Rayek Nafiz
Rayek Nafiz participated in the pro-Hamas encampment at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, launched after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds that day. For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
The Penn encampment was in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of January 2025, Rayek Nafiz's LinkedIn profile said he worked as a staff psychiatrist at the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
As of the same date, Rayek Nafiz's LinkedIn said he had worked as an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 2020 to June 2024.
Date: May 6, 2024
Organizers: Philly Palestine Coalition (PPC)
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Event Flyer: Instagram
May 6, 2024 was Day 12 of the Penn Gaza Solidarity encampment, which was launched by the PPC. The encampment was set up by students from Penn, Temple University and Drexel University.
The Penn encampment was in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.
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 infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. 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 and pro-terror activism on campus.