Tesay Yusuf
Overview
In 2014 and 2015 Yusuf was affiliated with Stanford’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Also in 2014 and 2015, she was a member of Stanford Out of Occupied Palestine (SOOP), a group that has defined itself as a coalition of 19 student groups promoting divestment from "human rights abuses in Palestine & around the world."
In 2015, Yusuf was alsothe “Social Justice Director” of Stanford’s Muslim Student Awareness Network(MSAN), which is a member organizationof SOOP.
Yusuf’s LinkedIn page stated that she graduated from Stanford in 2018, with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations.
As of November 2020, Yusuf went by the name “Tefan Yusuf (Tesay Yusuf)” on Facebook.
Demonizing Israel
On October 8, 2015, Yusuf tweeted: “What I'm taking away from my intro to IR [International Relations] class: the U.S. and Israel cause most of the problems in the world. All the colonial states do.”On February 11, 2019, Yusuf tweeted: “Criticizing the *Apartheid* state of Israel and the pro-Israel lobby is not anti-Semitic...”
Yusuf retweeted a January 28, 2020 tweet from anti-Israel activist Noura Erakat that read: “They want to put us in permanent, high-tech cages and call it peace. #DealOfTheCentury #ApartheidDeal #Palestine #PalestinianFreedom.”
On January 28, 2020, US President Donald Trump proposed a peace plan, referred to as the “Deal of the Century,” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that included land concessions by both sides of the conflict.
Yusuf retweeted a June 12, 2020 tweet from a Research and Advocacy Coordinator at the CAIR National Headquarters that read: “Israel actively trains American police to shoot & kill black and brown people. Zionism can never be compatible with the liberation of black people & the abolishment of police. Zionism is inherently anti-black, upholds white supremacy, & ignores the murder of black & brown folks.”
Supporting Anti-Israel Agitators
In November 2018, Hill was fired from his contributor position at CNN (Cable News Network) after he gave an anti-Israel speech at the United Nations. He called [00:20:47] for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” a phrase associated with demands to dismantle the State of Israel. Hill also accused [00:16:19] Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” as well as [00:17:49] “white supremacy” and [00:17:56] “settler colonialism.”
On March 4, 2019, Yusuf expressed support for U.S Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Twitter, writing: “...I'm so grateful Ilhan isn't backing down from her criticisms of Israel, AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobby. #IStandWithIlhan.”
The stated mission of AIPAC is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”
During a March 1, 2019 event at Busboys&Poets TownHall, Omar suggested that supporters of Israel were disloyal to America, saying [00:00:42]: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”
Promoting BDS at Stanford
Yusuf co-signed a SOOP op-ed published on October 26, 2014, in Stanford’s student-run newspaper “The Stanford Daily.” The op-ed was titled: “Stanford must divest from the occupation of Palestine.” It also suggested that Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) was a “massacre.”Israel commenced OPE in July 2014 to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
On November 30, 2014, Yusuf created a gofundme page on behalf of SOOP. The description of the page read: “We are now 5 days away from the divestment hearing at the Undergraduate Senate and more excited than ever.”
According to the gofundme page, the funds were collected for “printing materials, banners, t-shirts, buttons and other items needed for student mobilization.”
On January 13, 2015, Yusuf promoted SOOP’s gofundme page on Twitter and provided a link to SOOP’S divestment petition, which mentioned a divestment resolution presented by the group to Stanford’s undergraduate senate. Yusuf was the 4th signatory on the petition.
SOOP published a BDS resolution on January 27, 2015, that called on Stanford to divest from companies it claimed “violate international humanitarian law by: maintaining the illegal infrastructure of the Israeli occupation…facilitating Israel and Egypt’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians…[and] facilitating state repression against Palestinians.”
On January 28, 2015, Yusuf was tagged in a SOOP Facebook post with a quote ascribed to her that read: “Divestment is a way for Americans to make an impact on the situation and make sure our voices are heard. Through this campaign, I hope to see the campus community become more aware of the conflict and stand up against violations of human rights.”
The SOOP BDS resolution initially failed [00:00:42] at the Senate hearing on February 10, 2015, but was later brought forward in a motion calling for a re-vote and passed on February 17, 2015.
On February 10, 2015, Yusuf published a video to YouTube titled “Stanford Student Groups Support #StanfordDivest.” Yusuf featured [00:01:31] in the video supporting the divestment resolution on behalf of Stanford’s MSAN and the Islamic Society of Stanford University (ISSU).
On February 11, 2015, Yusuf tweeted: “At the end of the day, #StanfordDivest isn't over, Justice will prevail, FREE PALESTINE, and I love the people I'm surrounded by.”
On February 16, 2015, Yusuf tweeted: “No rest till we divest #StanfordDivest.”
On April 14, 2015, the Stanford Board of Trustees announced that it would take no action based on the SOOP BDS Resolution, despite an SJP Stanford request for the Board to do so.
In accordance with the board’s Statement on Investment Responsibility, the board said in its statement that they focused on “questions of divisiveness and negative impact” and determined that acting on the request would be “likely to impair the capacity of the University to carry out its educational mission.”
SJP Activism
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.
At the protest, fellow SJP activists held up signs that read: “ISRAEL IS AN APARTHEID STATE,” as well as: “#FadiAlloun.”
Fadi Aloon was shot by Israeli security forces after he stabbed a 15-year-old Israeli boy. Several hours before the attack, Aloon posted “Either martyrdom or victory” on his Facebook page.
Stanford SJP - Protesting Against a Vigil for Terror Victims
In October 2015, SJP Stanford organized a protest as a “preemptive response” to a vigil scheduled to mourn Israeli civilians and soldiers killed in stabbing and ramming attacks, during the “Knife Intifada,” then occurring in Israel.SJP Stanford co-president Fatima Zehra was quoted in Stanford’s campus newspaper, saying: “We wanted to do something because we felt that Sunday’s protest was going to be really one-sided.”
Zehra reportedly considered e-mails advertising the scheduled mourning vigil problematic, because they referred to Israelis who had been murdered as “victims of terror.” Zehra claimed: “There’s implicit racism in that, because it’s like, all Palestinian Arabs are terrorists...”
SJP Stanford - Hosting Anti-Israel Agitators
On April 27, 2016, Stanford SJP held an event hosting Omar Barghouti for a live-video lecture.Barghouti, who is the founder of the BDS movement, rejects Israel’s existence. Barghouti has claimed [00:04:28] that international law allows anyone with Palestinian ancestry the right to settle in Israel and said [01:18:21] BDS demands are “inflexible” and “non-negotiable.”
On November 9, 2015, Stanford SJP held a “Visual Talk” featuring Dr. Mads Gilbert, noting that he was “hit with a lifetime ban from entering Gaza by the Israeli government.”
Gilbert, who is banned indefinitely from entering Gaza via Israel due to his connections with Hamas leadership, was stationed at a hospital that served as a Hamas command center and rocket launching site in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014.
While at the hospital, Gilbert acted as a propagandist for the Hamas government in Gaza and was accused of faking resuscitation on a dead child in Gaza for dramatic effect for a CNN video.
After the September 11 terrorist attacks, Gilbert called the attack a “legitimate response.”
SOOP #Stanford Divest
Stanford Out of Occupied Palestine (SOOP) was reportedly a coalition of 19 student groups campaigning for Stanford University (Stanford) to “divest from corporations profiting from human rights abuses in occupied Palestine.”The campaign was initiated [00:12:16] by Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and promoted on social media under the hashtag “#Stanford Divest.”
As of January 2020, SOOP’s Facebook page said its mission was “To end Stanford's investments in corporations which profit from the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories.”
SOOP has reportedly stated that it is not connected to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and is focused on “selective divestment.” However, the coalition has reportedly disseminated BDS materials and promoted a video that solicited donations for BDS.
SOOP - 2015 Divestment Campaign
In February 2015, members of SOOP presented a petition and a divestment resolution to the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) Undergraduate Senate to further the agenda of the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement.The resolution, titled: “A Resolution to Divest from Companies Violating Human Rights in Occupied Palestine,” was co-authored by Ramah Awad, SOOP leader and co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Stanford (SJP Stanford) at the time and then-members of SOOP, Clayton Evans, Laura Perez and Emma Hartung.
The resolution called for Stanford University Trustees to divest from companies that it alleged: “violate international humanitarian law by: maintaining the illegal infrastructure of the Israeli occupation.”
The resolution also called for divestment from companies it claimed facilitates Israel’s “collective punishment of Palestinian civilians…[and] state repression against Palestinians.”
On February 8, 2015, The Stanford Review, a student-run political magazine reported that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings showed no evidence that Stanford has been invested in any of the companies that SOOP targeted for divestment over the last ten years, with the exception of Raytheon, for one filing period.
The resolution initially failed [00:00:42] to garner the required 66% majority senate approval, in a vote held on February 10, 2015.
Senate Chair Ana Ordonez then brought forward a motion calling for a re-vote. Ordonez reportedly initially abstained from voting and was later quoted in the student newspaper, the Stanford Daily, as saying: “Now that the noise has subsided, I know that I voted incorrectly.”
Ordonez voted in favor of the resolution in the re-vote, which passed on February 17, 2015. However, the Stanford Board of Trustees later announced on April 14, 2015, that Stanford would take no action on SJP’s request.
In accordance with the board’s Statement on Investment Responsibility, the board said in its statement on the resolution that they focused on “questions of divisiveness and negative impact” and determined that acting on the request would be “likely to impair the capacity of the University to carry out its educational mission.”
SOOP - Promoting BDS
On February 10, 2015, SOOP promoted a BDS Youtube video on Facebook, titled: “Stanford Student Groups Support #StanfordDivest.”The video featured members of student groups, including [00:03:38] SJP Stanford, expressing why they support “#StanfordDivest.” Ramah Awad, SOOP leader and co-president of SJP Stanford at the time, said [00:03:45]: “We recognize divestment as one step on that path to liberation.”
On January 23, 2015, SOOP posted a photo album on Facebook titled: “Human of ‘Out of Occupied Palestine,’” which featured photos of Stanford students holding posters with anti-Israel messages and showing support for #StanfordDivest.
One photo showed a student holding a sign which read: “I support divestment because collective punishment is a war crime.” Another sign read: “There are better & more commendable ways to fiscally profit that doesn’t contribute to the displacement & exploitation of human lives.”
On January 21, 2015, SOOP reportedly organized a panel discussion to promote its BDS petition, which called for Stanford’s divestment from corporations that allegedly “facilitate human rights violations in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories.”
On January 9, 2015, SOOP published a Youtube video titled: “FilasteenFridays: Collective Punishment in the Palestinian Territories.” The video urged Stanford students to support their BDS campaign as “the only way to show true moral neutrality.”
On January 8, 2015, SOOP hosted an informational event titled: “Case for Divestment from the Occupation of Palestine.”
The event’s Facebook description said it would include an explanation of SOOP’s “divestment criteria, followed by a moderated discussion with some of the campaign organizers.”
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.
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/1447872181Twitter 1:https://twitter.com/tefanyusuf
Twitter 2: https://twitter.com/queen_laTEFAN [Deleted]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tefanyusuf/
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjvvqvn_xlHrYz82OJlOmMA
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tefanay/
Soundcloud:https://soundcloud.com/tefan-yusuf
Vimeo:https://vimeo.com/user66415448
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- Stanford
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- CAIR,
- more...
- SJP,
- SOOP
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- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
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