Saja Daood

Overview

Saja Daood has demonized Israel and was a student activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at California State University Sacramento (CSUS).

Daood is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and was instrumental in pushing a BDS resolution at CSUS, targeting companies that do business with Israel.

Demonizing Israel

On July 9, 2014, Daood shared a link on Facebook to a video accusing Israel of being an “Apartheid State.”

On July 6, 2014, Daood shared a post on Facebook, by Aya Khalifeh of a screenshot from an article that read: “After the match, an Israeli player removing his shirt offered it to Ronaldo, who refused because he could not agree to wear a jersey on which there was the flag of the State of Israel. In the locker room when reporters asked him why he had refused to exchange his jersey, he said ‘I do not exchange my shirt with murderers.’”

Sac State SJP - Pushing BDS  

On September 17, 2016, Sac State SJP announced on Facebook the launch of its anti-Israel divestment campaign, likening Israel to apartheid South Africa. The status read: “SJP at Sacramento-State can now officially announce that we are one of them. Join us in making sure that we are on the right side of history. Our divestment campaign is officially initiated, people.#SacStateDivest.”

Sac State SJP - Collaborating with Anti-Semitic Filmmakers  

On April 6, 2017, Sac State SJP — under the banner of CSUS Divest — held a Divestment workshop that featured Peace House Productions (Peace House). The divestment workshop claimed that Peace House would also be “filming a promo video for our campaign!” 

Sac State SJP - Promoting George Galloway  

On September 5, 2016, Sac State SJP shared what it called a “must watch” video on Facebook of George Galloway debating in the British Parliament. In the video, Galloway condemned the United Kingdom for issuing the 1917 Balfour Declaration and called for sanctions on imports and exports between Britain and Israel.

Sac State SJP - Demonizing Israeli Leaders  

On September 29, 2016  — following the death of former Israeli statesman Shimon Peres —  Sac State SJP shared a Facebook status that condemned world leaders grieving Peres’ death.

Sac State SJP - Spreading Libels  

On March 11, 2017, Sac State SJP shared a video on Facebook produced by AJ+ (Al Jazeera) — a Qatari-funded channel notorious for spreading misinformation about Israel.

Sac State SJP - Hosting Radicals  

On October 16, 2016, Sac State SJP promoted and hosted a speaking event at Sac State, featuring violent agitator Issa Amro — the head of Youth Against Settlements — known for vandalism and attacking Israeli soldiers. Amro has been charged with numerous acts of violence against Israeli civilians and security forces. 

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.