Ramin Zareian

Overview

Ramin Zareian has expressed support for violent protests, demonized Israel and promoted anti-Israel activists.

Zareian was an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2018. SJP UGA was previously known as Athens for Justice in Palestine (AJP).

Zareian attended the 2019 National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN), as well as the 2018 National SJP conference.

National SJP held their conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3, 2019. The conference was themed: “Beyond Struggle: From Roots to Branches Towards Liberation.”

Zareian is also a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and was reportedly a campus BDS organizer in 2019.

As of October 2020, Zareian’s LinkedIn page said he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Georgia (UGA), slated to graduate in 2021. Zareian posted on his LinkedIn page that he was “Aspiring to attend law school after graduation.”

As of October 2020, Zareian’s LinkedIn page also said he was President of the Young Democrats of UGA (Young Democrats of UGA & ACC), the Athens, GA affiliate of Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), since May 2020. In 2019, Zareian was the secretary of Athens YDSA, the “official chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America for Athens and the University of Georgia.”

Also, as of October 2020, Zareian’s LinkedIn page said he was Vice President of Athens for Everyone since May 2020 and Director of Government Relations for UGA’s Student Government Association (SGA), since April 2020.

In February 2020, Zareian was an activist for the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) Atlanta chapter.

As of October 2020, Zareian used the name “Ramin Z.” on LinkedIn and“رامین زارعیان” [Ramin Zareian] on Twitter.

Supporting Violent Protests

On May 16, 2018, Zareian wrote on Facebook that he marched in a May 15, 2018 anti-Israel protest to “raise awareness of the travesties happening in Gaza and throughout all of Palestine.”

On March 30, 2018, about 30,000 Gazans approached Israel’s border fence to join in “Land Day Protests,” which were also called the “March of Return.” The march was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the “right of return,” a policy discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

In his May 16th Facebook post, Zareian continued: “We cannot ignore the reality of over 50 unarmed Palestinians being brutally killed by Israeli forces on Monday simply for protesting against the unlivable conditions they have to face.”

On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.

March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Participants also attempted to breach the border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire. Agitators also threw Molotov cocktails and firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks.

At the May 15, 2018 protest, demonstrators reportedly marched around Centennial Park in Atlanta, GA and chanted: “from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!”

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle 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.

On May 16, 2018, Zareian shared an Intercept post to Facebook that said: “Israel can fire missiles, drop bombs, and seize land when subjected to a blockade, but Palestinians are called terrorists when they throw rocks and burn tires in response to a much more suffocating siege.”

The post linked to an Intercept article titled: “Gazans have the right to invade Israel - at least if you believe one of Israel’s justifications for the Six-day war.”

The Intercept post referred to the six day Arab-Israeli war of 1967,which stemmed from Egypt's decision to expel United Nations troops from the Sinai peninsula and blockade Israel's port of Eilat.

The Intercept’s reference to a “siege” on Gaza referred to a blockade on Gaza in 2011, when Israel and Egypt implemented a U.N.-approved joint blockade of the Gaza Strip to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.

Demonizing Israel

On October 5, 2020, Zareian wrote an op-ed titled: “The Abraham Accords: 'Peace' Agreements Not Really About Peace.”

On August 13, 2020, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to a joint statement referred to as the “Abraham Accords” in which the UAE formally normalized its relationship with Israel.

In his October op-ed, Zareian alleged: “As part of its military occupation, Israel steals land and forces Palestinians into ghettos, surrounded by checkpoints, settlements and watchtowers, and an illegal apartheid Wall.”

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

Israel’s security barrier, 97 percent of which is a low chain-link barrier, was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.

In the op-ed, Zareian also claimed that “Israel has imposed a medieval siege on Gaza, turning it into the largest open-air prison in the world” and accused Israel of instituting “a system of racial discrimination,” of “war crimes and crimes against humanity” and “ethnic cleansing.”

On June 1, 2020, several days after George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man was killed in Minnesota while being arrested, Zareian tweeted: “U.S. Police are Being Trained by Israel—And Communities of Color Are Paying the Price.”

Zareian’s tweet linked to an article that blamed Israel for violence that has occurred against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S. and argued that the “systematic repression of Palestinians by Israel warrants the U.S. public’s refusal to accept such training programs for their police departments.”

The article also referenced the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)’s 2017 “Deadly Exchange” campaign. The “Deadly Exchange” campaign accused mainstream Jewish organizations in the U.S. of promoting human rights abuses and coordinating [00:02:33] exchange programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance “worst practices” and “racist policies.”

The campaign page claimed that these “policies” included: “extrajudicial executions, shoot-to-kill policies, police murders, racial profiling, massive spying and surveillance, deportation and detention.”

On March 26, 2019, Zareian wrote on Facebook: “Shame on everyone who is involved with AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] and engaged in the defense of the far-right, ethno-nationalist government in Israel while these atrocities are being committed in Gaza.”

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.”

On March 12, 2019, Zareian shared a NowThis video on Facebook of Noah Wagner, an IfNotNow (INN) activist who walked-off a Birthright Israel Jewish Heritage tour in 2018.

Birthright Israel is a heritage trip to Israel for Jewish young adults from across the world.

In the video, Wagner said [00:00:38]: “Visiting Israel in 2018 and not talking about Israel’s military is like visiting the Deep South in the 1950s and not talking about Jim Crow segregation.”

On May 7, 2018, Zareian expressed admiration on Facebook for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s “condemnation of Israeli apartheid.”

Promoting Anti-Israel Activists

On March 13, 2019, Zareian posted to Facebook a photo of himself with anti-Israel activist Dr. Norman Finkelstein and wrote: “Earlier today, I went on a walk with Dr Norman Finkelstein and had a great conversation about various political matters! He has sparked much of my interest in Palestinian liberation, and it was such an amazing opportunity to get to meet him.”

Norman Finkelstein has compared [00:08:52] Israel to Nazi Germany and suggested [00:09:05] that Gaza is a Nazi concentration camp. Finkelstein also accused [00:11:42] Israel of “poisoning one million children.” He has expressed [00:00:03] “solidarity with” the Hezbollah terrorist organization and excused [00:41:33] the use of rockets against Israeli civilians by the terror group Hamas.

On March 10, 2019, Zareian shared a Democracy Now! post on Facebook that read: “Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar says she has received death threats for her criticisms of Israel and its American lobbyists. Speaking at Busboys and Poets in Washington D.C., on March 1, Omar highlighted the hypocrisy of being called ‘hateful’ while she continues to

Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.Omar has demonized Israel and endorsed BDS. In July 2019, Omar introduced a pro-BDS resolution in the U.S. Congress, which she described as “an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support…the BDS movement.”

On February 27, 2019, Ilhan Omar suggested that Israel supporters were disloyal to America. She said: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” After the incident, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee described Omar’s comments as a “vile anti-Semitic slur” and “unacceptable and deeply offensive.”

The Democracy Now Facebook post shared by Zareian on March 10th included a video of Omar at the March 1, 2019 Busboys & Poets TownHall event.

On September 7, 2018, Zareian posted to Instagram a photo of himself, posting with anti-Israel philosopher and professor Noam Chomsky. Zareian commented: “I just had the honor of meeting Noam Chomsky. He has been an inspiration to me in many respects, from my political ideology to my academic pursuits. He was generous enough to spare some of his time to speak with us, and I know I will cherish this memory forever.”

Noam Chomsky has accused Israel of apartheid, denied the Jewish right to self-determination and accused Israel of manipulating the Holocaust to promote its own interests.

Zareian included in his YouTube gallery a video posted on November 1, 2019,titled: “Noam Chomsky on Israeli ‘Self-Defense’” in which Chomsky explicitly compared [00:00:34] Israeli forces to Nazis.

On July 30, 2018, Zareian posted to Facebook an AJ+ video captioned: “Ahed Tamimi is free after 8 months in an Israeli jail.” Zareian commented with a quote [00:00:12] from the video: “The resistance will continue until the occupation is over.”

Ahed Tamimi has a long history of physically attacking Israeli soldiers. Tamimi is the daughter of Bassem Tamimi, who is known for exploiting young children as political props in staged confrontations with Israeli soldiers.

The video Zareian posted went on to glorify the Tamimi clan, including [00:00:17] Nariman Tamimi.

Nariman Tamimi, Ahed Tamimi’s mother, is a prolific promoter of terror. In 2015, she shared a Facebook post providing graphic instructions on where to aim a knife to kill an Israeli. In 2016, Nariman shared her approval of a teenage Palestinian terrorist who killed a 13-year-old Israeli girl sleeping in her bed.

Supporting BDS

On October 5, 2020,Zareian wrote an op-ed for the web page of The Loch Johnson Society, “a student-led, non-partisan foreign policy group at UGA,” in which he promoted the three-fold goals of the BDS movement as a “minimum standard which other states should apply to Israel.”

In the article, Zareian suggested that diplomatic relations with Israel should be conditioned upon, among other items, ending “Israel's occupation and colonization of all Arab lands” and “granting Palestinian refugees the right of return.”

On August 4, 2020, Zareian shared an Athens for Everyone post on Facebook which included its “Statement in Support” of BDS. The statement called “for all entities, including the University of Georgia and the Athens-Clarke County Government, to withdraw any investments from the state of Israel or any entities sustaining Israeli apartheid.”

The statement also read: “... we demand that the United States end all military support for and institute sanctions against the state of Israel so as to not aid in the perpetuation of Israeli apartheid.”

On December 30, 2018, Zareian updated his Facebook profile picture with a frame from US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) that included a photo of Zareian with BDS activist Angela Davis.

Angela Davis made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List in 1970 after being charged as a principal in an aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder, for purchasing the shotgun used in the abduction and killing of a judge.

Zareian commented: “There are too many politicians out there trying to threaten our right to denounce Israeli occupation and genocide. We ought to be free to boycott anything we choose.”

On November 22, 2018, Zareian shared a Facebook post that said: “this holiday season BOYCOTT companies profiting from Israeli apartheid.”

On June 8, 2018, Zareian shared a post celebrating the Argentinian soccer team’s decision to cancel a game with Israel as “a watershed moment for the BDS movement.”
Attending the 2019 National SJP Conference

On November 2, 2019, Zreian wrote on Facebook: “Attending 2019 National SJP Conference.”

The 2019 National SJP Conference was held at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3. The Conference themes centered on support for BDS as well as the rejection of Israel and Zionism.

The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.

Attending the 2018 National SJP Conference

On November 17, 2018, Zareian posted on Facebook saying that he was “attending” the 2018 National SJP conference at UCLA.

On November 19, 2018, Zareian shared a photo on Facebook of “Opening pages of the program for the 2018 National SJP Conference at UCLA.”

On the same day, Zareian shared a group photo from the NSJP conference on Facebook and wrote: “I’m on the top row in the middle! — at UCLA.”

2019 National SJP - Supporting BDS

The Conference website called to capitalize on shifts in the political climate, represented by the elections to the U.S. Congress of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who both support BDS. National SJP speakers also reportedly drew attention to Rep. Omar’s support for the BDS movement as the Representative for UMN’s Congressional district.

During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”

The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.

2019 National SJP - Rejecting Israel and Zionism

The 2019 National SJP Conference website indicated that the goal of their “solidarity movement” was to push for policies that “demanded the end of” the state of Israel, referred to as “the Israeli occupation.”

The website clarified that “the Palestinian struggle against Zionism, extends beyond the confines of 1967, and well before the Nakba,” and was based on the rejection of Jewish national self-determination in Israel.

Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.

2019 National SJP - Heightened Secrecy

The 2019 National SJP Conference required attendees to be “verified and vouched for” by an SJP chapter to which they belonged and required each chapter to register as a group. The conference also required each group to be verified by a “reference––someone who is NOT going to this conference but who is or has recently been a part of your SJP.”

Members of allied student groups could register only as part of an SJP chapter delegation which, in turn, needed to be “vouched for by their campus’s SJP” for “security culture and accountability reasons.”

The Conference also restricted media access to journalists “registered and confirmed by our Media Committee in advance to attend the conference. Absolutely no exceptions will be made.”

During the Conference, National SJP reportedly covered the windows of the conference hall.

2019 National SJP - Partnering Organizations

National SJP partnered with other anti-Israel organizations to table, sell merchandise and lead workshops, including CODEPINK, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Palestine Legal, Watan Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project.

Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.

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.