Will Marchese
Overview
Will [Luis] Marchese led two Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) initiatives as a member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Swarthmore College (Swarthmore).Marchese has also demonized Israel and promoted anti-Israel agitators on Facebook.
In December 2019, Marchese’s Facebook page said that he was studying “Interpretation theory” at Swarthmore, from “2015 - 2020.”
As of the same date, Marchese’s LinkedIn page said he worked at the Reserve Desk at McCabe Library and was a Student Assistant at the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, since August 2016.
In January 2020, Marchese went by the name “Luis Marchese” on Facebook.
Swarthmore SJP Divestment Campaign
On October 9, 2018, Marchese helped lead [00:15:22] a Swarthmore SJP rally to launch a campus divestment resolution. The resolution called on Swarthmore to divest from a number of companies doing business with Israel.
At the rally, Marchese said [00:17:04]: “We can be the generation that ends the U.S. support of apartheid. By stigmatizing occupation and apartheid and calling our leaders into action, we can do nothing less than change the politically possible.”
Marchese continued [00:17:19]: “The UN has reported that Gaza will be environmentally uninhabitable by as soon as 2020. The clock’s ticking, as Swarthmore stands complicit. We have two years. If not us, who? If not now, when?”
Marchese also led [00:18:04] demonstrators in a chant: “Donald Trump you will see, Palestine will be free” and [00:18:35] “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crime.”
On November 5, 2018, Marchese shared Swarthmore SJP’s divestment petition to Facebook.
On December 3, 2018, Marchese shared on Facebook Swarthmore SJP’s BDS campaign video, titled: “Why Divest from Apartheid?” Marchese commented: “Had such an amazing time making this with Nathalie Baer Chan and Louise Rosler. SHARE THIS VIDEO and help us reach ONE THOUSAND SIGNATURES!!”
The same day, Marchese posted the “Swarthmore Queer Union Letter of Support for BDS Campaign” to Facebook which read: “ ...we voice our fury at the ways that the State of Israel pinkwashes its apartheid practices… we recognize that queer and trans liberation cannot take place without Palestinian liberation.”
“Pinkwashing” is a claim that Israel advocates manipulate the LGBTQ community in order to garner support for Israel.
On December 7, 2018, Marchese promoted an upcoming Swarthmore SJP rally on Facebook and appeared [00:00:07] in a promotional video titled: “1K Strong Against Apartheid - Now We Rally & Deliver!” Marchese also commented: “Haven't felt this politically hopeful in a while. We can do this, people!! Join us Wednesday the 12th!”
On December 12, 2018, Marchese helped lead [00:09:52] a Swarthmore SJP’s rally where activists reportedly delivered a petition Swarthmore President Valerie Smith, urging Swarthmore to “divest from Israeli apartheid.”
At the rally, Marchese declared [00:12:26]: “We’re here to tell President Smith and the Board, that if they stand with us, if they stand with Palestine and Palestinian human rights, if they stand against apartheid and occupation, we have got their backs.”
Marchese also implied [00:11:47] that Swarthmore had not implemented BDS because because of [00:12:15] “intense pressure from right wing alumni who want to stand with apartheid.”
On December 12, 2018, Marchese posted a video of the rally on Facebook and commented: “In awe of the power we’ve built this semester. We’re just getting started!”
In February 2019, Swarthmore SJP proposed their BDS resolution to Swarthmore’s Student Government Organization (SGO). On February 10, 2019, the BDS resolution failed to pass.
At the rally, Marchese said [00:17:04]: “We can be the generation that ends the U.S. support of apartheid. By stigmatizing occupation and apartheid and calling our leaders into action, we can do nothing less than change the politically possible.”
Marchese continued [00:17:19]: “The UN has reported that Gaza will be environmentally uninhabitable by as soon as 2020. The clock’s ticking, as Swarthmore stands complicit. We have two years. If not us, who? If not now, when?”
Marchese also led [00:18:04] demonstrators in a chant: “Donald Trump you will see, Palestine will be free” and [00:18:35] “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crime.”
On November 5, 2018, Marchese shared Swarthmore SJP’s divestment petition to Facebook.
On December 3, 2018, Marchese shared on Facebook Swarthmore SJP’s BDS campaign video, titled: “Why Divest from Apartheid?” Marchese commented: “Had such an amazing time making this with Nathalie Baer Chan and Louise Rosler. SHARE THIS VIDEO and help us reach ONE THOUSAND SIGNATURES!!”
The same day, Marchese posted the “Swarthmore Queer Union Letter of Support for BDS Campaign” to Facebook which read: “ ...we voice our fury at the ways that the State of Israel pinkwashes its apartheid practices… we recognize that queer and trans liberation cannot take place without Palestinian liberation.”
“Pinkwashing” is a claim that Israel advocates manipulate the LGBTQ community in order to garner support for Israel.
On December 7, 2018, Marchese promoted an upcoming Swarthmore SJP rally on Facebook and appeared [00:00:07] in a promotional video titled: “1K Strong Against Apartheid - Now We Rally & Deliver!” Marchese also commented: “Haven't felt this politically hopeful in a while. We can do this, people!! Join us Wednesday the 12th!”
On December 12, 2018, Marchese helped lead [00:09:52] a Swarthmore SJP’s rally where activists reportedly delivered a petition Swarthmore President Valerie Smith, urging Swarthmore to “divest from Israeli apartheid.”
At the rally, Marchese declared [00:12:26]: “We’re here to tell President Smith and the Board, that if they stand with us, if they stand with Palestine and Palestinian human rights, if they stand against apartheid and occupation, we have got their backs.”
Marchese also implied [00:11:47] that Swarthmore had not implemented BDS because because of [00:12:15] “intense pressure from right wing alumni who want to stand with apartheid.”
On December 12, 2018, Marchese posted a video of the rally on Facebook and commented: “In awe of the power we’ve built this semester. We’re just getting started!”
In February 2019, Swarthmore SJP proposed their BDS resolution to Swarthmore’s Student Government Organization (SGO). On February 10, 2019, the BDS resolution failed to pass.
On February 24, 2019, the SGO Executive Board and Senate reportedly hosted an open meeting on the failed BDS resolution
On March 3, 2019, the SGO held another meeting inviting student groups to again discuss the BDS resolution. SGO’s President Gilbert Orbea motioned to hold a vote among members on whether to make the meeting closed, that succeeded, after which SGO held a secret vote. At the secret vote, the SGO voted in support of the divestment resolution.
On March 12, 2019, President Smith released a statement to Swarthmore’s website in which she declined to change Swarthmore’s investment policies in accordance with the BDS resolution.
Boycotting Sabra Hummus
On March 3, 2018, Marchese urged his Facebook followers to sign a Swarthmore SJP petition calling on the university to boycott Sabra products.In March 2018, Swarthmore SJP released a petition calling for an end to the sale of Sabra products at campus locations. Sabra Hummus is partially owned by an Israeli company, the Strauss Group.
The petition accused Sabra of supporting Israeli forces who commit “countless human rights violations,” including “arbitrary murders, assaults, incarcerations, evictions, and arrests of children.”
On March 3, 2018, Marchese shared the petition on Facebook and wrote: “SIGN AND SHARE: Swarthmore SJP calls upon President Smith to affirm the dignity of Palestinian life, recognize the illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and deshelve all current Sabra products and end their future sale at Swarthmore College.”
On April 4, 2018, Marchese participated in Swarthmore SJP’s rally to express support for SJP members slated to meet with Swarthmore President Valerie Smith to push the Sabra boycott. A day earlier, Marchese promoted the event on Facebook.
On April 30, 2018, President Smith announced that Swarthmore would continue to sell Sabra products on campus and begin selling an alternative brand of hummus.
That same day, Marchese posted to Facebook: “I am” in response to SJP member Mohammed Bappe’s Facebook comment asking if students were: “angry by the college’s decision to not boycott Sabra products comment.”
On May 2, 2018, Marchese co-hosted a Swarthmore SJP rally with fellow SJP activists Özsu Rişvanoğlu and Killian McGinnis, with the aim of halting the sale of Sabra hummus on campus.
On July 19, 2018, Marchese posted on Facebook: “...Swarthmore College, when will you end your support of Israeli apartheid--and end the sale of Sabra products???”
Demonizing Israel
On October 11, 2018, Marchese shared a Swathmore SJP Facebook post that shared a quote from Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, from an article titled: “My grandfather Nelson Mandela fought apartheid. I see the parallels with Israel.”
SJP Swarthmore’s post quoted Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela saying: "I see the eerie similarities between Israel’s racial laws and policies towards Palestinians, and the architecture of apartheid in South Africa… In fact, many recognise that, in some respects, Israel’s regime of oppression is even worse.”
On May 14, 2018, Marchese shared a Swarthmore SJP post on Facebook with an image including text that read: "Today, the Trump administration moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Today, Israeli snipers have killed at least 55 Palestinian protesters and injured 1200 more. Today, Swarthmore is complicit in these crimes. Pay attention to Palestine. End the Occupation."
On May 14, 2018, Marchese shared an article on Facebook titled: “Israel Kills Dozens at Gaza Border as U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem.” Marchese commented: “52 people murdered. Over 2400 injured. In peaceful protest. Rest in power.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
On May 15, 2018, Marchese shared a post by Marc Lamont Hill on Facebook, in which Hill accused Israel of “land theft, expulsion, and ethnic cleansing” and defended Palestinian “resistance to their brutal occupation and repression.”
During the meeting, Hill reportedly whitewashed Palestinian violence and accused Israel of “state violence and ethnic cleansing.” He also called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
In September 2018, during a U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) conference, Hill insinuated [00:31:01] that Israel poisons Palestinian water and seemingly approved [00:30:34] of violence against Israelis.
On March 31, 2018, Marchese shared a post by anti-Israel activist Steven Salaita which read: “Roll call of progressive U.S. politicians on Israel's massacre in Gaza: --Cory Booker: silent --Tulsi Gabbard: silent --Kirsten Gillibrand: silent --Kamala Harris: silent --Bernie Sanders: silent [has since commented] --Elizabeth Warren: silent All of them vote to arm Israel, however…”
SJP Swarthmore’s post quoted Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela saying: "I see the eerie similarities between Israel’s racial laws and policies towards Palestinians, and the architecture of apartheid in South Africa… In fact, many recognise that, in some respects, Israel’s regime of oppression is even worse.”
On May 14, 2018, Marchese shared a Swarthmore SJP post on Facebook with an image including text that read: "Today, the Trump administration moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Today, Israeli snipers have killed at least 55 Palestinian protesters and injured 1200 more. Today, Swarthmore is complicit in these crimes. Pay attention to Palestine. End the Occupation."
On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests,” or the “March of Return.” The march was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests to spotlight the Palestinian demand to “return” to Israel. The “right of return” has since been discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
Media reports confirmed [00:00:20] the March of Return protesters’ breaches and attempted breaches of Israel’s border fence, some by armed Palestinians. One Hamas leader declared [00:00:30]: “We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.”
On May 14, 2018, Marchese shared an article on Facebook titled: “Israel Kills Dozens at Gaza Border as U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem.” Marchese commented: “52 people murdered. Over 2400 injured. In peaceful protest. Rest in power.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
On July 29, 2018, Marchese shared photos on Facebook celebrating the release of Ahed Tamimi from prison.Ahed Tamimi has a long history of physically attacking Israeli soldiers. Tamimi is the daughter of Bassem Tamimi, who is known for exploiting young children as political props in staged confrontations with Israeli soldiers.
On May 15, 2018, Marchese shared a post by Marc Lamont Hill on Facebook, in which Hill accused Israel of “land theft, expulsion, and ethnic cleansing” and defended Palestinian “resistance to their brutal occupation and repression.”
In November 2018, Marc Lamont Hill was fired from his position as a contributor to CNN (Cable News Network) following controversial comments he made during a meeting held at the United Nations for an “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”
During the meeting, Hill reportedly whitewashed Palestinian violence and accused Israel of “state violence and ethnic cleansing.” He also called for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
In September 2018, during a U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) conference, Hill insinuated [00:31:01] that Israel poisons Palestinian water and seemingly approved [00:30:34] of violence against Israelis.
On March 31, 2018, Marchese shared a post by anti-Israel activist Steven Salaita which read: “Roll call of progressive U.S. politicians on Israel's massacre in Gaza: --Cory Booker: silent --Tulsi Gabbard: silent --Kirsten Gillibrand: silent --Kamala Harris: silent --Bernie Sanders: silent [has since commented] --Elizabeth Warren: silent All of them vote to arm Israel, however…”
In 2014, The University of Illinois withdrew an offer of employment to Steven Salaita after becoming aware of his anti-Semitic tweets. One tweet, posted shortly after Hamas kidnapped three teenage Israeli high school students, read: “You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the f**king West Bank settlers would go missing.”
Swarthmore SJP Activism
On November 8, 2019, Marchese promoted on Facebook a Swarthmore SJP event held that day, titled:“Movie Night with SJP.”The event description invited students to watch “Occupied Palestine (1981), a documentary film that follows Palestinian life before the First Intifada.”
On May 10, 2018, Marchese promoted on Facebook a Swarthmore SJP event held that day, titled: “Vigil to Tear Down the Wall.”
The event description said the vigil was organized to tear down the mock apartheid wall built a week earlier by Swarthmore SJP “in a symbolic act of resistance.”
Swarthmore SJP
Swarthmore SJP was formerly known as Swarthmore Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine (Swarthmore SPJP) from 2010-2017.Swarthmore SJP - Expressing Support for Terrorists
On March 26, 2019, Swarthmore SJP posted on Facebook in honor of Women’s History Month, celebrating “the resistance and resilience” of Khalida Jarrar as “a Palestinian feminist.”Khalida Jarrar is a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization. In 2017, Israel arrested Jarrar “on suspicion of involvement with terrorist activities.” In 2015, an Israeli military court sentenced Jarrar to 15 months in prison for calling to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
On March 24, 2019, Swarthmore SJP posted to Facebook celebrating Leila Khaled in honor of Women’s History Month.
Khaled, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization, participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970.
On May 6, 2017, Swarthmore SPJP posted a video to Facebook of SPJP members taking part in the “Saltwater Challenge.”
The “Saltwater Challenge” was held in solidarity with over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners hunger-striking in Israeli prisons — most of whom were convicted for acts of terrorism.
The strike was initiated by Marwan Barghouti, who was serving five consecutive life sentences for his role in suicide bombings and shooting attacks during the second intifada. Barghouti led the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Barghouti also financed the guitar-case bomb used in the Sbarro Cafe massacre, where 15 civilians were killed and 130 injured.
Swarthmore SJP - Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
On March 28, 2019, Swarthmore SJP posted to Facebook celebrating Manal Tamimi in honor of Women’s History Month.Manal Tamimi has promoted anti-Semitic blood libels as well as terror support.
On September 21, 2018, Swarthmore SJP posted to Facebook promoting Dareen Tatour. In October 2015, Tatour was placed under house arrest for incitement to violence and for support of a terrorist organization on social media.
On March 19, 2018, Swarthmore SJP hosted anti-Israel activist David Sheen.
David Sheen, a Canadian-Israeli anti-Israel activist and filmmaker, works to portray Israel as an extremist racist state. To this end, Sheen has been accused of purposefully mistranslating Hebrew articles and advertisements to make Israelis appear racist.
Swarthmore SJP - Supporting Violent Protesters
On March 30, 2019, Swarthmore SJP held a “Vigil for Gaza's Great March of Return.” The event’s Facebook description called to “Honor the lives of those murdered by Israeli military forces” on the “1-year anniversary of the ongoing Great March of Return, a series of massive nonviolent demonstrations.”On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “March of Return.” The March of Return was organized and funded by Hamas as a campaign of violent protests along Israel’s border to spotlight the demand of Palestinians to “return” to Israel.
On May 17, 2018, Swarthmore SJP posted to Facebook: “for the past month and a half - and increasingly in the past couple of days - the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been massacring Palestinians in Gaza who are nonviolently protesting for their rights. Over 100 demonstrators have been killed and thousands injured, among them a number of children, most by trained snipers with explicit orders to kill.”
On May 16, 2018, Hamas senior official Salah al-Bardawil stated that 50 out of 62 Gaza border protesters killed on May 14 were in fact Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) later claimed that three of its members were also killed at the May 14 protest.
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.
