Divest campaign was a call for UTD to divest from companies that support Israel.
On August 16, 2022, Lafi featured [slide 1] in a group photo at a Texas SJP leaders retreat. The retreat took place from August 12-14 at the University of Houston (UH) and prepared the SJP leaders for the upcoming year for “challenging Zionism on campus and in our communities and building a mass movement for Palestine liberation.”
At the retreat, Lafi can be seen [slide 4] in a photo sitting on stage next to anti-Israel activist Mohammed Nabulsi and senior American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) activist Taher Herzallah. Nabulsi and Herzallah have both expressed support for terrorists and called for Israel’s destruction.
On April 9, 2022, Lafi featured [slide 1] in an Instagram photo tabling at an SJP UTD booth at the UTD student union. The booth featured a banner that promoted the UTDivest campaign.
On April 4, 2022, Lafi featured in a group photo holding a poster that read: “Israeli Apartheid Week SJP UTD.”
In the photo, Lafi held up her fist while standing next to WOL co-founder and chairperson Nerdeen Kiswani. In her activism, Kiswani has promoted terrorism and called for the death of Zionists.
January 23, 2023 - Shutdown IAC Rally
On January 23, 2023, Lafi participated [slide 5] in an anti-Israel rally in Austin, Texas, outside the Israeli American Council (IAC) summit in the Fairmount Hotel. The rally was dubbed “Shutdown IAC.” Lafi featured [slide 5] in a photo at the rally where she held a megaphone and stood behind a banner.Speakers included Nabulsi, Lina Assi, Frances Cava Humphrey and SJP UTD activist Khaled Shihabi who spoke [00:02:16] on behalf of the group.
At the rally, Shihabi said [00:03:32]: “We have heeded the call for BDS as our method of struggle. Which means to boycott, divest, and sanction the State of Israel.”
Shihabi continued [00:04:22]: “We must demand the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” is a chant used [00:02:47] to call for the elimination of 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. In April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the chant as antisemitic.
During the rally, protesters chanted: “Occupation is a crime, Zionism is a curse!”
Protesters also chanted: “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” and “Intifada intifada, long live the intifada!”
Nabulsi then led the protestors in chanting: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!”
Nabulsi led protestors in chanting: “Traitor traitor traitor!” at Israeli-Arab activist and IAC attendee Yoseph Haddad. Assi then raised her middle finger toward Haddad.
The protestors then chanted in Arabic: “min an-nahar lil-maye Falasteen arabiyah [from the river to the sea, Palestine is Arab]!” They also chanted: “barra barra ya muhtall thawra thawra ma fish hal [The occupier get out, get out, there is no solution but the revolution]!”
An activist from SJP at the University of Houston (SJP Houston) accused Israel and America of having a “shared mission to oppress and harm colonized peoples for imperialistic purposes.”
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.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nidaa.lafi.73Twitter: https://twitter.com/nidaaistired [Private]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nidaa.lafi/[private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nidaalafi/
