Radhika Sainath

Sainath is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Sainath was a co-editor of a 2004 collection of essays promoting the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an activist group with a history of allying with anti-Israel terrorist organizations. The publication that Sainath co-edited was titled: “Peace Under Fire: Israel, Palestine, and the International Solidarity Movement.”

Sainath received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley) School of Law in 2008. She also graduated from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  

As of November 2022, Sainath was located in New York, New York.

Terror Support (PFLP)

On November 14, 2014, Sainath tweeted: “Dima Khalidi: ‘[Rasmea] Odeh’s guilty verdict doesn’t mean her battle for justice is over’ @pal_legal…#Justice4Rasmea.”

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.

Hatred of Israel

On July 14, 2021, Sainath was a speaker at an online panel, where she said [00:16:33]: “...Palestinians for over 70 years have been living in a situation of, you know, colonialism and apartheid and ethnic cleansing.”

On October 23, 2020, Sainath spoke at a New York University webinar, where she said [00:41:32]: “Well, we say to you go forth with your organizing, keep on talking about how Zionism is racism, keep on, you know, advocating for boycotts for Palestinian rights, wear your keffiyehs, feel free to talk about how Israel is an apartheid state, you are allowed to do that.”

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.

The keffiyeh is a Palestinian headdress traditionally worn by men, which has become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.   

On March 28, 2019, Sainath tweeted: “Important @NYTmag piece on attempts to silence support for Palestinian rights, Black-Palestinian solidarity & the system of discrimination & apartheid Palestinian citizens of Israel live under…”

Sainath retweeted a May 14, 2018 tweet that said: “What is the Nakba? What are Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere protesting over? I want to share with you one Nakba story, #MyNakbaStory in this thread.”

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.

On April 13, 2018, Sainath tweeted: “For the third Friday in a row, Palestinians in #Gaza face Israeli army bullets and teargas as they march for the right of all refugees to return home…#GreatMarchOfReturn.”


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.

On December 19, 2017, Sainath tweeted: “I went to buy ‘P is for Palestine’ for my infant. My story on @lithub about what happened next…”


On December 6, 2017, Sainath tweeted: “Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem is another step toward cementing the current one-state reality Israel has created, leaving 2 choices for the future: permanent apartheid or equal rights and citizenship for all, regardless or religion or ethnicity.”

In December 2017, the U.S. government announced its decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

On August 4, 2014, Sainath tweeted: “Indeed. ‘Israel’s Colonialism Must End…’” 

On July 14, 2014, Sainath tweeted, accusing Israel of “attacks targeting civilians in Gaza” during a conflict with Hamas.

Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.  

On January 30, 2014, Sainath tweeted: “Applause for the academic boycott of Israel…”

On October 17, 2013, Sainath tweeted: “PR firm hired by Egypt coup regime has close links to Israel lobby and democratic party…”



On November 18, 2012, Sainath tweeted: “Israeli incitement to mass murder: From ‘cutting the grass’ to ‘flatten all of Gaza’ to a ‘bigger Holocaust’…”


On August 8, 2012, Sainath tweeted: “Churches in India draw comparisons between Zionism & Hindutva. #BDS…”

Hindutva is a prevalent form of extreme ethnic nationalism in India, which has been described as “almost fascist in the classical sense.” 

Sainath retweeted a February 18, 2012 tweet that said: “Sad that #Bahrain gov advocates reading from Zionist scripts. Urging u not to be blind like them…”

Legal Aid to Anti-Israel Activists

Palestine Legal provides legal aid to anti-Israel activists to help whitewash, downplay or dismiss their anti-Semitic and violent rhetoric posted to social media by portraying their remarks as being merely “protected speech critical of Israel.”

In 2021, Palestine Legal defended Yasmeen Mashayekh, a student who was [00:11:08] then embroiled in a national controversy over anti-Semitism she spread on social media. In May 2021, Mashayekh tweeted: “I want to f**king kill every motherf**king Zionist.” She also tweeted: “yel3an el yahood [curse the Jews].” Palestine Legal claimed Mashayekh was targeted “for speaking out for Palestinian rights.”

In 2020, Palestine Legal provided support for SJP and Within Our Lifetime (WOL) leader Nerdeen Kiswani, after a video she posted went viral in which she threatened to set a man’s Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sweatshirt on fire. Palestine Legal said Kiswani was the target of a “Zionist smear campaign” for her “jest.” Palestine Legal states that it has “proudly supported” Kiswani since 2014.

In December 2020, Palestine Legal provided support for Ahmad Daraldik, an SJP activist at Florida State University (FSU) who was at the center of a controversy following the exposure of Daraldik’s anti-Semitic social media posts, such as “stupid jew thinks he is cool.” Palestine Legal defended Daraldik, framing his posts as “remarks critical of Israel’s occupation.”

In 2017, Palestine Legal provided legal defense for seven members of IfNotNow (INN) who were arrested for trespassing, after they attempted “to occupy the lobby” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) West Coast office and blocked the entrance for about 40 minutes.

The stated mission of AIPAC is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”

In September 2013, Palestine Legal published a “Legal and Tactical Guide: Palestinian Human Rights Advocacy in the U.S.” The guide advised students on staging anti-Israel mock checkpoints, protests, marches and demonstrations.

Israeli checkpoints were built to prevent terror attacks, such as suicide bombings, against Israel's civilian population.

In 2009, Sainath was [00:04:05] one of the lawyers sent to defend the Gaza Freedom Movement as part of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Gaza delegation.

The “Free Gaza Movement” [Gaza Freedom Movement] has organized boats to Gaza meant to “break the siege,” including a May 2010, “Freedom Flotilla.” Activists on board the lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, were found to be carrying crude weapons and initiated an organized, violent confrontation with Israeli forces.  

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/radhikasainath

Personal Website: https://palestinelegal.org/staff