Taher Herzallah
Taher Herzallah Glorified Martyrdom, Spread Anti-Semitism and Promoted Incitement
Taher Herzallah has glorified martyrdom, spread anti-Semitism and promoted incitement. He has also expressed support for terrorists and spread hatred of Israel. Herzallah was arrested twice for anti-Israel disruptions.Herzallah is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In 2017 and 2018, Herzallah engaged in activism with the anti-Israel group IfNotNow (INN).
As of September 2024, Herzallah was the director of outreach and grassroots organizing at the anti-Israel group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Herzallah participated in the National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Conference in 2015 and 2017.
As of the same date, Herzallah’s LinkedIn profile said he was president of Muslim Students Association (MSA) West (MSA West) from July 2009 to July 2010 and interned for the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the summer of 2009.
As of the same date, Herzallah’s LinkedIn said he was studying for a PhD in American studies at the University of Minnesota (UMN), slated to graduate in 2026, and that he was located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Glorifying Martyrdom
On May 24, 2024, Herzallah spoke at the People’s Conference for Palestine at a plenary session titled: “The War on Palestine.”The conference was organized by anti-Israel groups, including Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), SJP and Al-Awda and was held in Detroit, Michigan on May 24-26, 2024.
In his speech, Herzallah said [01:05:20]: “...I want to make it clear that the Palestinian diaspora in North America has committed its martyrs for this cause.”
Herzallah continued [01:05:33]: “We are an integral part of the Palestinian liberation struggle and the people who came to North America, the Palestinians who came to the United States, understood their role immediately upon arrival.”
Later, Herzallah said [01:14:56]: “I caution you of the days to come, because they will not be easy. There are people among us today who might not be with us next year at this conference. And this is a reality because the liberation struggle requires sacrifice. And I know everyone here is prepared to make that sacrifice.”
Anti-Semitism
On December 7, 2023, Herzallah was featured in a video posted on X by Canary Mission, in which he said: “Anybody who has any relationship or any support, or any…or identifies themself as a Jewish person or a Christian Zionist, then we shall not be their friend. I will tell you that they are enemy number one and our community needs to recognize that as such.”Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.
On October 6, 2020, Herzallah was featured in a YouTube video, in which he said [00:07:40]: “Putting people in concentration camps, besieging people, wholesale execution of people. These are all, you know, very common trends between what Nazi Germany did and what Israel is doing today.”
On October 18, 2014, Herzallah posted on X: “...israel was always racist. Racism is the foundation of the state of israel.”
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.
Incitement
In 2017, Herzallah wrote an article in a magazine published by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), in which he said [p. 54]: “In a world where Zionism is slowly eating away at the crippled Muslim world, the Palestinians have essentially become our last line of defense. If Israel were to take over the entire compound or possibly even destroy al-Aqsa, it would be the death knell of the Muslim world …”The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state. Such propaganda has led to multiple periods of violence against Israeli civilians.
Support for Terrorists
On May 22, 2017, Herzallah posted a photo of himself to Facebook, with the caption: “I Support #DignityStrike.”Israel commenced Operations Cast Lead (OCL), Pillar of Defense (OPD) and Protective Edge (OPE) in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, respectively, in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians.
In 2016, NGO Monitor posted an undated Facebook post attributed to Herzallah where he wrote: “in order for them [Israeli society] to feel any compulsion or urge to end the occupation, they need to feel that they are in an abnormal situation. In that regard, Hamas’ rockets are effective even though they don’t kill anyone…Hamas’ rockets are an oppressed people’s audible cry for help.”
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.
On October 10, 2015, Herzallah updated his Facebook cover photo to an image of a keffiyeh-masked woman handing rocks to masked men who were wearing Hamas headbands.
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.
Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.
Hatred of Israel
On May 1, 2018, Herzallah posted on Facebook, accusing Israel of “genocide.”On April 19, 2018, Herzallah posted on Instagram a photo of an anti-Israel graffiti and wrote: “#apartheid #zionismwillfall #GazaUnlocked.”
On July 26, 2016, Herzallah shared a link on Facebook with a photo of protesters holding a sign that read: “STOP FUNDING ISRAEL TERROR.”
On February 8, 2015, Herzallah posted on X: “Zionists chanting ‘singling out this nation, is discrimination’. Well israel singles itself out committing genocide #UCSADivest.”
On January 18, 2015, Herzallah declared [01:12:04] in a YouTube video his objection to the existence of the State of Israel. He then said [01:12:46]: “...we cannot envisage a future, a beautiful bright future for the Palestinian people, as long as Zionism exists...the only language that the State of Israel understands is that of resistance.”
On May 9, 2014, Herzallah posted on X, accusing Israel of Nakba.
The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by drawing a comparison to the Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, meaning “catastrophe.”
Arrests for Public Disruptions
On February 16, 2017, Herzallah joined AMP official Kareem El-Hosseiny, along with three INN activists and a CODEPINK activist to disrupt a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on David Friedman’s nomination to be the United States Ambassador to Israel.Herzallah and El-Hosseiny were arrested and charged with unlawful conduct and disrupting the U.S. Congress. INN and AMP co-hosted a rally titled: “#DropTheCharges” to “make noise to pressure the US Attorney into dropping” the criminal charges against the pair.
On January 29, 2015, Herzallah appeared [00:00:12] in a YouTube video where he and other AMP activists shouted down Israeli soldiers who were invited to speak on the Cal Poly Pomona campus about their personal experiences fighting terrorism.
Herzallah shouted [00:00:43]: “You’re not welcome on our campus!” Others activists shouted [00:00:25]: “There are two war criminals in this building!”
In February 2010, Herzallah was one of the “Irvine 11,” a group of mostly University of California, Irvine (UCI) students, who were arrested and prosecuted for their role in disrupting a speech given by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, at UCI.
During Oren’s speech, Herzallah stood up [00:05:48], shouted at Oren that he was a “mass murderer” and was then escorted out by police. Other students did the same thing, including one who accused [00:06:48] Oren of being “an accomplice to genocide.”
In September 2011, 10 of the 11 students, including Herzallah, were reportedly convicted of “two misdemeanors to conspire and then disrupt” Oren’s speech. They were all sentenced to community service.
AMP
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) was founded by UC Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian as a vehicle to generate mainstream support in the United States for the Palestinian national cause.
On its website, the organization lists Bazian as the chairman of its national board and describes itself as “a national education and grassroots-based organization, dedicated to educating the American public about Palestine and its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused AMP of promoting “extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans” about Palestinians. The ADL further stated that AMP is directly involved in campus-based anti-Israel activity through Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Prior to founding the AMP in 2006, Dr. Bazian created SJP together with fellow UC Berkeley Professor Snehal Shingavi in 2001. The close working relationship between AMP and SJP has been documented several times over the years by several organizations, including NGO Monitor and StandWithUs.
In addition to providing financial, public relations and legal assistance to SJP, AMP has also been accused of having connections to Hamas. The AMP national board includes former members of both the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) and Holy Land Foundation (HLF), both of which were found liable for aiding and abetting Hamas. The IAP was founded by Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a senior member of Hamas.
IfNotNow (INN)
INN claims to be “young Jews angered by the overwhelmingly hawkish response of American Jewish institutions” to OPE. INN presents three demands on its website: “Stop the War on Gaza, End the Occupation, and Freedom and Dignity for All.”
INN defines “the Occupation as the military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza,” which is land Israel has controlled for nearly 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War. However, INN leaders have made [00:34:32] the claim [00:13:49] at protests that the occupation is 70 years long, referring to Israel’s founding in 1948.
INN actions have aimed to demonize [00:38:13] Israel, harass [00:05:44] mainstream American Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and decrease support for Israel among American Jews.
INN has used “public action and imaginative ritual” to achieve its goals, including disruptions where activists were arrested.
One of the high-profile arrests occurred at a May 2018 disruption at a U.S. Senator’s office in Washington, D.C. to protest legislation against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
At the same incident, INN used [00:07:17] the Jewish ritual of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer to mourn [00:09:10] protesters who were killed during the Hamas-organized and funded Great March of Return riots on the Israel-Gaza border.
INN activists have also staged and promoted walk-offs from Birthright Israel trips, a heritage trip to Israel for young Jewish adults from across the world.
INN claims to take no position on the BDS movement and that it is “open to any who seek to shift the American Jewish public away from the status quo that upholds the Occupation.” However, INN organizes with pro-BDS, anti-Israel organizations including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
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.
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.
MSA
The MSA was established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 1963 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with the goal of "spreading Islam as students in North America." A 2004 FBI investigation uncovered an internal Muslim Brotherhood document in which a brotherhood leader identified the MSA as "one of our organizations."
The MSA reportedly has “nearly 600 chapters” located in the United States and Canada, and is “the most visible and influential Islamic student organization in North America,” boasting conferences, special events, publications, websites and other activities.
The organization includes a number of previous chapter presidents with explicit links to terrorist groups. Included are al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Colorado State University), Somali al-Shabaab militant leader Omar Shafik Hammami (University of South Alabama) and Pakistani Taliban recruiter Ramy Zamzam of the MSA's Washington, D.C. council.
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/578285874Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/taherherzallah/ [Private]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taher-herzallah-10896316
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- Minnesota
- Organizations:
- AMP,
- BDS,
- more...
- Related Profiles:
- Sarah Tawashy,
- Hamze Allaham,
- Amal Algharably,
- Dana Amar,
- Mennah Abdelrehim,
- Arkan Dawoud,
- Lina Habazi,
- Amani Nijem,
- Cherien Abou-harb,
- Hibah Abuhamdieh,
- Rawan Masri,
- Ahmed Sleem,
- Rabab Abdulhadi,
- Yousef Mousa,
- Dina Hamadi,
- Emad Ramadan,
- Samia Saliba,
- Rani Allan,
- Jenna Hassan,
- Sarah Youssef,
- Rafeef Hamad,
- Randa Habazi,
- Dunia Ghanimah,
- Ameera Abusnaneh,
- Parsa Nowruzi,
- Parker Breza,
- Hatem Bazian,
- Sara Zubi,
- Ala'a Salem,
- Kareem Hlayhel,
- Yusuf Bavi,
- Halima Eid,
- Ussama Makdisi,
- Brant Roberts,
- Joe Lavine,
- Suman Barat,
- Raphael-Mina Eissa,
- Sara Mahmoud,
- Chance Zurub,
- Deliah Odeh,
- Lee Steinhorst,
- Wael Elasady,
- Hossam Gamea,
- Irène Lucia Delaney,
- Sofia Yunez,
- Max Geller,
- Sarah Abdulmooti,
- Ayesha Khan,
- Subhya Latif,
- Alyssa Ruebensaal-Novak,
- Edan Tessema,
- Omar Jadallah-Karraa,
- Leena Almasri,
- Mohammed El-Kurd,
- Remi Kanazi,
- Mohammed Nabulsi,
- Maddie Fenn,
- Adrian McAfee,
- Caroline Mousa,
- Shaadie Ali,
- Sarah Zeidat,
- Derek Ide,
- Deena Habazi,
- Molly Tunis,
- Omer Arain,
- Mohamad Fattouh,
- Lydia Mousa,
- Joshua Valentino,
- Nora Abushaaban,
- Rania Salem,
- Ben Lorber,
- Sufiyan Mohammed,
- Jose Alducin,
- Abdel_Razzaq Takriti,
- Leila Warah,
- Amanda Jamal,
- Mohammad Abou-Ghazala,
- Ahmed Hamad,
- Malcolm Lizzappi,
- Alex Shams,
- Hamzah Raza,
- Anthony Kandah,
- Maymouna Sissoko Thiam,
- Nerdeen-Mohsen Kiswani,
- Hani Alhasan,
- Dinet Yusuf,
- Claudia Issa Baba,
- Mohammad Abdel-Aziz,
- Jenin Kiswani,
- Mohammad Tabel,
- Natalie Haddad,
- David Lloyd,
- Tina Matar
- Last Modified:
- 02/03/2025
Videos
Photos & Screenshots
