Nora Nashawaty

Overview

Nora Nashawaty has spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for a terrorist and promoted terrorist financiers. She has also endorsed the Muslim Brotherhood (MB),spread hatred of Israel and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Nashawaty was a board member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Minnesota (UMN) in 2013. She was also an activist with SJP UMN in 2012 and from 2014 to 2016.

In 2013, Nashawaty was affiliated with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Nashawaty was affiliated with the Muslim American Society (MAS) - Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in 2012 and from 2015 to 2017. In 2016, she was an MAS-ICNA Media Committee member.

As of January 2020, Nashawaty’s LinkedIn page said she was affiliated with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at UMN from 2011 to 2015.

Also as of January 2020 Nashawaty’s LinkedIn page said she graduated from Northwestern University (Northwestern) with a master’s degree in “Genetic Counseling” in 2018.

Nashawaty’s LinkedIn page said that she was a Genetics Counselor at Regions Hospital in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, since June 2018.

As of January 2020, the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) website listed Nashawaryas a “Certified Genetics Counselor” in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The website also said she was certified from “9/1/2018” until “12/31/2023.”

Spreading Anti-Semitism

On March 23, 2013, Nashawaty responded to a tweet that said: “sabra Hummus is made by Jews, but it was originally arab. THEY STOLE IT. #typical.” Nashawaty wrote: “@Syriansweethrt what Arab thing haven't they stolen? Land? Lives? Our olive trees?

On November 15, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted: “Truth RT @shariahaisha The Holocaust must never be repeated unless the victims of the first arethe perpetrators #Zionists #Israel #Palestine.”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.

Supporting a Terrorist

On February 9, 2013, Nashawaty tweeted: “In his fight for freedom, the Palestinian Samer Issawi has been on a hunger strike for exactly 200 days. #OpHunger200.”

Samer Issawi is a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who received a 26-year prison sentence in 2002. During the second intifada, Issawi manufactured and distributed pipe bombs and fired indiscriminately on Israeli civilian vehicles. In December 2013, Issawi called for the kidnapping of Israelis, saying: “The [Palestinian] prisoners' release will be brought about by kidnapping and [prisoner] exchanges. Nothing will happen without that.”

Promoting Terror Financiers

On November 24, 2015, Nashawaty tweeted: “#FreeTheHLF5 bc all of our causes are linked #solidarity #syria #palestine #egypt #iraq #BLM #humanity @FreeTheHLF5.”

The HLF5 were five individuals associated with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) indicted for funnelling funds to Hamas in the guise of humanitarian aid.

The men were were all convicted and sentenced in 2009 to federal prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years.

Endorsing the Muslim Brotherhood

On November 24, 2015, Nashawaty tweeted a photo of herself displaying a hand gesture, the “R4BIA” symbol. The symbol of a hand with four fingers raised, is used by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters.

Nashawaty was also wearing a badge with the R4BIA symbol in the photo.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is a transnational Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928. It was designated as a terrorist organization by Egypt (2013), Saudi Arabia (2014), the United Arab Emirates (2014) and Bahrain (2017). Among its offshoots is Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction.

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On February 27, 2017, Nashawaty tweeted: “Palestine will never be free as long as Syrians are under Assad rule. His entire regime is a construct to keep Israel in power.”

On October 16, 2015, Nashawaty promoted a video on Facebook of an SJP UMN “Day of Action” and “die-in” that took place during the “Knife Intifada.”

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.

The “Day of Action’s” Facebook event description accused Israel of an escalation in “state violence” and “extrajudicial murders.” It also said: “We will pay respects to the Palestinian martyrs executed by Israeli forces, and shed light on the ongoing illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

On February 26, 2013, Nashawaty tweeted: “It must be a good day if the Zionists are crawling out of their caves.”

On October 26, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted that “Israel definitely links back to the majority of problems Muslims have.”

On October 23, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted: “I need to go on Facebook and rant about Israel. Bahaha I’d unfriended [sic.] by all the Zionist a**holes without lifting a finger >:)”

On September 23, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted that “The murderous #Syria|n regime has been with Israel from the very beginning!”

On August 28, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted: “I can’t believe Israel is hitting Gaza again. That ‘country’ is detrimental to Muslims all over the world. #FreePalestine #FreeSyria.”

On August 27, 2012, militants fired three rockets from Gaza into Israel on the first school day of the year. Throughout 2012, Palestinians fired rockets into Israeli civilian areas, culminating in Operation Pillar of Defense (OPD), which Israel launched that November to stop the attacks.

Promoting BDS

On February 16, 2016, Nashawaty changed her Facebook cover photo to an image of UMN’s 2016 divestment campaign. She urged people to sign the UMN Divest petition and call on the university to divest from companies that she claimed “are profiting off of human rights violations in Palestine.”

On March 1, 2016, Nashawaty tweeted: “Hats off to @SJP_UMN for pushing forward the BDS movement at the University of MN!! Hoping that the vote is to divest next week! #UMNDivest.”

On April 3, 2016, Nashawaty tweeted: “Learning so much about the statewide efforts in Minnesota to bring about BDS through MN Break the Bonds. #PalDay2016.”

SJP UMN Activity

On May 9, 2015, Nashawaty attended the SJP UMN annual banquet, where she received a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Al-Madinah Cultural Center (Al-Madina) at UMN, where she was the Vice President from “May 2013 – May 2014” and its President from “May 2014 – May 2015.”

On March 4, 2015, Nashawaty attended an SJP UMN event featuring journalist Dan Cohen, who spoke about his experiences reporting from Gaza during Operation Protective Edge (OPE).

Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

During the event, Cohen reportedly said the war was “not an attack on Hamas....it was an attack on Palestinian society.” He also reportedly claimed that “Israeli soldiers were allowed to take revenge” and that they intentionally shot civilians.

In November 2014, Nashawaty featured in an SJP UMN “Letters and Pictures for Palestine Event” on Facebook, as part of their “Palestine Awareness Week 2014.”

Palestine Awareness Week (PAW) is a re-branding for American audiences of Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), originally presented as “an international series of events that seek to raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people” and build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

On April 12, 2014, Nashawaty featured in an SJP UMN Facebook campaign where activists were photographed holding signs saying: “I support Palestine because…” with the hashtag “#iawumn” for Israel Apartheid Week (IAW).

On November 28, 2012, Nashawaty participated in an SJP UMN event titled: “Die-in for Gaza,” to protest Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense (OPD).

Israel launched OPD to stop Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians from Gaza. Over the course of eight days in November 2012, Palestinian terrorist groups fired more than 1,500 rockets at Israel. The majority struck Israel, damaging homes, schools and other civilian areas. Human Rights Watch noted: “Palestinian armed groups made clear in their statements that harming civilians was their aim.”

The Facebook event description for the “die-in” instructed participants to “pick up signs and/or get the name of the martyr that you will be wearing.” It also said participants would hold the signs and “fall to the ground to portray the deaths of those in Gaza.”

On November 26, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted: “Making posters for @SJP_UMN Gaza Die In this Wednesday!!”

On November 25, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted: “just gonna tell ya that SJP has always been my strongest asset.”

On November 19, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted a photo of an article about an SJP UMN protest against Israel’s OPD and wrote: “We made the papers again! Woot woot for political activism! @SJP_UMN @OmarAlamy.”

On November 15, 2012, Nashawaty tweeted a photo of herself and wrote: “#FreeSyria #FreePalestine @SJP_UMN.”

SJP UMN Honoring Terrorists: 2015 - 2016

On January 27, 2016, SJP UMN posted on Facebook support for Muhammad Al-Qiq. Al-Qiq was detained by Israel for his involvement in Hamas terror activity.

On October 14, 2015, SJP UMN held a “die-in” in support of Palestinians who were conducting a wave of stabbing attacks on Israelis, known as the “Knife Intifada.”

During the die-in, SJP UMN activists lay on the ground, while SJP UMN activist Motaz Nashawaty, spoke accusing [00:00:05] Israel of an escalation in “state violence” and [00:00:32] of “extrajudicial murders.”

Nashawaty continued: [00:00:41] “We will pay respects to the Palestinian martyrs executed by Israeli forces” and recited [00:01:57] the names of Palestinian terrorists, such as Fadi Aloon and [00:02:03] Muhannad Halabi, who he described [00:02:07] as “young Palestinians whose lives were unjustly taken away from them by Israeli security forces.”

Aloon stabbed a 15-year-old Israeli boy after posting “Either martyrdom or victory” on his Facebook page, and Halabi murdered two Israelis and injured two others, including a 2-year-old, during a stabbing spree. Halabi posted on his Facebook page “[t]he third Intifada is here…Let the revolution erupt.”

Nashawaty continued [00:02:43] “our people are dying in streets now in Palestine, but they are not helpless - they are resisting.”

On October 14, 2015, SJP UMN posted to Facebook photos from a rally in support of Rasmea Odeh and wrote: “Thank you to our friends for keeping us updated with some pictures from Rasmea's appeal today.” Participants in the rally held signs that read:“I support RASMEA” and “Minnesota stands with Rasmea Odeh.”

Odeh was a key military operative with the terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In 1969, Odeh masterminded a PFLP bombing that killed two college students in a Jerusalem supermarket.

One of the photos of Odeh that SJP UMN shared on Facebook was captioned: “This is what you call a #Warrior.”

On October 12, 2015, SJP UMN shared on their Facebook page a video that claimed Ahmed Manasra (sometimes spelled Mansara), purportedly “bled to death” and suffered abuse by Israeli soldiers.

Mansara was wounded while he engaged in a stabbing spree in Jerusalem, critically wounding a 13-year-old Israeli boy and moderately wounding a 25-year-old man.

Manasra was successfully treated at the same Israeli hospital as his victims and later convicted of attempted murder.

SJP UMN wrote in their Facebook post: “We cannot ignore these constant, heinous crimes, acts of racism, hatred, and inhumanity Palestinians are subjected to by Israeli settlers.”

SJP UMN Honoring Terrorists: 2012 - 2014

On November 10, 2014, SJP UMP posted on Facebook regarding Rasmea Odeh: “Our hearts go out to her” and said: “They find Palestinian activists as a threat and immediately label them as ‘terrorists.’”

Odeh was a key military operative with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. In 1969, she masterminded a PFLP supermarket bombing that killed two college students. She also attempted to bomb the British consulate in Jerusalem. Odeh later moved to the United States but was deported to Jordan in 2017 for immigration fraud.

On February 20, 2012, SJP UMN tweeted in support of Khader Adnan, a senior member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who was on a hunger strike.

A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?”

SJP UMN Promoting Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories: 2011-2012

On September 24, 2011, SJP UMN promoted a post on Facebook alleging that Israel controls America and influences American mainstream media, so that one “will always find the news tailored” in Israel’s favor.

SJP UMN urged their followers to “READ IT & SHARE IT.”

On March 9, 2012, SJP UMN was scheduled to host an event for Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), titled “United States of Israel.” IAW is a series of events on university campuses promoting BDS.

One event included a screening of a documentary, titled: “AIPAC: The Israeli Lobby,” which claims AIPAC, Congress, the White House and Israel “seem to have ended up in a suffocating embrace.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)’s mission is to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship and to enhance both nations’ security. Denouncing the influence of “the Israeli lobby” echoes an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish control over foreign governments, popularized in the book “The Israel Lobby” by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt.

SJP UMN Spreading Incitement: 2015

On November 1, 2015, SJP UMN tweeted: “Israel is a colonial bully, trying to take Al Aqsa under the guise of ‘sharing.’”

The allegation that Jews will destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, has been applied to Jews as a pretext for attacks by Arabs, even before the existence of Israel.

Such propaganda was the excuse for an upsurge in Palestinian violence in the fall of 2015, with Palestinian leaders fueling violence by promoting the libel that Israel intends to desecrate the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Hamas called on Palestinians to “take up arms” to defend Al Aqsa and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas praised those willing to martyr themselves. He also declared Jews would not be allowed to “desecrate” Al Aqsa with their “filthy feet.”

In October 2015, SJP UMN posted a photo on Instagram of their section on the Washington Avenue Bridge. One of their panels featured a map that erased Israel, portraying the whole country with no internal borders and entirely covered by a keffiyeh.

SJP UMN Campaigning Against a Jewish Heritage Trip: 2015

In February 2015, SJP UMN launched a campaign against the Jewish heritage trip to Israel, Birthright. Campaign flyers said: “FREE TRIP TO ISRAEL BUT WHO PAYS THE PRICE?”

The campaign condemned Birthright for presenting “a depoliticized image of Israel” and programming a trip that is “overall tailored to be pleasant experience devoid of conflict.” The campaign claimed that the program “would not discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and that “topics such as illegal settlements in the West Bank and restrictions on Gaza will not be covered.”.

SJP UMN encouraged Birthright participants to extend their trip and join tours with political groups such as Breaking the Silence (BTS) and The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), whose director Jeff Halper has called for the end of Israel.

Breaking the Silence was discredited by Israeli investigative TV show, HaMakor, in July 2016, in a report revealing that a substantial number of BTS testimonies are untrue or distorted.

SJP UMN Disrupting an Israeli Speaker: 2015

On November 3, 2015, SJP UMN endorsed the disruption of an event where three activists were reportedly arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing.

The event was a talk on ethics and the law of war by Israeli law professor, Moshe Halbertal. The disruption was organized by the Anti-War Committee (AWC), whose campaigns mainly to end US aid to Israel.

Protesters reportedly sat in the audience and then stood and shouted chants, preventing Halbertal from speaking and accusing him of being a “war crimes apologist.” FightBack News said: “The lecture was scheduled for one hour, but most of that time was taken up by interruptions.”

The article also said that after protesters were removed from the hall by university police, they continued disrupting the event by shouting [00:00:01] chants including “free, free Palestine” and [00:01:55] “Israel is an apartheid state” in the hallway, which were audible from inside the lecture hall. Anti-Israel propagandist Sabry Wazwaz, who has called for the destruction of Israel and the U.S., spread anti-Semitism, compared Zionists to Nazis and expressed support for a terrorist, led the chants.

SJP UMN Demonizing Israel: 2015-2016

In April 2016, SJP UMN built a “mock apartheid wall” for its “Divest Week 2016,” which the group called a “divestment special edition of our annual Israeli Apartheid Week,” promoting the 2016 UMN Divest BDS campaign.

IAW is a series of events on university campuses that promote Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel and claim to “raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system.”

On April 22 2015, SJP UMN wrote on Facebook that “Israel’s ‘birthday’ is established on the occupation and exile of an entire people,” in a post which also denied SJP involvement in the vandalism of a pro-Israel group’s display celebrating Israeli independence.

The next day, Rula Rashid, SJP UMN treasurer, reportedly approached a table set up by a pro-Israel campus group to educate students about Israel’s independence and said “you stole our land.”

On April 9, 2015, SJP UMN tweeted: “‘If it's centered around Judaism, why are only white Jews allowed to live in Israel? It's not a case about religion and Judaism.’ @MnarMuh.”

On March 4, 2015, SJP UMN hosted an event with Dan Cohen, a journalist with the anti-Israel Mondoweiss, speaking about his experiences reporting from Gaza during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE). OPE was launched by Israel to stop Hamas rocket attacks and destroy Hamas attack tunnels.

During his talk, Cohen reportedly said the war was “not an attack on Hamas....it was an attack on Palestinian society.” He also claimed that “Israeli soldiers were allowed to take revenge” and that they intentionally shot civilians.

SJP UMN Demonizing Israel: 2012-2014

In April 2014, SJP UMN featured a “mock apartheid wall,” meant to mock Israel’s security barrier and held a “die-in,” as part of that year’s Israel Apartheid Week (IAW). Israel’s security barrier was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks.

SJP UMN launched its annual Palestine Awareness Week in April 2011, a re-branding of IAW, with events demonizing Israel such as a “die-in.”

On November 28, 2012, SJP UMN held a “Die-in for Gaza,” to protest Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense (OPD), against Hamas to stop rocket attacks launched from Gaza on Israeli civilians.

The Facebook event description instructed participants where to “pick up signs and/or get the name of the martyr that you will be wearing” and said participants would hold the signs and “fall to the ground to portray the deaths of those in Gaza.”

On February 13, 2012, SJP UMN shared a video on Facebook, titled: “Sh*t Zionists Say,” that mocked [00:00:15] Israel supporters for feeling unsafe.

SJP UMN Opposing Normalization: 2015

On April 23, 2015, SJP UMN posted on Facebook a “definition of normalization.” The definition said that normalization was “gathering (either directly or indirectly) Palestinians (and/or Arabs) and Israelis, whether individuals or institutions; that does not explicitly aim to expose and resist the occupation and all forms of discrimination and oppression against the Palestinian people.”

The policy of “anti-normalization” aims to ensure that all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians align only their agenda, including ending the occupation and a full right of return for Palestinians, which is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. The policies are shared with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

SJP UMN Promoting BDS: 2016

On February 15, 2016, SJP UMN launched a divestment campaign, calling for the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) and UMN to support divestment from companies that SJP UMN claimed “profit from human rights violations in Palestine/Israel.”

SJP UMN’s statement announcing the campaign said UMN’s investment in the companies targeted by the campaign showed “implicit support for…the killing of civilians, and violations of their basic human rights.”

UMN’s Chief Investment Officer reportedly told The Minnesota Republic, a student-run newspaper at UMN, that the university had “no direct exposure” to the four companies targeted by the campaign.

On March 8, 2016, the MSA voted [00:26:24] to strike down the divestment resolution from the MSA agenda.

SJP UMN Promoting BDS: 2011-2012

On October 14, 2012, SJP UMN promoted a petition on Facebook calling on Minnesota’s NBA team, the Timberwolves, to boycott Israel and cancel a scheduled game against the Israeli team, Maccabi Haifa.

The petition was part of a campaign organized by Minnesota Break the Bonds (MN BBC), which sent a letter to each Timberwolves player. The letter said: “Don’t normalize apartheid!” and urged them to boycott the game. It also said they were being used by Israel’s “propaganda machine.”

MN BBC was reportedly formed in 2006 to pressure the State of Minnesota to break economic ties with Israel.

On November 29, 2011, SJP UMN posted on Facebook promoting an MN BBC Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

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.