Nuha Adwan
Overview
In 2017, Adwan was affiliated with the Muslim Student Association (MSA) at UMD.
As of August 2019, Adwan’s LinkedIn page said she was a student at UMD from “2016 - 2018” and received her Associate of Science in Biology/Biological Sciences in 2016 from Montgomery College.
Promoting BDS
On April 24, 2019, Adwan was featured [02:41:28] in a video posted on Facebook by the UMD Student Government Association (SGA), urging the SGA to pass a BDS bill. The bill was launched by Divest UMD.Divest UMD is a campaign that calls on UMD to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
In the video, Adwan said [02:41:32]: “While some in this room are of the opinion that this bill is anti-Semitic, anti-dialogue and only serves to sever negotiations between Israel and Palestine, the sad reality is that after the last 70 years there have been no negotiations or dialogue that have brought us any closer to a solution to this conflict.”
Adwan continued [02:41:47]: “...and that while this divestment bill, whose sole aim is to pressure Israel to recognize its obligation under international law is not anti-Semitic.”
Adwan went on to say [02:41:54]: “Anti-BDS legislation, on the other hand, is anti-Palestinian and anti-advancement of human rights in the region. This is not a conflict between two regions on similar footing, in which simple dialogue will offer an opportunity for everyone’s voices to be heard.”
Adwan added [02:42:07]: “...If it was, we would not be here today. Instead, this is an issue where Palestinians are constantly bearing witness to the loss of their lives, homes and heritage as the US continued to create laws in favor of the state of Israel that undermine any hope of peace in the region. I’m in front of you to ensure the population I represent is no longer silenced but instead finally gets its seat at the table.”
On April 25, 2019, Divest UMD announced on Facebook that following a UMD student government meeting to vote on the Divest UMD BDS bill held a day earlier, the bill failed with a “a vote of 9 for, 25 against, and 2 abstentions.”
Spreading Hatred of Israel
On August 8, 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE), Adwan shared a graphic on Facebook depicting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pointing a rocket at a Palestinian baby tied to a post. Former United States President, Barack Obama is standing behind Netanyahu, saying: “Bravo Netanyahu! Defend yourself! Do not let them attack you!”On August 1, 2014, Adwan shared a Facebook status that read: “I always thought that Israel controls Gaza. But today, I have realized that Israel controls all Arab countries except Gaza.”
On July 21, 2014, Adwan shared a graphic on Facebook that featured a montage of quotations, including a fabricatedquote, attributed to Albert Einstein, that read: “‘It would be my greatest sadness to see Zionists do to Palestinian Arabs, much of what Nazis did to Jews.”
On July 14, 2014, Adwan shared a petition on Facebook calling to “FREEZE ALL AID TO ISRAEL…”
On July 6, 2014, Adwan wrote on Facebook: “We need 97,000+ more signatures. Share this petition if you care about the lives of innocent people. Sign it so that we can stop Israel's cruel rampage.” The post linked to a petition titled: “recognize that Palestinian lives matter equally to Jewish lives and to stop Israel’s rampage…”
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.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/100006544110182LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nuha-adwan-43a05713b/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nuha_adwan/
