Yousef Afifi
Overview
Yousef Afifi proposed an anti-Israel resolution condemning Israel and the United States, at the University of South Florida (USF), in January 2018.As of February 2018, Afifi was listed as a student senator on the Student Government (SG) at USF.
As of February 2018 Afifi’s LinkedIn page said he was a “Banker” at TD Bank and is a studying Econometrics, Quantitative Economics and Industrial Engineering at USF, slated to graduate in 2018.
Afifi’s LinkedIn also said he graduated from Houston Community College (HCC) with an associate’s degree in Engineering Technology. He is also a 2015 graduate of the University of Houston (UH) with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering.
Pushing Anti-Israel Resolution at USF
On January 23, 2018, a surprise anti-Israel resolution was co-sponsored and presented [01:44:22] to the USF SG by student senators Andrew Pitts-Nordera and Yousef Afifi.The resolution, titled “Hands Off,” condemned “the decision made by President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the atrocities that the State of Israel has committed against the Palestinian people.”
The opening slide of Pitts-Nordera and Afifi’s presentation featured [01:44:20] a deceptive graphic known as the “Map that Lies.”
The maps claim that lands once controlled by Britain, Egypt and Jordan as autonomous “Palestinian land” were purportedly stolen by Israel. In February 2016, publisher McGraw-Hill Education recalled copies of a college textbook containing the fraudulent maps. In October 2015, American cable news network MSNBC apologized for airing a similar series of maps and retracted them.
Pitts-Nordera continued the presentation by accusing[01:45:06] Israel of “ethnic cleansing.” He also claimed [01:46:56] that Palestinians in the “occupied territories suffer some of the worst human rights abuses in the world.”
Afifi then accused [01:48:28] Israel of using civilians as human shields and “attacking journalists” during Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in 2014.
Afifi also claimed [01:49:18] that Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “abandons the hope of a peaceful solution to the conflict.”
After the presentation, student senator Spencer Tate claimed [01:57:06] that the USF SG president, Amani Taha, inappropriately allowed the resolution to appear on the SG agenda without giving sufficient notice to the other senators.
Tate also called to overturn [01:53:02] Taha’s decision and alleged [01:56:04] that she had been active with SJP. Taha responded [02:03:00] to Tate by accusing him of being the only person in student government responsible for discrimination.
Tate later resigned from his position as a senator after receiving death threats for opposing the resolution from a “Facebook account allegedly linked with the Arab league.”
The resolution was tabled for further discussion. On January 30, 2018, a revised version of the resolution passed by a vote of 39 to 3. An amended version of the resolution was posted by Taha on Facebook following the vote.
The resolution was reportedly supported by a “network of external pro-Palestinian activists” and promoted on pro-Palestinian social media pages, before the student government senators were informed of its existence.
Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
Afifi also claimed [01:49:18] that Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “abandons the hope of a peaceful solution to the conflict.”
After the presentation, student senator Spencer Tate claimed [01:57:06] that the USF SG president, Amani Taha, inappropriately allowed the resolution to appear on the SG agenda without giving sufficient notice to the other senators.
Tate also called to overturn [01:53:02] Taha’s decision and alleged [01:56:04] that she had been active with SJP. Taha responded [02:03:00] to Tate by accusing him of being the only person in student government responsible for discrimination.
Tate later resigned from his position as a senator after receiving death threats for opposing the resolution from a “Facebook account allegedly linked with the Arab league.”
The resolution was tabled for further discussion. On January 30, 2018, a revised version of the resolution passed by a vote of 39 to 3. An amended version of the resolution was posted by Taha on Facebook following the vote.
The resolution was reportedly supported by a “network of external pro-Palestinian activists” and promoted on pro-Palestinian social media pages, before the student government senators were informed of its existence.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:www.facebook.com/100003348460165 
- Status:
- Student
- University:
- South-Florida,
- more...
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- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
Photos & Screenshots
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