Zahra Habib
Overview
She was also an activist with Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) in 2014. SPHR is an alternative name for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
In April 2014, Habib was elected as VP Internal of the McGill International Development Studies Students Association (IDSSA) for the 2014-2015 academic year.
As of March 2020, Habib’s LinkedIn page said she had been a Research Analyst and Strategic Projects Intern at the pro-BDS Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) from September to December 2014. As of March 2020, Habib remained a member of CJPME’s Facebook group.
Habib’s LinkedIn page also said she graduated from McGill in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in World Islamic and Middle East Studies.
As of March 2020, Habib’s LinkedIn page said she was a Program Director at Radio Western / 94.9 CHRW since September 2019, as well as a “Freelance Music Producer/DJ” since December 2019.
BDS Activism
In February 2016, Habib reportedly helped organize McGill BDS’s 2016 campaign, which called on the Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) “to support BDS campaigns on campus, and to lobby the McGill Board of Governors to divest from corporations deemed complicit in the occupation of the Palestinian territories.”In February 2014, Habib wrote a letter to the McGill Tribune, titled: “Yes to BDS: Why I see no other option.”
In her letter, Habib wrote: “For many Palestinians, BDS is the only hope for liberation... There is no denying that McGill, with its heavy investments in companies profiting from these crimes, has a role in the occupation and the systematic oppression of Palestinians.”
On February 11, 2016, Habib promoted a McGill BDS divestment campaign on Facebook, posting a graphic that said: “McGill University YES TO BDS Vote on February 22nd 2016.”
Habib commented: “Don’t be lazy, don’t be apathetic, and don’t be ignorant. Click the link above to find out why students are calling for McGill to comply with the basic human rights principles. Because, as you will find, it currently is in flagrant violation of them.” Her post linked to the McGill BDS action site.
On February 22, 2016, McGill BDS Action Network proposed a motion to the SSMU to demand the university withdraw investment from “corporations that profit from the occupation.”
The motion was endorsed by SPHR and 19 other student groups at McGill. The vote passed 512 to 357, in support of BDS.
On February 24, 2016, after the General Assembly vote, Habib updated her Facebook cover photo on Facebook to a photo of McGill BDS Action members celebrating the BDS vote. Habib commented: “Solidarity.”
On February 25, 2016, Habib promoted on Facebook d a petition captioned: “Solidarity with McGill students in support of Palestinian human rights - Sign the Petition!”
On February 27, 2016, the BDS initiative lost a subsequent online ratification vote by 57 to 43 percent. Following the announcement of the vote, McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier issued a statement to the university opposing BDS.
On March 15, 2015, Habib tweeted: “SSMU GA. A lesson in personal growth and critical self reflection #ssmuGA #FreePalestine #YesToDivest #NotInMyName.”
That day, that SPHRhad presented the SSMU with a motion titled: “Motion Regarding Divestment from Companies Profiting from the Illegal Occupation of the Palestinian Territories.” On March 14, 2015, Habib tweeted: “@JustinTrudeau as a @McGillU student, I'm disappointed you believe that a campus as diverse as ours should be censored #notinourname #divest.”
Habib’s tweet was in response to a tweet by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that said “The BDS movement, like Israeli Apartheid Week, has no place on Canadian campuses. As a @McGillU alum, I’m disappointed. #EnoughIsEnough.”
SPHR Activism
On February 16, 2015, Habib reportedly co-facilitated a SPHR workshop with Maggie Gilligan titled “the Face of State Violence and Police Brutality in Palestine”.On December 3, 2014, Habib featured in a SPHR Facebook photo campaign called “#breakthesilence.” Habib held a sign with a quote that said: “I believe that the root of all injustice & oppression has always been the same - dehumanization of the other. It is obsession of the ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ that can lead us… into the abyss” - Roger Waters #breakthesilence.”
McGill BDS
On March 15, 2015, the McGill chapter of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) presented the General Assembly of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) with a motion calling on McGill to boycott five companies doing business in Israel. The motion failed by 64 votes after an “intense” 45-minute debate. SPHR is an alternative name for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).On February 22, 2016, the McGill BDS Action Network presented a “motion to support BDS” to the General Assembly of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU).
The motion called for the SSMU to “support campaigns associated with the BDS movement.” It also called for the SSMU president to recommend to McGill’s board of governors “no less than the complete divestment of holdings” in companies doing business in Israel. According to one source, the motion reportedlypassed 512 to 357.
On February 25, 2016, BDS supporters reportedly targeted Jewish students on social media with anti-Semitic remarks such as: “Little Zionist jewboys not happy that McGill students don’t support their genocide.”
The Montreal Gazette reported that after the vote, one student was “followed home and verbally harassed,” while another “was going to the police” to report an attempt to hack his Facebook page. A campaigner against the initiative said he knew of at least 10 students who sought counseling due to “intolerable situations” caused by their opposition to the motion.
On February 27, 2016, the BDS initiative lost the subsequent online ratification vote when 57 percent of the voters voted against it. Following the announcement of that vote, then-McGill principal and vice-chancellor Suzanne Fortier issued a statement confirming that the university’s administration “continues to steadfastly oppose” and “will have no part of” the BDS movement.
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.
Social Media and Weblinks
Twitter:https://twitter.com/zahrahabiib
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahrahabib4/
Angelist:https://angel.co/zahra-habib
_203x172_SRHTJW.jpg "Zahra Habib")
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- McGill
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- SPHR (SJP)
- Related Profiles:
- Anas Shakra,
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
Photos & Screenshots
