Seliman Ali

Overview

Seliman Ali participated in an anti-Israel rally that called for violence. The rally was co-organized by various Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters, and held on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor (UMich-Ann Arbor) campus in January 2023.

Ali was also engaged in anti-Israel activism as a member of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE), which is the name of the UMich SJP chapter.

As of February 2023, Ali served [slide 3] as co-president of the Yemeni Students’ Association (YSA) at UMich-Ann Arbor for the 2022-2023 academic year. He had been affiliated with YSA since 2018.

As of February 2023, Ali’s LinkedIn said he was a “Pre-Med studying Biology, Health, and Society” at UMich-Ann Arbor, slated to graduate in May 2023. He described himself on LinkedIn as “a student passionate about pursuing a career as an Orthopedic Surgeon…”

Also as of February 2023, Ali’s LinkedIn said he became licensed as a Pharmacy Technician by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) in January 2019, and that his license was set to expire in January 2024.

As of February 2023, LARA’s website indicated Ali’s Pharmacy Technician license was issued on January 13, 2021, and expired on January 13, 2023, and that his license status was “Active - In Late Renewal.”

Also as of February 2023, Ali’s LinkedIn said he had been working part-time as a Pharmacy Technician at Walgreens since February 2020.

As of the same date, Ali’s LinkedIn said he received his license as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) in October 2019. As of August 2019, Ali was listed as a Behavior Technician, National Provider Identifier (NPI) number 1992352280, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The work address on his NPI page matches that of Centria Autism Resource Center.

As of February 2023, Ali’s LinkedIn page said he was located in Dearborn, Michigan.

As of February 2023, Ali used the handle “@selimanaali” on Instagram.

UMich-Ann Arbor Anti-Israel Rally

On January 12, 2023, UMich students Joseph Fisher, Nooralhuda Sami and Salma Hamamy led anti-Israel chants during a rally and march protesting a visit that day by U.S. vice president Kamala Harris. Harris was due to appear on the UMich-Ann Arbor campus for “a conversation about the climate crisis.”

The rally was co-organized by SAFE; University of Detroit Mercy SJP (UDM SJP); Wayne State University SJP (SJP WSU) and Students United for Palestinian Rights (SUPR) at Michigan State University (MSU).

SUPR is the name of MSU’s SJP chapter.

Other participants in the rally included Ali, Yousef Turk and Lina Mahmoud.

As rally participants marched toward the auditorium in which Vice President Harris was scheduled to speak, Fisher and Sami led [00:00:01] the chants: “Justice is our demand, no peace on stolen land! and [00:00:07]: “Intifada, intifada! Long live the intifada!”

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

Hamamy marched alongside Fisher and Sami holding [00:00:01] a sign that read: “THERE IS ONLY ONE SOLUTION, Intifada Revolution!”

Sami and Fisher then led [00:00:22] the chants: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!” and [00:00:28]: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!”

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” is a chant used [00:02:52] to call for the elimination of the State of Israel.

When the crowd arrived outside the auditorium, Fisher and Hamamy led rally participants in chanting [00:00:01]: “Hey hey, ho ho, the Zionists have got to go!”

Fisher then gave a speech where he called [00:00:17] Israel “the violent Zionist entity” and accused [00:00:36] Israel of being “one of the most vicious perpetrators” of environmental destruction.

Fisher also claimed [00:01:02] Israel was continuing to “murder Palestinians and steal more of their land,” calling [00:01:27] Israel a “violent settler apartheid regime.”

Sami also referred [00:01:06] to Israel as “the Zionist entity,” claiming [00:01:08] Israel was engaging in “ethnic cleansing.”

Upon leaving the auditorium, rally participants walked along a public street chanting [00:00:01]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.

Sami led [00:00:01] the chant: “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” She and Fisher then led [00:00:13] the chant: “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, you’re committing genocide!”

Fisher and Sami also led rally participants in chanting [00:00:01]: “Kamala, Kamala, don’t you know, greenwashing has got to go!”

"Greenwashing" is a claim by anti-Israel activists that Israel manipulates the environmentalist agenda to deflect international attention from Israel's alleged "persecution of the Palestinians."

Hamamy and Mahmoud held [slide 3] a sign with the claim: “ISRAEL DUMPS WASTE IN PALESTINIAN NEIGHBORHOODS EXPOSING PALESTINIANS TO HAZARDOUS TOXINS.”

Turk held [slide 4] a sign that said: “Israel is a settler colonial state.” Another activist held [slide 7] a sign that read: “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED! WHEN PEOPLE ARE OCCUPIED!”

Ali wore [00:00:04] a Palestinian flag as a cape [slide 5] while waving another Palestinian flag and marching with demonstrators.

SAFE UMich’s Instagram post promoting the rally claimed: “The Biden-Harris administration has unwaveringly stood with Israel, an apartheid entity that has caused immense ecological destruction as it continues to commit crimes against humanity.”

Included in the same Instagram post was a flyer that said: “IN PROTEST OF KAMALA HARRIS’S APPEARANCE IN ANN ARBOR AND SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID.”

Anti-Israel Activism

On October 4, 2022, Ali posed [slide 1] in a group photo in front of a display known as a “mock apartheid wall” erected by SAFE UMich activists during “Israeli Apartheid Week.”

The right-most panel of the mock apartheid wall featured a graphic showing terrorist Leila Khaled holding an assault rifle and text reading: “Power To Our Freedom Fighters Glory To Our Martyrs.”

Leila Khaled is a leading member 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 [00:36:07] for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

On July 12, 2022, Ali appeared [slide 2] in a photo on Instagram posing next to a giant painted boulder with text that read [slide 3]: "Conflict It's Apartheid. It's Occupation."

Ali also posed [slide 4] in a group photo in front of the boulder.

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.