Yazen Mizyed

Overview

Yazen Mizyed [Yazen Ibn Abdallah Mizyed] has glorified violence, whitewashed terrorists and spread hatred of Israel.

He attended the 2019 National SJP Conference at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (UMN) as an activist for Students for Justice in Palestine (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 April 2021, Mizyed’s LinkedIn page said he was “Head of Operations” at Muslims of the World (MOTW) in Noblesville, Indiana. MOTW’s Facebook page described the organization as: “A platform designed to give a voice to Muslims around the world. We are rewriting the Muslim narrative one story at a time.” As of April 2021, the platform had more than 270,000 followers.

Also as of April 2021, Mizyed’s LinkedIn said he was located in Noblesville, Indiana.

Glorifying Violence

On May 15, 2018, Mizyed posted a video to Facebook that he produced [00:00:02] with the status: “Freedom fighters.” Mizyed’s video glorified the violent March of Return riots and Gazans using [00:00:11] slingshots and throwing rocks during the riots.

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.

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Participants also attempted to breach the border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.

Agitators threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires.

On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during a May 14 protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.

On September 22, 2019, Mizyed tweeted: “If you never threw a rock at the idf [Israel Defense Forces], don’t tell me we’ll win the war with knowledge. They don’t talk to us, they bomb us, f**k the media, bomb em back.”

Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.

On January 29, 2020, Mizyed tweeted a video glorifying the violent March of Return riots and Gazans using slingshots and throwing rocks in the riots. He wrote: “Respect existence or expect resistance.

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On January 31, 2020, Mizyed posted the same video on YouTube, titled “Respect existence or expect resistance.” The video glorified Gazans using [00:00:18] slingshots and throwing rocks [00:00:43] in the riots.

On April 11, 2020, Mizyed tweeted a clip from the same video and wrote: “‘We have on this land what makes life worth living’- Mahmoud Darawish..
I just cannot get sick of these shots. Free Palestine

#Palestine #torylanez.”

On April 20, 2020, Mizyed posted a video to TikTok of him throwing a golf ball, with text over the video that said: “Can you tell I’m Palestinian?”

On June 29, 2020, Mizyed tweeted a video clip glorifying Palestinian rock-throwing and wrote: “FIGHT FOR PALESTINE.”

On June 30, 2020, Mizyed tweeted another video glorifying Palestinian rock-throwing using slingshots.

On November 4, 2020, Mizyed tweeted a Palestinian flag emoji and a video glorifying rock-throwing using slingshots.

Whitewashing Terrorists

On July 5, 2020, Mizyed tweeted a photo of himself posing in front of a mural of Leila Khaled, painted on Israel’s security barrier.

Khaled is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of PFLP's Political Bureau.

Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.

The PFLP claimed credit for the 2014 Har Nof Massacre where six people were murdered during morning prayers in a Jerusalem synagogue. The PFLP also claimed credit for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.

Mizyed’s tweet said: “This wall will fall, Palestine WILL be free.”

Israel’s security barrier, 97 percent of which is a low chain-link barrier, was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.

Mizyed retweeted a June 28, 2020 tweet about Israel holding the body of Palestinian terrorist, Ahmad Erakat, that said: “...You don’t escape Israel. Even after death.”

That tweet was in response to another tweet by the same person, that said: “This is Ahmad Erekat. Say his bloody name. His wedding was in a matter of days. He was going to pick up his sister from the salon to go to HER wedding TODAY. Ahmad Erekat was shot and left to bleed. May Allah give his family Sabr. May Allah grant him Jannah. SAY. HIS. NAME!!!!!”

Ahmad Erekat [Ahmad Moustafa Erekat; Ahmed Erakat] was killed by Israeli security forces after he accelerated and rammed his car into soldiers at a checkpoint. One female soldier was injured. The incident was captured on video.

On April 3, 2017, Mizyed published a presentation online with a slide that claimed that “Israel combats freedom fighters, not a true military, nor a country.”

On March 2, 2017, Mizyed posted a Palestine Chronicle article to Facebook, with a headline that referred to Basel Al Araj as “Martyr of Pen and Bullet.”

Basel Al Araj was killed in a shoot-out with Israeli troops during an arrest raid. He had been suspected of belonging to a terror cell planning to carry out attacks on Israeli targets. Two M-16 assault rifles and an improvised Carlo-style submachine gun were found inside his home.

Spreading Hatred of Israel

On July 12, 2018, Mizyed shared a video on Facebook that celebrated a pro-BDS bill passed by the Irish parliament and claimed that the bill’s approval was [00:01:07] “a step in the right direction towards holding Israel accountable for its atrocious human rights abuses.”

On May 11, 2018, Mizyed tweeted: “F**k every Israeli. If you take up space in stolen land, you deserve this.” Mizyed’s tweet linked to an unavailable tweet.

On July 11, 2017, Mizyed shared to Facebook a video from the 41st session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, of Cuba’s delegate to the United Nations calling [00:02:11] for a minute’s silence for Palestinians who had “died in the region.”

The Cuban representative did so in immediate response to Israel’s delegate asking [00:00:18] for a minute’s silence for the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Nazi Holocaust. Mizyed wrote in reference to Cuba’s delegate: “God bless you.”

The video description said: “This Cuban delegate SHUT DOWN an Israeli delegate for politicising a UNESCO discussion.”

The 2019 National SJP Conference was held at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities (UMN), from November 1-3. The Conference themes centered on support for BDS as well as the rejection of Israel and Zionism.

The Conference partnered with numerous anti-Israel organizations and conducted their event in a clandestine manner.

2019 National SJP - Supporting BDS

The Conference website called to capitalize on shifts in the political climate, represented by the elections to the U.S. Congress of Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who both support BDS. National SJP speakers also reportedly drew attention to Rep. Omar’s support for the BDS movement as the Representative for UMN’s Congressional district.

During the Conference, National SJP speakers reportedly “noted the success of past divestment campaigns at the University [UMN], which ultimately resulted in the passing of a campus-wide [BDS] referendum in 2018.”

The UMN resolution passed in 2018 by a margin of 3.4 percent of those students who voted, translating to approval by 6.18% of all eligible voters. Less than 13% of the eligible voters actually voted on UMN’s BDS referendum.

2019 National SJP - Heightened Secrecy

The 2019 National SJP Conference required attendees to be “verified and vouched for” by an SJP chapter to which they belonged and required each chapter to register as a group. The conference also required each group to be verified by a “reference––someone who is NOT going to this conference but who is or has recently been a part of your SJP.”

Members of allied student groups could register only as part of an SJP chapter delegation which, in turn, needed to be “vouched for by their campus’s SJP” for “security culture and accountability reasons.”

The Conference also restricted media access to journalists “registered and confirmed by our Media Committee in advance to attend the conference. Absolutely no exceptions will be made.”

During the Conference, National SJP reportedly covered the windows of the conference hall.

2019 National SJP - Partnering Organizations

National SJP partnered with other anti-Israel organizations to table, sell merchandise and lead workshops, including CODEPINK, Palestine Youth Movement (PYM), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Palestine Legal, Watan Palestine and the Adalah Justice Project.

Keynote speakers included Loubna Qutami, Chair of PYM, as well as Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Other speakers included Miko Peled, Sandra Tamari, Suhad Katib, Chris Gazaleh, Clarissa Bitar, Tariq Luthun, Maytha Alhassen and Sima Shakhsari.

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.