Overview
Ali is the
founder,
key organizer and Communications Committee Chairperson of Freedom2Boycott in Maryland.
In April 2017, Freedom2Boycott was behind the campaign to sideline an anti-BDS bill brought before the Maryland General Assembly 2017 Session. Anti-Boycott Bill
SB739/
HB949 was proposed to prohibit individuals or corporations that support BDS from contracting with the State of Maryland. Ali
testified against the bill in both the House and Senate
hearing in Annapolis.
Ali is a
former State Delegate in the Maryland House of Delegates, having been elected in 2006 and serving from 2007 to 2011. Ali attempted to run for the state Senate but lost.
Promoting BDS
On February 12, 2017, Ali
posted on Facebook, saying: “Anti Palestinian organizations are saying ‘The instigators [of BDS] must be singled out from the other groups, and handled uncompromisingly, publicly or covertly’. I guess that means people like me. Hahaha! Come at me bro.”
On January 21, 2017, Ali
posted on Facebook, saying: “The usual crew of anti-Palestinian Maryland legislators Sandy Rosenberg, Shelly Hettleman, Dana Stein and Bobby Zirkin are introducing a bill that will black-list opponents of Israel's occupation:
bit.ly/2jszeQ8 If you want to help oppose this unconstitutional effort that seeks to shield Israel's illegal settlements and occupation from criticism, please respond below.”
On December 26, 2016, Ali
posted on Facebook, saying: “I fully endorse the Israeli government taking a leadership role in the BDS movement.”
His comment was attached to picture of a tweet that read: “Israel suspends working ties UNSC rez voters: UK, France, Russia, China, Japan,Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal, New Zealand”
In 2016, Ali was a
representative of the steering committee of Marylanders for BDS and
advocated for BDS at a Montgomery County Council Hearing.
On September 29, 2016, Ali
tweeted: “From history we learned the way 2 deal w/ apartheid states is by a nonviolent campaign of Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions”
On May 18, 2016, Ali
shared on Facebook a
blog he authored about BDS. Ali commented: “Yesterday I wrote this blog post about BDS. It got 615 views. That's a lot for me. That's my good deed for the day: Presenting a well-reasoned argument for BDS to hundreds of new people:”
On February 8, 2016, Ali
testified at a Montgomery County Council Hearing as a
representative of the steering committee of Marylanders for BDS in order to oppose an effort to
legalize and
regulate Airbnb in Montgomery County. Saqib
stated that “Airbnb is a company profiting from something that is actually quite close to a war crime.”
On January 5, 2016, Ali
tweeted a link to an article he wrote titled: Anti-BDS Author Inadvertently Makes the Case for BDS.
On December 18, 2015, Ali
testified at a Maryland legislative priorities hearing and
spoke at a Joint Priorities hearing, arguing in favor of BDS.
Ali said that anti-BDS legislation
invites unequal treatment before the law. His
example was that if BDS against the government of Israel were to be automatically deemed anti-Semitic, therefore legislative action supporting sanctions against the government of Iran should be considered automatically Islamophobic and sanctions against Cuba should be considered anti-Latino.
Demonizing Israel
On May 22, 2017, Ali
shared on
Facebook a comment he made on an article about President Trump’s visit to Israel. Ali commented: “Guess what Sher? The Western Wall is in East Jerusalem. This is territory internationally recognized as belonging to the Palestinians. Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is illegal under international law and not recognized by any country. Palestinians living in East Jerusalem live under apartheid-like conditions. Don’t you know anything?”
On May 14, 2017, Ali
posted on Facebook: "On Friday, Israeli soldiers killed Saba Obaid, an unarmed 23-year -old Palestinian who was protesting against their occupation of the West Bank.
Saba Obaid was
killed during a violent Palestinian protest near the village of Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah.
Ali further
commented: “When your DNA determines if the army kills you or not, It’s Apartheid.”
On May 11, 2017, Ali
commented on Facebook: “Over the long run (Allah-willing) the international non-violent campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions will continue to slowly and gradually gain moment [sic] and help expose the Israeli apartheid, constant land-thefting and war-crimes.”
On September 3, 2015, Ali
tweeted: “@brooklynmike21 @dorothyofisrael No, I mean stealing land by force and establishing a dual-legal system based on DNA of inhabitants.”
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.
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.
Social Media and Weblinks
