Sonya Epstein
Overview
Sonya Epstein [Sophia Epstein] has spread hatred of Israel and promoted anti-Israel agitators on social media. Epstein is also a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of May 2020, Epstein was an activist with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Amherst (SJP UMass).
Epstein also attended the 2019 National SJP Conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN) as an activist with UMass SJP.National SJP held their conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3, 2019. The conference was themed: “Beyond Struggle: From Roots to Branches Towards Liberation.”
As of December 2020, Epstein’s LinkedIn page said she was the president of UMass Amherst’s Student Government Association (SGA), since October 2020. As of July 2020, Epstein’s LinkedIn page said she was the secretary of SGA from May 2019 to April 2020. Epstein reportedly joined SGA in 2018.
Also as of December 2020,Epstein’s LinkedIn page said she was seeking a bachelor’s degree in Social Thought and Political Economy, Political Science, Sociology, Criminology at UMass Amherst, slated to graduate in 2022.
Spreading Hatred of Israel
Epstein retweeted an April 22, 2020, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) tweet that read: “On #EarthDay
a reminder that Israeli apartheid is directly complicit in climate change: Israel blocks any waste treatment materials so ‘sewage has infiltrated Gaza's aquifer & is flowing untreated into Gaza's coastal waters, damaging marine life & health.’"JVP’s tweet included a link to an Al Jazeera article that demonized Israel and called for BDS.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Epstein retweeted a March 19, 2020 JVP tweet that read: “Health officials warn that if the virus enters Gaza, containment and treatment under the Israeli blockade will be nearly impossible. Together we demand that Congress tell Israel to end the blockade NOW, before one more life is needlessly lost.”
The tweet included a JVP petition titled: “Tell Congress: End the Gaza blockade”
The United Nations approved [pp. 39–41] the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza in 2011 as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade, with at least one flotilla initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.
Epstein retweeted a September 22, 2019, UMass SJP tweet that read: “(1/3) The illegal occupation and the current #climatecrisis are compounding existential threats facing Palestine...Palestinians are not in control of their own natural resources, are not considered worthy of basic human rights under occupation…”
Epstein retweeted a July 21, 2019 tweet from Hanan Ashrawi, former Executive Committee Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), that read: “First Israel militarily occupies the land, then it builds a repulsive apartheid wall, then it decides to demolish Palestinian homes built on Palestinian land with legal Palestinian permits because of their proximity to the wall! Criminality beyond words.”
Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
In November 2019, Epstein posed for photos with anti-Israel agitators Linda Sarsour and Sut Jhally that were posted to Twitter on November 13, 2019, by UMass SJP.Anti-Israel agitator Linda Sarsour frequently uses the word “Zionist” as a pejorative and has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism.” She has aligned with noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, dismissed [00:07:45] those who see her alignment with Farrakhan as problematic and slammed the “Jewish Media” for calling attention to it.
Jhally has promoted anti-Zionism on campus, created anti-Israel films and demonized Israel on social media.
The caption on the UMass SJP tweet read: “A BIG thank you to the wonderful panelists last night who discussed the rampant criminalization of the legitimate & necessary dissent of Israeli’s apartheid regime and #BDS support @lsarsour @shaunking @timjacobwise w/ Dima Khalidi & BDS CoFounder Omar Barghouti! #FreePalestine”
On March 18, 2019, Epstein posed for a group photo posted to Facebook by fellow UMass SJP activist Sazia Patel, posing with U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks. She has also demonized Israel and endorsed BDS, including introducing a pro-BDS resolution in the U.S. Congress.
Patel’s Facebook post was captioned: “all about the Benjamin’s babyyy
,” referring to a tweet written by Ilhan Omar insinuating that AIPAC bribes the American government, a claim which has been deemed anti-Semitic.Epstein also retweeted a July 18, 2019 tweet promoting Omar that read:“... She is an American hero, slandered and attacked by a disgustingly racist President and his racist supporters...#IStandWithIlhan, and always will.”
Epstein retweeted a July 15, 2019 tweet that read: “What @AOC, @AyannaPressley, @RashidaTlaib and @IlhanMN are doing is groundbreaking and will change the course of history —they are working tirelessly to end systems of domination and oppression. The work is dangerous and bold. And they are doing it in fearlessly
.”Representative Rashida Tlaib is connected to six Hamas-linked activists, all of whom served as fundraiser co-hosts for her successful 2018 congressional campaign. She has advocated for a one-state solution, endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and called for reduced foreign aid to Israel. In July 2019, Tlaib co-sponsored a pro-BDS bill in the U.S. Congress introduced by Representative Ilhan Omar.
Supporting BDS
Epstein retweeted a May 15, 2020 UMass SJP tweet that read: “Today is #Nakba Remembrance day. Israel is moving forward to continue the ongoing catastrophe by stealing more Palestinian land this summer. Now more than ever we must renew our commitment to justice and liberation; we need to urgently continue the movement for #BDS & Palestinian”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.
UMass SJP’s tweet concluded: “We must do the work of pressuring our governments through a variety of tactics to end all military funding to Israel...BDS...is a necessary act of solidarity and international strategy in the movement for Palestinian liberation.”
Epstein signed an October 30, 2019 Open Letter to UMass Amherst Chancellor Subbaswamy, published on behalf of UMass SJP by Mondoweiss. In their letter, UMass SJP demonized Subbaswamy for dissociating the university from a BDS panel event on campus.
On October 25, 2019, Epstein tweeted: “and @KSubbaswamy do not say you are doing this in the name of Jewish students. Many of us are pro-Palestine, anti-Zionist, and in support of this event. Anti-Zionism is NOT anti-semitism. Stop speaking for us and start listening and working for Palestinian students.”
Anti-Israel Activism
On September 30, 2019, Epstein featured in a group photo of SJP activists with Radhika Sainath, Senior Staff Attorney at Palestine Legal, posted to Twitter by UMass SJP.The photo caption read: “Thank you @radhikasainath from @pal_legal for an amazing Know Your Rights Workshop! We all left with new information and energized to continue speaking truth to power & advocating for the rights and freedom of Palestinians under occupation. #FreePalestine #SJP”
The tweet referred to an event held that day on campus, organized by UMass SJP, titled: “Know Your Rights Workshop.”
The event flier read: “... Opponents of justice and equality in Palestine will use any tool they can get their hands on to stop SJP. Come learn about your rights to help you stand up to bullies at home as you stand up against bullies abroad.”
Epstein also retweeted an SJP UMass September 23, 2019 tweet, which promoted the workshop.
Attending the 2019 National SJP Conference
On November 1, 2019, Epstein posed fora 2019 NSJP conference group photo, posted by SJP UMass to Twitter and Instagram. .On November 2, 2019, Epstein posedfor another group photo posted by SJP UMass on Twitter. SJP UMass’s tweet was captioned: “Successfully finished our workshop this morning! There were so many students who shared their experiences organizing for Palestinian liberation and we are committed to staying in community w/ each other to uplift & support our work to #FreePalestine #nsjp2019”
UMass SJP
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Amherst, UMass SJP, was founded in Spring 2014 and has partnered with the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)’s chapter at Western Mass (JVP WMass), to host anti-Israel speakers and events.UMass SJP (2019-2020) - Supporting Terrorists
On April 13, 2020, during the global coronavirus pandemic, UMass SJP posted on Instagram: “We are joining in Samidoun’s Week of Action for Palestinian Liberation leading up to Palestinian Prisoner’s Day on April 17. Today we are calling for the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners whose lives are at risk due to the global pandemic of COVID-19.”The Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network (Samidoun) is an anti-Israel NGO, founded in 2011. Samidoun routinely characterizes convicted murderers as “political prisoners.”
The Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy published a report in February 2019, exposing Samidoun’s ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization. On April 23, 2019, Samidoun was informed by PayPal that their account had been “permanently limited” due to the nature of their activities.
The April 13, 2020 UMass SJP Instagram post included a video of UMass SJP activists demanding [00:00:02] the release of “all Palestinian political prisoners.”
The video opened with a Samidoun petition, titled: “Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2020: Week of Action for Palestinian Liberation” and featured photos of convicted terrorists including Khalida Jarrar, Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sa’adat.
Khalida Jarrar was sentenced in 2015 by an Israeli military court to 15 months in prison for calling to kidnap Israeli soldiers. A senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization, Jarrar was arrested again by Israel in 2017 “on suspicion of involvement with terrorist activities and violent public disturbances.”
In 2019, Jarrar, with other PFLP operatives, was arrested by Israel after a 2018 bombing attack that targeted an Israeli family. Jarrar was reportedly then head of the PFLP in the West Bank since 2016 and the cell which carried out the bombing was reportedly “planning additional attacks.” Guns and bomb-making equipment were seized during the arrest.
Barghouti is currently serving five consecutive life sentences for his role in shooting attacks and suicide bombings that killed five Israelis during the second intifada. He also financed the guitar-case bomb used in the Sbarro Cafe massacre, where 15 civilians were killed and 130 injured.
Barghouti led the the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Sa’adat, the Secretary General of the PFLP, is currently serving time in an Israeli prison for his role in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi. Barghouti led the the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
During the second intifada, under Sa’adat’s leadership, the PFLP carried out numerous suicide bombings against Israeli civilians.
On April 17, 2019, UMass SJP hosted an event to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners Day, a day of solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners, “connecting the issue of Palestinian political prisoners with prison justice in the US.”
UMass SJP (2018-2020) - Anti-Israel Events
On May 7, 2020 UMass SJP promoted on Facebook their May 13, 2020 event titled: “Palestine 101: The Ongoing Nakba.” The Facebook post included the event flier, which invited readers to participate in “a collaborative teach-in to commemorate the Nakba of 1948 and the ongoing Nakba of Israeli settler colonialism.”Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
On April 3, 2020, UMass SJP posted on Facebook regarding their participation in the online “Israeli Apartheid Week 2020: United Against Racism,” held March 16-21, 2020.
Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), which has been re-named Palestine Awareness Week, is an annual event to build support for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and “to raise awareness of Israel’s settler-colonial project and apartheid system over the Palestinian people.”
In their Facebook post, UMass SJP accused Israel of “medical apartheid,” as well as “genocide” and wrote: “Palestinians have been killed by their occupiers through being denied access to adequate medical care since the founding of the state of Israel...We must recognize how the state uses all of its institutions to oppress and debilitate Palestinians, including healthcare.”
On November 20, 2019, UMass SJP hosted a “Vigil for Gaza,” in response to Israel’s Operation Black Belt. The event’s Facebook description read: “On November 12, 2019, the Israeli government launched an airstrike on Gaza...This latest attack on Gaza is a form of collective punishment--”
In November 2019, Israel launched “Operation Black Belt” to stop rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The rockets were sent by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group on November 12-14, 2019, targeting Israel’s biggest civilian population centers.
On October 18, 2019, UMass SJP screened the anti-Israel film titled: “The Occupation of the American Mind.” The film was produced by UMass Amherst Professor Sut Jhally and narrated by BDS activist and artist, Roger Waters.
Jhally has promoted anti-Zionism on campus, demonized Israel and is the creator of the anti-Israel films, which he has presented at SJP events. The film at the UMass SJP event purported that Israel controls the American public’s view on Arab-Israeli conflict in the media.
Jhally claimed [00:04:27] in the film that the basis of the conflict was about “land” and [00:03:03] easily solved. Jhally also presented [00:03:49] in the film a series of misleading maps of lands previously controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Britain, that are shown as autonomous “Palestinian land,” which the maps suggest were stolen by Israel.
Lands previously controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Britain are shown as autonomous “Palestinian land,” which the maps suggest were stolen by Israel.
In 2016, copies of a college textbook containing the misleading maps were recalled by publisher MCGraw-Hill.
Jhally has promoted anti-Zionism on campus, demonized Israel and is the creator of the anti-Israel films, which he has presented at SJP events. The film at the UMass SJP event purported that Israel controls the American public’s view on Arab-Israeli conflict in the media.
Jhally claimed [00:04:27] in the film that the basis of the conflict was about “land” and [00:03:03] easily solved. Jhally also presented [00:03:49] in the film a series of misleading maps of lands previously controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Britain, that are shown as autonomous “Palestinian land,” which the maps suggest were stolen by Israel.
Lands previously controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Britain are shown as autonomous “Palestinian land,” which the maps suggest were stolen by Israel.
In 2016, copies of a college textbook containing the misleading maps were recalled by publisher MCGraw-Hill.
On March 27, 2018, UMass SJP and JVP WMass co-sponsored a panel discussion titled: “Resisting Occupation ~ Palestine, Honduras, Springfield, MA.”
The event’s Facebook description read: “After 70 years, the Israeli occupation, with backing from the U.S. government, continues to dismantle and destroy the lives of Palestinian people worldwide. Palestinian people continue to hold the keys to their homes as a symbol of resistance and return.”
The Palestinian demand for a “right of return” has been discredited as a way to eliminate the State of Israel.
The event’s Facebook description read: “After 70 years, the Israeli occupation, with backing from the U.S. government, continues to dismantle and destroy the lives of Palestinian people worldwide. Palestinian people continue to hold the keys to their homes as a symbol of resistance and return.”
The Palestinian demand for a “right of return” has been discredited as a way to eliminate the State of Israel.
The event featured panelist Zeiad Abbas, the Executive Director of the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). MECA supports BDS and works with JVP. At the event, Abbas reportedly called for the Right of Return and advocated for the end of U.S. support of Israel.
UMass SJP (2018-2020) - Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
On March 16, 2020, UMass SJP posted to Facebook in honor of Rachel Corrie.Rachel Corrie, an International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist, was accidentally killed while interfering with an Israeli military operation in 2003. Corrie’s family brought a wrongful death suit in Israel, which was dismissed when the judge ruled that Corrie had unreasonably chosen to put her own life in danger.
Activists have been encouraged by ISM to break curfew and disregard Israeli directives prohibiting access to closed military zones. The group has been accused of supporting terrorism and encouraged its foreign volunteers to act“as human shields in cities, towns and refugee camps.”
On December 7, 2019, UMass SJP wrote on Facebook: “Thank you Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib!!” and shared a United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USPCR) post regarding her “principled stand against H. Res. 326, a resolution that will only help perpetuate the unjust status quo in Palestine/Israel and provide cover for Israel’s ongoing violations of Palestinian rights.”
Elected to the U.S. Congress in November 2018, Rashida Tlaib has advocated for a one-state solution, endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and called for reduced foreign aid to Israel.
H.Res. 326 was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2019, in support of a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict and to “ensure Israel's survival as a secure Jewish and democratic state and fulfill the legitimate aspirations for a Palestinian state.”
USPCR’s Facebook post included photos of Tlaib testifying against H.Res. 326 and quoted her as saying: “We cannot be honest brokers for peace if we refuse to use the words ‘illegal occupation by Israel.’”
On May 4, 2019, UMass SJP participated in a panel event titled: “Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, & the Battle for Palestinian Rights,” that featured anti-Israel activists Roger Waters (via recorded video message), Marc Lamont Hill, Linda Sarsour, Dave Zirin and Vijay Prashad.
Roger Waters is a world-famous musician and BDS activist who has compared Israel to Nazi Germany. He has also been accused of spreading anti-Semitism at his concerts.
Elected to the U.S. Congress in November 2018, Rashida Tlaib has advocated for a one-state solution, endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and called for reduced foreign aid to Israel.
She was also an original co-sponsor of H.Res. 496 in July 2019. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was the primary sponsor and described the bill as “an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support...the BDS movement.”
H.Res. 326 was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2019, in support of a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict and to “ensure Israel's survival as a secure Jewish and democratic state and fulfill the legitimate aspirations for a Palestinian state.”
USPCR’s Facebook post included photos of Tlaib testifying against H.Res. 326 and quoted her as saying: “We cannot be honest brokers for peace if we refuse to use the words ‘illegal occupation by Israel.’”
On May 4, 2019, UMass SJP participated in a panel event titled: “Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, & the Battle for Palestinian Rights,” that featured anti-Israel activists Roger Waters (via recorded video message), Marc Lamont Hill, Linda Sarsour, Dave Zirin and Vijay Prashad.
Roger Waters is a world-famous musician and BDS activist who has compared Israel to Nazi Germany. He has also been accused of spreading anti-Semitism at his concerts.
Marc Lamont Hill was fired from his position as a contributor to CNN (Cable News Network) in November 2018, after making controversial comments during a meeting at the United Nations for an “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”
Hill reportedly whitewashed Palestinian violence during the meeting, accused Israel of “state violence and ethnic cleansing” and called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
Earlier that year, during a U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Righs (USPCR) conference in September 2018, Hill insinuated [00:31:01] that Israel poisons Palestinian water and seemingly approved [00:30:34] of violence against Israelis.
Sarsour has tweeted that “nothing is creepier than Zionism” and frequently uses the word “Zionist” as a pejorative.
The event was organized by Sut Jhally and the Media Education Foundation (MEF), of which he is the Founder and Executive Director.
The event’s Facebook description read: “The panel will address recent attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar and other progressives who have spoken out against Israel’s 50-year military occupation of Palestinian land and pushed back against the claim that criticizing Israeli government policies is ‘anti-Semitic.’”
Elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018, Ilhan Omar was denounced by top Congressional leaders in February 2019 for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks. She has also demonized Israel and endorsed BDS.
On September 4, 2019, UMass SJP posted photos on Instagram of activists posing with Hill and Sarsour. UMass SJP’s Instagram post also included a video from Angela Davis where she expressed solidarity with the May 4, 2019 event.
In 1970, Davis was charged as a principal in the aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of a judge and listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List.
UMass SJP (2018-2020) - Promoting Anti-Normalizatio
On April 12, 2020, UMass SJP posted multiple images to Instagram with the title: “Unpacking Zionism.” The final image read: “ZIONSIM REWRITES THE PALESTINIAN FIGHT FOR LIBERATION FROM AN ANTI-COLONIAL STRUGGLE TO AN ANTI-SEMITIC PROJECT. WE MUST QUESTION THAT NARRATIVE.”UMass SJP Instagram’s post said: “As UMASS SJP, the work that we do obliges us to dispel narratives that normalize the occupation. Zionism is a tool of normalization, painting the Jewish settlement of Palestine to be a much needed finding of a homeland rather than a settler-colonial project. We must work to address and unlearn these narratives.”
The policy of “anti-normalization” aims to ensure that all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians align only with the Arab agenda, including ending the occupation and a full right of return for Palestinians, which is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. The policies are shared with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
On April 7, 2020, UMass SJP posted multiple images on Instagram with the title: “Challenging Normalization of the Occupation.”
UMass SJP’s Instagram post said: “In solidarity with the Palestinian Civil Society’s calls to reject normalization of the occupation, we present a brief guide on how to decolonize our language. Using the terms given to us by American and Israeli interests invisiblize [sic] the identity of Palestinians and uphold the occupation. Being more intentional with our words is the first step to showing solidarity with Palestinians and resisting the settler-colonial state.”
On April 5, 2020 UMass SJP posted to Instagram a “Statement On Rejecting Normalization & Expressing Our Solidarity On Campus.” The statement was in response to a UMass Mishelanu and UMass Black Student Union (BSU) co-sponsored event titled: "A Talk with An Ethopian Israeli."
The UMass Mishelanu and UMass BSU event was to feature Ethiopian-Israeli, Waga Brok, talking about her experience being a black, African, Jewish woman and her experience of those identities in different environments.
UMass SJP’s statement read: “The anti-normalization policy necessitates that we do not participate in collaborative events with Zionist groups...on the grounds that such events do more to obscure, rather than expose, the fundamental power imbalances at the heart of the settler-colonial occupation of Palestine.”
UMass SJP’s Instagram post also said: "As SJP, we unequivocally reject any effort to normalize the Israeli state as anything other than a settler-colonial project."
Prior to the Waga Brok event, UMass SJP activists reportedly attacked a group of Jewish students on campus, after which the event was “zoom-bombed” with “vicious hate speech - repeatedly calling Brok the N-word and viciously attacking her in the comments section.”
On April 21, 2020, Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Hillel Jewish Center was reportedly vandalized with graffiti, with the word “Palestine” being written in Arabic in large red letters.
UMass SJP (2018-2020) - Supporting BDS
On November 11, 2019, UMass SJP promoted on Facebook an event to be held the following day titled: “Criminalizing Dissent – The Attack on BDS & American Democracy,” featuring BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti.The Facebook event page noted that Barghouti would join the event live via Skype, from Israel.
Barghouti, the founder of the BDS movement, has claimed [00:04:28] that international law grants everyone with Palestinian ancestry the unqualified right to settle in Israel. Barghouti has also insisted [01:18:21]that the demands of BDS are “inflexible” and “non-negotiable,” and if people object, then “tough.”
During the event, Barghouti claimed [00:02:15]: “Israel's far-right regime is not merely continuing its decades-old military occupation settler colonialism apartheid and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians; it's increasingly outsourcing its anti-democratic tactics to the U.S. They've tried to silence my voice...”
Earlier, UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy condemned the event in an October 21, 2019 statement, saying: “It is troubling that such a one-dimensional, polarizing event should take place on our campus. A panel discussion where only one perspective is shared does little to increase the understanding of such a complex topic like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Subbaswamy continued: “Furthermore, because the BDS position in general fails to acknowledge the humanity on the Israeli side of the conflict and is considered by many as anti-Semitic, the upcoming event could very well alienate many of our Jewish students and other members of our campus community.”
On October 28, 2019, UMass SJP published to Facebook an Open Letter condemning Chancellor Subbaswamy’s statement and demanding a retraction and an apology. In their letter, UMass SJP claimed the Chancellor was “controlling the information that students have access to thus keeping them from engaging in free rational deliberation.”
On April 19, 2020, UMass SJP posted a flier from Within Our Lifetime (WOL), formerly NYC SJP, on Instagram that read: “BOYCOTT. THIS RAMADAN DON’T BREAK YOUR FAST WITH ZIONISM!” and urged readers to “AVOID ALL DATES LABELED ISRAEL, WEST BANK, JORDAN VALLEY OR RED SEA. ALL DATES PRODUCED UNDER THIS LABEL WERE MADE IN OCCUPIED PALESTINE.”
On May 15, 2020, UMass SJP posted a “Call of Action” to Facebook that read: “We must do the work of pressuring our governments through a variety of tactics to end all military funding to Israel. We must understand that BDS...is a necessary act of solidarity and an international strategy in the movement for Palestinian liberation.”
In their Facebook post, UMass SJP wrote: “Now more than ever ... we need to urgently continue the movement for BDS and Palestinian liberation.”
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.
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