Olivia Robbins
Overview
Olivia Robbins led a 2021 anti-Israel protest. She has also demonized Israel and a Philadelphia philanthropist.Robbins was affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in Philadelphia (JVP Philly) 2021.
As of April 2022, Robbins was listed as a contact for JVP at Swarthmore College (Swarthmore) and was affiliated with JVP Swarthmore in 2019.
As of June 2021, Robbins was affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
In the summer of 2019, Robbins interned at Zochrot, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Israel that promotes the “right of return,” a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
As of April 2022, Robbins’ LinkedIn said she was studying for a bachelor’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, Latin American & Latino Studies and Religion at Swarthmore, slated to graduate in 2022. As of the same date, Robbins’ LinkedIn said she was Intercultural Center Intern since August 2018 and Beit Midrash Intern since January 2020 at Swarthmore.
As of April 2022, Robbins’ LinkedIn said she was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Also as of April 2022, Robbins used the handle “OliviaRobbins99” and screen name “Olivia Robbins” on Twitter as well as the handle “olrobs” and screen name “liv” on a second Twitter account. She also used the handle “liv.an.gela” and screen name “olivia” on Instagram.
Leading an Anti-Israel Protest
On June 12, 2021, Robbins led a protest titled: “Block the Boat.” The protest was co-hosted by SJP Philadelphia, Temple SJP JVP Swarthmore, JVP Philly and other anti-Israel groups.The event description said: “From the ports of Gaza to the ports of Oakland, workers are rising up to end Israeli apartheid! Show up next Saturday at City Hall in solidarity with workers across the world from California to Italy to South Africa who are refusing to unload Israeli ships!”
At the protest, activists chanted: “5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terror state,” and [00:00:04]: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Activists also trampled the Israeli flag and chanted [00:0:02]: “when people are occupied, resistance is justified.”
On June 13, 2021, Robbins commented on an Instagram post from the protest: “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.
Demonizing Israel
On September 16, 2019, Robbins wrote an article for Voices, Swarthmore’s online student publication, about her internship experience at Zochrot, in which she accused Israel of “occupation and settler colonialism” and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “brutality” and “cruelty.”On September 25, 2019, Robbins wrote an article for Voices, in which she claimed: “Mohammad Samir Obeid, a 21-year-old Palestinian from Issawiya, Jerusalem, was shot and killed by Israeli border police. About two weeks earlier, Israeli forces had begun nightly raids in Issawiya, terrorizing the residential neighborhood and arresting dozens of civilians without reason.”
Israeli police had been conducting raids in Issawiya to track down members of a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror cell. Obeid was killed when he launched fireworks at Israeli police officers.
The PFLP has been designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the United States, Canada, Israel, the European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Australia.
DFLP is known for organizing the 1974 Ma’alot Massacre, in which 28 Israeli civilians were killed, including children. DFLP terrorist Samer Issawi received a 26-year prison sentence in 2002 for manufacturing and distributing pipe bombs, and firing at Israeli civilian vehicles during the second intifada.
DFLP published a poster (in Arabic) that said [00:01:07] Obeid was a member and lauded his martyrdom while he was “protecting Jerusalem from Israelization and Judaization” and “confronting the occupation forces.”
Demonizing a Philadelphia Philanthropist
In 2021, Robbins participated [00:11:07] in two JVP Philly protests held outside the private residence of Philadelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass, including one on the Jewish festival of Sukkot. The protests were part of a JVP Philly campaign of harassment against Yass. On September 23, 2021, during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, JVP Philly activists erected a tent on the private lawn of Jeffrey Yass to protest his funding of various causes in the United States and Israel.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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 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.”
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 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.”Incitement around Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah were leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at Israel’s major centers on May 10-21, 2021. In response, Israel launched “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” striking military targets in the terrorist-controlled enclave.
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
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.”
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olivia.robbinssTwitter: https://twitter.com/oliviarobbins99
Twitter 2: https://twitter.com/olrobs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liv.an.gela/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-robbins
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/olrobs/
Extra Videos
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- Swarthmore
- Organizations:
- JVP
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
Photos & Screenshots
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