Zena Salem

Overview

Zena Salem has spread hatred of Israel and was the vice president of external affairs for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in 2016 at Toronto Metropolitan University (SJP TMU). She was also a member of the 2016-2017 SJP TMU team. 

For more information, see the SJP TMU Chapter Profile. TMU was known as Ryerson University (Ryerson) until April 2022.

In 2016, Salem was a member of TMU’s Muslim Students Association (MSA). As of August 2023, according to Salem’s LinkedIn profile, she served as the “Coordinator” at the Equity Service Centre, part of TMU’s student union, from September 2017 through April 2018. 

As of December 2016, Salem’s LinkedIn also said she had been the “Social media coordinator/Photographer” of TMU’s Egyptian Students’ Association (ESA) since February 2016 and the “Media and Marketing” for TMU’s African Students Association (ASA) since June 2016. 

As of August 2023, Salem’s LinkedIn also said she attended TMU from 2015 to 2019 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Her Facebook page said that she “Went to University Canada West [UCW].” 

Salem’s LinkedIn also said that she has been working at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Toronto, Ontario, since December 2021. 

In May 2021, Salem was a Staff Reporter for the Toronto Star, where she reported on an anti-Israel protest in Toronto during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against Hamas. In the article, she quoted an anti-Israel activist as equating Hamas with Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, a form of contemporary anti-Semitism of equating Israel with Nazi Germany.

Salem also worked as a reporter and writer for TMU’s student newspaper, The Eyeopener, from September 2015 through June 2019, as well as a “News Reporter, photojournalist, multimedia content producer” for TMU’s news website, the Ryersonian.ca from “Sep 2017 - Jan 2018.”

As of August 2023, Salem used the handle “@Alex17170” on one of her Facebook accounts. She also used the name “Zena S.” on LinkedIn.

Spreading Incitement

On October 21, 2015, Salem tweeted a link to a blog post titled: “Press on Pro Palestinian Protesting.” 

The blog featured photos from an October 16, 2015 protest taken by Salem. One image included a protester holding up a sign that read: “HANDS OFF AL-AQSA, ISRAEL,” and another that read: “DEFEND AL-AQSA FROM DAILY DESECRATION.” 

The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state. Such propaganda has led to multiple periods of violence against Israeli civilians.

One sign included featured a poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire sucking the blood of a maimed Palestinian child. Netanyahu had a Jewish Star of David on his forehead in the poster and the caption read “Save Palestinian Kids.” 

Another sign taken at the protest read: “BOYCOTT ISRAEL APARTHIED.” The sign referred to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. 

On October 12, 2015, during the “Knife Intifada,” Salem promoted an anti-Israel protest on Twitter. The rally occurred on October 16, 2015, and was the basis for her blog post above.  

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.

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.

MSA

The MSA was  established by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 1963 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with the goal of "spreading Islam as students in North America." A 2004 FBI investigation uncovered an internal Muslim Brotherhood document in which a brotherhood leader identified the MSA as "one of our organizations." 

The MSA reportedly has “nearly 600 chapters” located in the United States and Canada, and is “the most visible and influential Islamic student organization in North America,” boasting conferences, special events, publications, websites and other activities.

The organization includes a number of previous chapter presidents with explicit links to terrorist groups. Included are al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (Colorado State University), Somali al-Shabaab militant leader Omar Shafik Hammami (University of South Alabama) and Pakistani Taliban recruiter Ramy Zamzam of the MSA's Washington, D.C. council.  

Social Media and Weblinks

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Alex17170

Facebook 2:https://www.facebook.com/100006695029211 [Deleted]

Twitter:https://twitter.com/zenasalem_ [Private]

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/zenasalem_/ [Private]

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenasalem 

Muckrack:https://muckrack.com/zena-salem

Tastetoronto:https://www.tastetoronto.com/authors/@zena-salem