Tasneem Warwani

On July 13, 2021, Warwani hosted [00:04:00] a PLSJP webinar on Facebook while she was the PLSJP co-president.

As the moderator, Warwani posed topics of discussion to the panelists such as [00:25:54] how Israel can legally “conduct this apartheid and to be this oppressive regime.” She also questioned [01:16:35] whether “participating in itrek perpetuates harm, and helps both directly and or indirectly uphold the occupation.”

The program known as itrek is a partially subsidized trip to Israel for graduate students to meet with Israeli companies and start-ups. The webinar was titled: “Say No to itrek: An Intro to the Palestinian Solidarity Movement.” On the webinar, PLSJP hosted anti-Israel activists Jamal Dakwar, Huwaida Arraf and George Bisharat.

During the webinar, Arraf said [00:13:34]: “What we have really is a settler colonial apartheid regime” and accused [00:13:50] Israel of maintaining an “open air prison” in Gaza. Arraf also stated [01:35:15]: “I don’t want my tax dollars going to Israel to occupy and kill Palestinians.”

Dakwar claimed [00:36:17] during the webinar that the situation in Israel is “a situation of separation, and domination of one group [Israelis] over the other [Palestinians], to maintain power and to suppress other community.”

On July 2, 2021, Warwani posted on Facebook to promote the upcoming PLSJP webinar on itrek.

On the same day, Warwani posted on Facebook: “We just released a letter against itrek, a highly subsidized trip to Israel meant to draw attention away from Israel’s human rights violations. You don’t have to be a Penn student to sign!!!”

In the post, Warwani attached a letter that was originally posted by PLSJP. The letter was meant to discourage students from partaking in itrek. PLSJP claimed [Slide 2] in the letter that itrek is “designed to improve Israel’s image among Americans and deflect attention from its human rights abuses.”

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 Student 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.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

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 infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. 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 and pro-terror activism on campus.

Demonizing Israel

Anti-Israel Activism (SJP)

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)

Social Media and Weblinks