Safwan Hamdi Ibrahim
Overview
As of March 2023, Ibrahim’s LinkedIn page said he had been the “Project Lead: Al-Juthour Youth Collective” for the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) from June 2016 to August 2017.
Ibrahim is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of March 2023, Ibrahim’s LinkedIn page said he had been a teacher at the Ari Guiragos Minassian Armenian School since August 2021.
Ibrahim’s LinkedIn said he graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature in 2016. As of March 2023, Ibrahim’s Portfolium page said he received a “Master of Education” at National University (NU) in 2022.
As of March 2023, Ibrahim’s LinkedIn said he was located in Orange County, CA.
As of the same date, Ibrahim went by the username “(Saffy) صفوان إبراهيم [Safwan Ibrahim]” and the handle “@SirajfilSahra” on Facebook. He also went by the username Safwan and the handle “@saffytaffy” on Instagram.
Demonizing Israel
On May 18, 2015, Ibrahim co-authored an opinion piece in the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student-run newspaper, where he promoted SJP at UCLA’s first annual “Nakba Week.”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.
In the article, he accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and claimed that the “Nakba” was a “continued lived experience.” He said that one of the events was titled: “Refugees and the Right of Return: A Teach-In.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. 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.
In his role as SJP at UCLA president, Ibrahim was quoted in an October 15, 2015 article published in the Daily Bruin. The article described a “die-in” and rally hosted by SJP at UCLA on October 14, 2015, as part of the “International Day of Action for Palestine.”
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.
The SJP at UCLA Facebook event page for the “die-in” said: “We will not sit back silently as Palestinians are killed in the ongoing colonization of their homeland.”
Ibrahim was quoted in the article as saying: “We wanted to show our support for…Palestinians.” In addition to the “die-in,” Ibrahim said rally participants “led chants and recited poetry, aimed to raise awareness about the Palestinian occupation.”
Anti-Israel Activism (SJP, BDS)
On February 25, 2014, Ibrahim submitted comments to the University of California Student Association (UCSA) in support of SJP at UCLA’s divestment resolution during a 10-hour debate.
The SJP at UCLA divestment resolution called on the UC Board of Regents, the University of California’s governing body, to pull funding from five companies allegedly “complicit in the occupation.”
Ibrahim’s comments, according to UCSA’s minutes, read: “...I implore the council members tonight to seize this opportunity to do something just; to do something right; to [sic] something great. Vote ‘Yes’ on divestment.”
On February 26, 2014, SJP at UCLA’s divestment resolution failed to pass.
Ibrahim featured in a June 5, 2014 podcast titled: “UCLA Student Ethics Statement” published on SoundCloud by the anti-Israel outlet Electronic Intifada (EI).
Ibrahim asserted [00:02:20] that the statement was written “as a show of good faith with council members, asking them to not to take these paid trips through organizations that are tied to anything that might marginalize other student communities on campus. In the statement, we explicitly make examples of AIPAC and the ADL.”
In November 2014, SJP at UCLA again promoted a divestment resolution, which they co-sponsored. This resolution claimed that the same companies “provided weapons used” by Israel “in attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip” and that investment in these companies “shows implicit support” for “the killings of civilians.”
On November 18, 2014, the undergraduate student government adopted the divestment resolution with a vote of 8-2-2.
On November 20, 2014, Ibrahim appeared in a photo posted on Instagram by SJP at UCLA’s vice president, Rasha Howlader, posing with Omar Zahzah and other SJP UCLA activists wearing UCLA Divest T-shirts.
The Instagram post said: “#tbt [throwback to] to two days ago when UCLA divested from companies profiting from human rights violations in Palestine. We have been working on this campaign for the last 8 months and Alhumdulilah [Praise be to God] our prayers were answered. These folks in particular our incredible BDS directors, Safwan and Aggie have poured their heart and souls to this movement. I'm so glad I was surrounded by my lovely board...
#UCLADivested.”On January 8, 2015, during his tenure as vice president of SJP at UCLA, Ibrahim signed a letter by SJP West, titled: “The University of California Community Calls on the University of California Student Association to Support Divestment.”
The letter called on UCSA Board Members to divest from “companies intricately involved in Israel’s ongoing system of military occupation” and companies who “willingly enable and profit from such atrocities.”
In February 2015, SJP at UCLA promoted a divestment resolution to the UC Student Association (UCSA). The resolution also called on the UC Regents to divest from American-based corporations that “violate Palestinian human rights.”
Ibrahim contributed to an August 7, 2015 article published in The Nation, where he criticized the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism being considered for adoption by the UC Board of Regents. In the same article, he promoted SJP and the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
The IHRA’s definition was adopted by the U.S. Department of State in 2016.
In the August 2015 article, Ibrahim also praised the decision by the Board of Regents not to adopt the IHRA’s definition. He wrote: “While this decision marks an important victory for the protection of free speech, especially on university campuses, we remain vigilant of future efforts to adopt this definition and, overall, to stifle Palestine advocacy.”
According to a November 7, 2015 article published by a UCLA student-run publication called Al-Talib, Ibrahim reportedly organized an SJP at UCLA event titled: “Oppressed but not Silenced, Expressions of Struggle through Spoken Word.” The event featured anti-Israel activist Remi Kanazi.
Poet Remi Kanazi is known for his aggressively anti-Israel spoken-word performances. He has supported terrorism and has compared Israel to both ISIS and the Ku Klux Klan.
SJP at UCLA - Support for Terrorists
On October 14, 2015, during the “Knife Intifada,” SJP at UCLA held a demonstration and “die-in,” in solidarity with Palestinians one day after Palestinian terrorists killed three Israelis and wounded more than 20.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.
The submission, written by Shawndeez Davari Jadalizadeh, accused another article in the Daily Bruin of taking part in an attempt “to erase Palestinian life” by failing to mention the names of Palestinians killed during the Knife Intifada.
The submission then listed a number of “Palestinians killed by Israelis... since Oct. 1, the beginning of the third intifada,” such as: Mohannad Halabi, Fadi Alloon, Amjad Hatem al-Jundi, Bassem Bassam Sidr, Hassan Khalid Manasra, Fadel al-Qawasmi and Mohamed Nathmie Shamassnah.
On October 3, 2015, during Israel’s “Knife Intifada,” 19-year-old Mohanad Halabi murdered two Israeli rabbis in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. The wife and child of one of the victims were also injured. The day before the murder, Halabi, a member of the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), had reportedly posted to his Facebook page: “The third Intifada is here"and "Wake up from your slumber and save al-Aqsa. Let the revolution erupt.”
Fadi Aloon was shot by Israeli security forces after he stabbed a 15-year-old Israeli boy. Several hours before the attack, Aloon posted “Either martyrdom or victory” on his Facebook page.
Basel Bessam Sidr was shot while attempting to stab Israeli police officers in Jerusalem. Fadil Qawasmi was shot after attempting to staban Israeli policeman and a civilian in Hebron.
Mohammad Nathmie Shamasna was shot after he stabbed a 19-year-old Israeli soldier and unsuccessfully tried to grab his gun.
During an interview with the Lebanese Al-Quds TV channel following the attack, Shamasna’s mother said the family was proud of her son, who was “martyred for the sake of Al-Aqsa,” and then pulled out a knife concealed beneath her clothes and said, while making stabbing motions: “Watch out, Israel! Watch out!”
SJP at UCLA - Anti-Semitism
In February 2015, four SJP at UCLA activists and council senators with the Undergraduate Students Association (USA) were involved in a widely publicized anti-Semitic incident.Sofia Moreno Haq, Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, Manjot Singh and Fabienne Roth were responsible for preventing Rachel Beyda from joining the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) judicial board, because she belonged to Jewish organizations.
Beyda’s position on the Judicial Board was later confirmed at a re-vote and the four objecting counselors submitted a formal apology to Beyda and the Jewish community.
SJP at UCLA - Intimidation
n 2016, SJP at UCLA reportedly harassed and intimidated Milan Chaterjee, the former president of UCLA’s Graduate Student Association (GSA), to such an extent that he stepped down from his student government position and left UCLA.In November 2015, Chaterjee attempted to block an effort by SJP at UCLA to use school funds to promote the BDS movement during a diversity caucus Town hall event, in accordance with a policy requiring viewpoint neutrality.
Chaterjee said that, as a result, he was "relentlessly attacked, bullied, and harassed by BDS-affiliated organizations and students" for months.
In April 2014, SJP at UCLA members submitted a petition to USAC’s judicial board against two former undergraduate student government council members who participated in trips to Israel that were sponsored by pro-Israel Jewish organizations.
SJP at UCLA alleged that the council members committed “conflict of interest violations” by participating in the sponsored trips and should have abstained from voting on a February 2014 BDS resolution. SJP at UCLA also argued the council members’ votes on the divestment resolution should have been disqualified.
Although the ballot on the divestment resolution was secret, it was assumed that the two council members voted against the resolution because they both spoke against the resolution during discussions prior to the vote.
The student judicial board later ruled that the trips taken by the council members did not constitute a conflict of interest.
SJP at UCLA - Hosting Israel Haters
On January 28, 2016, SJP at UCLA hosted anti-Israel Professors Ahlam Muthaseb and Sa'ed Atshan.Muhtaseb regularly uses her Facebook and Twitter to demonize Israel, whitewash Palestinian terrorism and collaborate with fellow anti-Israel activists. Atshan has praised inciters of violence as well as Sheikh Omar Suleiman who, in 2014, called on Twitter for a “Third Intifada” to destroy Israel.
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.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SirajfilSahraLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/safwan-ibrahim-610635b6/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saffytaffy [Private]
Portfolium:https://portfolium.com/SafwanIbrahim
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- California-Los-Angeles
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- PYM,
- more...
- Related Profiles:
- Jemima Pierre,
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
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