Raja Abdulhaq
Raja Abdulhaq’s Participation in the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University, Call for the Destruction of Israel & America, & Defense of Hamas
Abdulhaq reportedly volunteered with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), in 2010.
In 2008, Abdulhaq was reportedly the “founder and president” of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) in New York and “an active member” of anti-Israel organization Al-Awda New York.
In 2015, Abdulhaq was an activist with the Islamic Movement for Justice (IMJ).
As of the same date, Abdulhaq’s LinkedIn also said he received a master’s degree in “Political Science - International Relations” in 2018 from Brooklyn College.
As of November 2024, Abdulhaq’s LinkedIn said he was located in the New York metropolitan area.
Calling for the Destruction of Israel and America
On May 25, 2024, BreakThrough News uploaded a video to YouTube featuring Abdulhaq speaking at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan. The conference was co-organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM).In his speech, Abdulhaq said [01:03:07]: “ Israel is an extension of American and Western hegemony…Israel today is serving as a client state to America. So, in order for…the resistance to end American hegemony in the region, to end American new colonialism in the region, they must stand up to Israel because Israel is the first line of resistance…the first line of defense for the American empire.”
Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.
Defending Hamas
On October 9, 2024, during Israel’s war against Hamas,Abdulhaq posted on X: “The most crucial propaganda talking point that has been used to legitimize genocide against Palestinians is that Hamas/resistance are terrorists, thus, Israel needs to get rid of them. Similar to the War on Terror campaign. / Conceding that point in any debate makes it useless.”On October 9, 2015, IMJ shared a video on Facebook of Abdulhaq, where he praised [00:06:20] those constructing Hamas terror tunnels, saying: “...these people who are digging tunnels with their own nails, are teaching us dignity.”
Hamas terror tunnels are intended for mass murders and hostage-taking scenarios against Israeli civiliansand soldiers. They stretch from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
On May 27, 2015, Abdulhaq tweeted: “If you are pro-#Palestine and take Amnesty's report against #Hamas seriously, then you are looking at the cause through colonial lens.”
On August 26, 2014, following Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE), Abdulhaq wrote a blog post where he defended Hamas and said: “on multiple occasions, Hamas’ officials declared their ability to target Israeli civilians, but as a sign of strength and morality they targeted only soldiers.”
Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
On August 20, 2014, Abdulhaq tweeted: “In retaliation 2 Israeli crimes, Al-Qassam of #Hamas warns int'l. airlines 2 not fly 2 Ben Gurion airport which will be targeted by rockets.”
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the armed wing of Hamas. In the summer of 2014, Hamas fired over 4,564 missiles and rockets, including Grad rockets at Israeli population centers during Operation Protective Edge (OPE).
On August 4, 2014, Abdulhaq wrote on Facebook: “Does #Hamas encourage the use of ‘human shields’? Short answer: No. That's in Israeli propaganda to justify its mass-murder of Palestinians.”
Throughout the summer of 2014 — during Operation Protective Edge (OPE) — Hamas's deployment of human shields was extensively documented and publicized. Hamas encouraged Gazans to act as human shields to frustrate Israeli efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
Glorifying Terrorists(Hezbollah, PFLP)
On October 13, 2024, Abdulhaq posted on X, referring to Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists: “By celebrating hysterically, Zionists really thought the assassination of Hezbollah leaders would collapse the movement. / The recent escalation by Hezbollah, in defense of ground invasion & attack on military bases, shows not only strength but continuity of resistance movements.”On July 8, 2018, Abdulhaq tweeted: “46 years ago Ghassan Kanafani was assassinated by Israeli Mossad. Even though Israel mostly assassinate Palestinian armed fighters, Kanafani was an exception. He was killed because he lived and preached the idea of resistance to our people.”
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.
On May 28, 2015, an interview Abdulhaq gave on the Iranian based PressTV was posted on Youtube by IMJ. In the interview, Abdulhaq demonized [00:02:34] the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for questioning and in some cases imprisoning pro-Palestinian activists for their links to terrorism.
Abdulhaq then mentioned [00:02:49] Rasmea Odeh as an example, saying: “The FBI had to go back into, as we know in the case of Rasmea Odeh in Chicago, or they had to go back into her immigration status to find...any mistake she made to use it against her as a price for her activism for Palestine.”
Abdulhaq’s post continued: “They nurtured this hostility towards the West because of the decades-long colonization that spread nothing but poverty, genocide, ignorance and hate.”
Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany
On November 16, 2018, Abdulhaq wrote a tweet demonizing educational trips in Israel for Palestinians: “Just imagine back in the day an American Jew going on a paid trip by the Nazi propaganda machine to ‘challenge the mainstream perspective in Nazi Germany’ while fellow Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis, what would be our reaction?”Encouraging Violence
On November 13, 2019, Abdulhaq tweeted: “If Palestinian resistance did not shift the balance of deterrence, Israel would have committed another genocidal campaign against Gaza with impunity from the international community. Resistance protects our land, our people, and our dignity.”On October 9, 2015, IMJ shared on Facebook a video of Abdulhaq praising “resistance” at an anti-Israel protest, 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.
Abdulhaq said [00:02:49]: “it's very clear and very obvious that the only solution is what?’ The crowd responded [00:02:54] “Revolution!” Abdulhaq replied [00:02:55]: “The only solution is resistance…There is nothing that works except resistance!”
Abdulhaq went on to say [00:04:00]: “So we need to not be shy and we need to reclaim our narrative; that it’s not only our right to resist, it’s an obligation among all of us, to resist occupation.”
Abdulhaq added [00:04:17]: “Let’s make it very clear, I can care less about international law. International law against nothing but to serve the colonial agenda.”
Hatred of Zionists
On November 6, 2024, Abdulhaq posted on X, referring to the results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election: “Even though Biden and Democrats supported a genocide in Gaza and cracked down on pro-Palestine movement in the US, Zionists are still blaming the loss of Harris on not supporting Israel enough. / Nothing is enough for Zionists except the annihilation of all Palestinians.”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.
Hatred of Israel
On September 19, 2019, Abdulhaq tweeted: “...When trying to analyze any internal Israeli issue, one must start from the fact that it's a settler-colonial project that its very presence is equivalent to the destruction of everything Palestinian…”On March 15, 2019, Abdulhaq tweeted: “Zionist organizations that have been instrumental in the Islamophobia industry are trying to jump on the bandwagon of ;solidarity with Muslims’ after the New Zealand terror attacks. Do NOT let them in our spaces. They are complicit in these crimes.”
On November 2, 2018, Abdulhaq tweeted: “Our community needs to step up its game and help the movement. We need to invest in these amazing activists and organizations who are armed solely by belief in justice and to equip them with the tools needed to defeat Zionism.”
On July 20, 2018, Abdulhaq tweeted about the capture of Israeli soldier Oron Shaul: “Four years ago Israel committed a massacre in the Shuja'iya neighborhood of Gaza City, killing around 100 Palestinians and destroying most of the neighborhood.”
Abdulhaq continued: “The ‘reasoning’ behind the massacre was that the Palestinian resistance was able to win a battle against invading Israeli soldiers, killing 10 of them and capturing 1.”
Shaul was caught in a deadly ambush in Shejaiya, Gaza, by Hamas terrorists during Operation Protective Edge (OPE). Hamas celebrated the capture of Shaul and even produced a song. The IDF later determined that Shaul was dead and that his body was held by Hamas.
Abdulhaq added: “When Israel, with all of its technologically advanced weaponry and intelligence, loses to a handful of guerrilla fighters, they cowardly target civilians to compensate for their incompetency and inability to break the people of Gaza.”
Also in the October 9, 2015 video IMJ shared on Facebook, Abdulhaq said [00:01:50] “Israel is nothing but a dog to the United States…In fact it might be that…sometimes a dog bites the hand of the master and sometimes he might have a conflicting agenda, rather than the imperialist agenda of this country.”
Abdulhaq continued [00:02:32]: “The United States is nothing but another master to the client state of Israel. So we need to hold it accountable, as much as we hold Israel accountable for its crimes.”
During Israel’s OPE in Gaza, Abdulhaq was listed as a co-host of a Facebook event titled: “Protest Against NY City Council's Press Conference ‘New York Stands With Israel,’” on July 14, 2014.
The event’s Facebook description said: “New Yorkers refuse to have the city council speak on their behalf in supporting Israel's atrocities in the past week....”
Activists at the protest reportedly stood outside the venue chanting: “Not another nickel for Israel's crimes,” as well as “New York to Palestine, ethnic cleansing is a crime,” and “Zionism is racism!” One of the placards held by a protester said: “Israel = Ku Klux Klan.”
On July 21, 2014, Abdulhaq posted on Youtube a video of himself speaking at an anti-Israel rally organized [00:00:21] by AMP, Al-Awda and various chapters ofStudents for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
At the rally, Abdulhaq claimed [00:02:17] “The U.S. government…is giving billions of dollars, it gives a lot of military…equipment to Israel for one reason, to massacre and mass murder innocent people in Gaza and Palestine.”
Abdulhaq also said [00:06:00] about OPE at the rally: “Palestinians and the brave people of Gaza are resisting and fighting back! Are resisting and fighting back! And are kicking the Zionists out of Palestine and out of Gaza!”
Adulhaq later told the audience: [00:08:28] “Narrative is everything we have…please revisit your terms that you use to describe the occupation of Palestine. It’s not a ‘conflict.’ It’s not ‘both sides need to end violence.’ There’s no terrorism. Reclaim your narrative.”
Abdulhaq then continued [00:08:50]: “Our cause is ‘a refugees displacement and occupation’ cause. And we will not stop fighting and resisting unless the refugees are back, unless Palestine is free and until wolves visit the land of Palestine, but free of Zionists and free of occupiers. Long live Palestine, Long the Resistance, Long live Gaza … Free, free Palestine.”
Support for BDS
On November 16, 2018, Abdulhaq tweeted: “...BDS is not the ceiling for the Palestinian movement, it's the bare minimum. BDS is a moral obligation, not a strategy or a tactic, for any decent human being.”Also on November 16, 2018, Abdulhaq tweeted: “Finally, boycotting Israel and Zionists is a moral and religious obligation, not a tactic or strategy that people can debate its productivity.”
Abdulhaq added: “Normalization with Zionists, for any excuse, is a betrayal to Palestine, Muslims, and Islam. No other way of putting it.”
Proponents of the “anti-normalization” policy seek to police all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians and shut down all conversations and interactions perceived as being ideologically unaligned with their own agenda. They believe “liberal Zionist” dialogue with Palestinians “normalizes” entrenched power dynamics. This policy was originally dictated by the BDS National Committee (BNC), which prioritized the “Monitoring & Rapid Response” against interactions that recognize or cooperate with “Israel’s regime.”
AMP Activism
Abdulhaq was listed by AMP on their website as a speaker at the Palestine Convention 2018, an annual event organized by AMP.Other speakers at the 2018 convention were AMP founder Hatem Bazian, prominent anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour and AMP’s, Associate Director of Outreach & Grassroots Organizing, Taher Herzallah.
Abdulhaq was listed on a post on Al-Awda’s website, alongside Bazian, as a speaker at an AMP-organized “Press conference to discuss new Israeli Apartheid ad on Metro North Line,” on March 26, 2013.
The press conference was organized following the launch of a nationwide anti-Israel AMP print ad campaign.
The campaign was comprised of advertising posters which were to “appear at 25 stations on the New York City Transit Authority’s Metro North line” and scheduled to “run for four weeks before moving to another metropolitan area elsewhere in the nation.”
Raja Abdulhaq’s Participation in the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia
On April 28, 2024, Abdulhaq posted on Instagram a video of himself speaking [00:00:01] at the Columbia encampment. Abdulhaq can be seen holding a megaphone and wearing a red keffiyeh around his neck.Abdulhaq’s post said: “In support of students encampment [sic], this is part of my Friday Khutbah [sermon] at Columbia University while the NYPD [New York Police Department] were trying to stop me from using the megaphone.”
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 encampment was also in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
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.
AMP
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) was founded by UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian as a vehicle to generate mainstream support in the United States for the Palestinian national cause.
On its website, the organization lists Bazian as the chairman of its national board and describes itself as “a national education and grassroots-based organization, dedicated to educating the American public about Palestine and its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused AMP of promoting “extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans” about Palestinians. The ADL further stated that AMP is directly involved in campus-based anti-Israel activity through Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Prior to founding the AMP in 2006, Dr. Bazian created SJP together with fellow UC Berkeley Professor Snehal Shingavi in 2001. The close working relationship between AMP and SJP has been documented several times over the years by several organizations, including NGO Monitor and StandWithUs.
In addition to providing financial, public relations and legal assistance to SJP, AMP has also been accused of having connections to Hamas. The AMP national board includes former members of both the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) and Holy Land Foundation (HLF), both of which were found liable for aiding and abetting Hamas. The IAP was founded by Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a senior member of Hamas.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/26311180Twitter:https://twitter.com/Raja48
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- City-New-York
- Organizations:
- AMP,
- Al-Awda,
- more...
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- Last Modified:
- 04/29/2025
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