Sadok Benabdallah

Overview

Sadok Benabdallah has shown support for a terrorist, spread hatred of Israel and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of March 2016, Benabdallah’s LinkedIn page said he was the “Vice President” of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN TC), from September 2013 to May 2014. He was also noted in 2016 that he served as a member of SJP UMN.

As of September 2019, Benabdallah’s LinkedIn page said he received a bachelor's degree in Political Science and History from UMN in 2014 and that he was the “Vice President” of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the Univerity of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), from “2011-2012.” He was also listed as a Coordinator for the MSA at UMN, in 2013.

Also as of September 2019, Benabdallah’s LinkedIn page said he was studying for a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago (UChicago), from “2017 - 2019.” In June 2019, his Twitter indicated that he had received his master’s degree.

Also as of September 2019, Benabdallah’s LinkedIn page said that he was the “Director of Government Affairs” for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter in Minnesota (CAIR-MN), from “Apr 2017- Sep 2017.”

Benabdallah’s LinkedIn page also said that he was an Arabic Analyst for the “Chicago Project on Security and Threats,” at UChicago, from January 2018 to June 2018 and that he was a “Content Developer” at “Justice For All,” in Chicago, IL, since July 2019.

Support for a Terrorist

On March 19, 2015, Benabdallah changed his cover photo on Facebook to an image of Leila Khaled.

Khaled is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of PFLP's Political Bureau.

Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

The PFLP claimed credit for the 2014 Har Nof Massacre where six people were murdered during morning prayers in a Jerusalem synagogue. The PFLP also claimed credit for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.

The day Benabdallah changed his Facebook cover photo to an image of Khaled, he responded to a question about the post’s significance, saying: “It's a graffiti style painting of Leila Khaled on the apartheid wall in Palestine. She was a part of the resistance a few decades ago.”

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On July 19, 2018, Benabdallah tweeted: “...these fascist-like tendencies of Israel are nothing new and are not surprising. Israel has always been discriminatory and this catastrophic legislation will continuously and exponentially exacerbate the conflict.”

On September 30, 2016, Benabdallah tweeted: “Disclaimer: This is not defending [former Israeli Prime Minister and President] Shimon Peres as he was a genocidal Zionist...”

On September 28, 2016, Benabdallah tweeted: “Shimon Peres, former Israeli pres, passed away. Many say he sought peace, yet let us not forget he still upheld a militant apartheid system.”

Also on September 28, 2016, Benabdallah also tweeted: “He upheld an ideology(i.e. Zionism) that has fascist tendencies perpetuating extreme racism against not only Palestinians but blacks as well.”

That same day, Benabdallah tweeted a cartoon, drawn by Carlos Latuff, that depicted Shimon Peres, firing a gun indiscriminately at the Gaza Strip.

Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian political cartoonist who has equated Israel and America with Nazi Germany and promoted anti-Israel terrorism. In 2006, he won second prize at Iran’s “International Holocaust Cartoon Competition” for a cartoon that compared Israel’s security barrier to Nazi concentration camps.

On April 14, 2016, Benabdallah tweeted: “If politicians cant acknowledge the basis of the est. of Israel is mass murder/land theft then the convo cant move forward.”

On June 4, 2015, Benabdallah tweeted: “I guess those hate comments reinforce the whole point of my article. #Israel is a #racist #apartheid state!”

On May 27, 2015, Benabdallah published a blog post titled: “RACISM, SEGREGATION, & APARTHEID - ISRAEL.” The post cited anti-Israel activist David Sheen as highlighting “the racist nature of the Israeli government.”

David Sheen is an anti-Israel activist and filmmaker who works to portray Israel as an extremist racist state. To this end, Sheen has been accused of purposefully mistranslating Hebrew articles and other media to make Israelis appear racist.

Benabdallah wrote that: “Israel has...used the past suffering of the Jewish people as a reason to be aggressive against non-Jews.”

Also on May 27, 2015, Benabdallah tweeted: “Yeah, tunnels. Because Israel doesn't allow Palestinians to move freely on their own land. #Occupation #Apartheid.”

Hamas terror tunnels are intended for mass murders and hostage-taking scenarios against Israeli civiliansand soldiers. They stretch from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

That same day, Benabdallah also tweeted: “@lionofjudah1948 Thats cute. All Zionists like to do is lie. Explain the disgusting racism and #apartheid practiced by #Israel.”

On November 20, 2012, Benabdallah tweeted a graphic depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding hands with the former Supreme Leader of Iran, the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ruhollah Khomeini. Benabdallah commented: “Israel + Iran = best buddies.”

The graphic also featured a quote that said: “Iran threatens Israel but it kills Syrian people, and Israel threaens Iran and it kills Palestinian people! It means Israel and Iran are friends behind the scenes.”

Supporting BDS

On March 11, 2018, Benabdallah tweeted: “Proud of @SJP_UMN having passed their divestment! #UMNDivest #ProudSJPAlumni#ProudSJPAlumni.”

On February 15, 2016, Benbdallah updated his cover photo on Facebook to a logo promoting the UMN Divest 2016 campaign.

Benadallah commented: “UMN Divest is a grassroots, student-led campaign calling on University of Minnesota to divest from corporations that are profiting off of human rights violations in Palestine. Join us by signing this petition..”

SJP UMN Honoring Terrorists: 2012 - 2014

On November 10, 2014, SJP UMP posted on Facebook regarding Rasmea Odeh: “Our hearts go out to her” and said: “They find Palestinian activists as a threat and immediately label them as ‘terrorists.’”

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.

On February 20, 2012, SJP UMN tweeted in support of Khader Adnan, a senior member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who was on a hunger strike.

A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?”

SJP UMN Demonizing Israel: 2012-2014

In April 2014, SJP UMN featured a “mock apartheid wall,” meant to mock Israel’s security barrier and held a “die-in,” as part of that year’s Israel Apartheid Week (IAW). Israel’s security barrier was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks.

SJP UMN launched its annual Palestine Awareness Week in April 2011, a re-branding of IAW, with events demonizing Israel such as a “die-in.”

On November 28, 2012, SJP UMN held a “Die-in for Gaza,” to protest Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense (OPD), against Hamas to stop rocket attacks launched from Gaza on Israeli civilians.

The Facebook event description instructed participants where to “pick up signs and/or get the name of the martyr that you will be wearing” and said participants would hold the signs and “fall to the ground to portray the deaths of those in Gaza.”

On February 13, 2012, SJP UMN shared a video on Facebook, titled: “Sh*t Zionists Say,” that mocked [00:00:15] Israel supporters for feeling unsafe.

SJP UMN Promoting BDS: 2011-2012

On October 14, 2012, SJP UMN promoted a petition on Facebook calling on Minnesota’s NBA team, the Timberwolves, to boycott Israel and cancel a scheduled game against the Israeli team, Maccabi Haifa.

The petition was part of a campaign organized by Minnesota Break the Bonds (MN BBC), which sent a letter to each Timberwolves player. The letter said: “Don’t normalize apartheid!” and urged them to boycott the game. It also said they were being used by Israel’s “propaganda machine.”

MN BBC was reportedly formed in 2006 to pressure the State of Minnesota to break economic ties with Israel.

On November 29, 2011, SJP UMN posted on Facebook promoting an MN BBC Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

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.

MSA

The MSA was established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 1963 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with the goal of "spreading Islam as students in North America." A 2004 FBI investigation uncovered an internal Muslim Brotherhood document in which a brotherhood leader identified the MSA as "one of our organizations."

The MSA reportedly has “nearly 600 chapters” located in the United States and Canada, and is “the most visible and influential Islamic student organization in North America,” boasting conferences, special events, publications, websites and other activities.

The organization includes a number of previous chapter presidents with explicit links to terrorist groups. Included are al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Colorado State University), Somali al-Shabaab militant leader Omar Shafik Hammami (University of South Alabama) and Pakistani Taliban recruiter Ramy Zamzam of the MSA's Washington, D.C. council.

CAIR

CAIR describes itself as a “grassroots civil rights and advocacy group” and “America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, with regional offices nationwide.” Its official mission is “enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.”

CAIR reportedly has “significant ties” to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as Hamas. A number of former CAIR employees have been convicted on fraud and terrorism-related charges that resulted monetary fines, jail terms and, sometimes, deportation.

CAIR was founded in 1994 and opened its first office in Washington, DC, with the help of a $5,000 donation from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), a charity founded by Mousa Abu Marzook.

Marzook, who was listed as a "Specially Designated Terrorist" by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1995, is reportedly a senior member of Hamas.

In May 2007, CAIR was listed as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a U.S.-filed action against the HLF for providing funds to Hamas.

CAIR was also listed as a terrorist entity by the United Arab Emirates, in 2014.

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.