Aaron Ellis
Overview
Aaron Ellis disrupted a Florida House State Affairs Committee to defend the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement in 2016. He has also spread hatred of Israel and opposed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.Ellis was the co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Florida State University (FSU) in 2016 and was active with the group from 2011 to2020.
Ellis has also promoted an anti-Israel agitator and expressed support for FSU SJP member Ahmad Daraldik, who was embroiled in an anti-Semitism controversy in June 2020.
Ellis was also an activist with the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in 2016.
As of July 2021, Ellis indicated on Facebook that he worked at the “Expanded Cinema Lab” and the “Descolonizarte Teatro” in Orlando, Florida since 2020. In 2019, Ellis was the Director of FSU’s Center for Participant Education (CPE) and described himself on Facebook as CPE’s “Outgoing Director” in January 2020. On July 18, 2020, Ellis indicated on Facebook that he was no longer a Graduate Assistant at FSU.
As of July 2021, Ellis’s LinkedIn page said he was an Adjunct Professor of Humanities at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida since February 2020 and an Adjunct Professor of Theatre at FSU since January 2020.
His LinkedIn page also said he received a Ph.D. in Theatre Studies in 2019 and a master’s degree in Religion, Ethics and Philosophy in 2013, both from FSU. Ellis also received a bachelor's degree in “Philosophy/Film Focus” from Baylor University in 2010.
Ellis is the son of the anti-Israel liberation theologian Marc Ellis.
BDS Activism
On February 4, 2016, Ellis, along with FSU SJP and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) activists, disrupted the Florida House State Affairs Committee to protest Florida House Bill 527 (HB 527).HB 527 proposed to limit state government investment in companies that boycott Israel.
Ellis and other students held a banner that read: “STOP FUNDING ISRAELI APARTHEID # FREE PALESTINE” and reportedly chanted: “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” The protesters were eventually removed from the committee room by security guards.
The Florida House State Affairs Committee committee reportedly voted to condemn the BDS movement as anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish. During public comment, Ellis reportedly called Israel an “apartheid Jewish state”
In February 2016, while Ellis was co-president of FSU SJP, he wrote an op-ed promoting BDS. In his article, published by the “Tallahassee Democrat,” Ellis called on Florida legislators to vote against HB 527 and claimed that: “Opposing BDS would put Florida squarely on the wrong side of history.”
Ellis also referred to Israel as “criminal” and an “Apartheid Jewish state.”
On March 10, 2016, CS/CS/SB 86, a substitute for HB 527, was passed into law by the Florida House of Representatives with a vote of 112-2.
On April 16, 2019, Ellis promoted an event hosted by FSU CPE to Facebook titled: “International Solidarity in Palestine & Beyond.”
Ellis described the event as “An integrative workshop on sharing thoughts… in joining a Palestinian civil society called for global academic, cultural and consumer boycott along with a united push for institutional divestment to defund the ethnic cleansing and theft of Palestine.”
Spreading Hatred of Israel
On September 26, 2019, Ellis shared a Mondoweiss article to Facebook that invoked the “Deadly Exchange” campaign promoted by JVP. The article was titled “Atlanta activists are fighting to end the city’s police exchange program with Israel.” The article referred to Israel as “human violators.”
In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.
The next day, Ellis responded to a comment on his Facebook post and wrote: “... the press has been slacking for some time on this specific situation! Hear no evil see no evil since 2016 at least!”
Ellis’ Facebook comment included a link to July 2016 Electronic Intifada (EI) article that accused Israel of marketing and repackaging “its own repressive, racist and violent techniques tested and developed against Palestinians under occupation as ‘smart’ and legitimate technologies for US authorities to use from inner cities to the US-Mexico border.”
On January 27, 2016, Ellis signed a petition titled “#CancelPinkwashing” launched by a “a collection of anti-Zionist, anti-pinkwashing activists.”
“Pinkwashing” is a claim that Israel advocates manipulate the LGBTQ community in order to garner support for Israel.
The petition claimed that “Pinkwashing is an explicit strategy that the state of Israel and Israeli advocacy organizations engage in to try to improve Israel’s image which has been tarnished by its global reputation for ethnic cleansing and apartheid.”
The statement condemned the National LGBTQ Task Force for allowing LGBTQ rights group A Wider Bridge to hold a reception on Life in Israel. A Wider Bridge is a U.S.-based organization that seeks to expand LGBTQ inclusion in Israel.
The petition also demanded that the National LGBTQ Task Force “publicly endorse the Palestinian right of return” and BDS.
On December 16, 2019, FSU SJP posted on Facebook “Proud to co-sign ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻” and linked to a National SJP statement condemning then-U.S. President Trump’s executive order on combating anti-Semitism.
National SJP’s statement said they “explicitly condemn” the Trump administration’s “adoption of the IHRA [anti-Semitism] definition, which conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.”
Several examples of anti-Semitism given in the IHRA’s definition relate to Israel, however the definition states: “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”
The IHRA’s definition was adopted by the U.S. State Department in 2016. Canada, Australia, Israel, Argentina and twenty-eight European countries have also adopted the definition.
Trump’s “Executive Order On Combating Anti-Semitism,” issued on December 11, 2019, stated that the IHRA anti-Semitism definition would be considered when enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as protection for Jews discriminated against based on ethnic, racial or national characteristics.
On July 7, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook urging students to oppose FSU’s 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59 that would recognize the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. The Facebook post called for students to join a Student Life & Academic Affairs (SLAA) committee Zoom meeting to express their opposition to the resolution.
The Facebook post also linked to a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) letter that urged “governments, municipalities, universities and other institutions to reject the IHRA definition” of anti-Semitism.
Later on July 7, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook that the resolution passed through the SLAA. The post said: “Settler-colonialism is racism. Apartheid is racism. Zionism is racism.”
On July 8, 2020, FSU SJP posted to Facebook a “call-to-action email toolkit” to urge FSU student senators to vote no to the resolution.
FSU SJP’s call-to-action toolkit claimed that implementing the IHRA definition “legitimizes the silencing and blacklisting of Palestinian students, allies and solidarity organizations” and that the definition’s examples of anti-Semitism related to Israel is “a way to shut down any criticism of Israel’s racist policies.”
On July 14, 2020, FSU SJP promoted on Facebook an open letter by FSU students & alumni that called for the resolution to “Replace the IHRA definition with a serious analysis of antisemitism that affirms the centrality of ending white supremacy in the struggle to end all related systems of oppression.”
On July 15, 2020, the FSU student senate held another Zoom meeting to vote on the 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59 which passed, with 26 votes in favor and 14 against resolution.
Following the passage of the resolution on July 15, 2020, FSU SJP wrote on Facebook the FSU senate “affirms… the censorship of pro-Palestine speech on campus.”
Mohammed El-Kurd has glorified terrorists, spread incitement and whitewashed the Hamas terrorist organization.
Ellis continued [00:01:48]: “I have found them [SJP] to be the most compelling, most committed social justice organization on this campus.” He concluded [00:03:40] “Standing with SJP will keep you on the right side of history.”
On September 6, 2019, while Ellis was listed as the Director of CPE at FSU, FSU SJP tabled at a CPE event titled “CPE's Radical Rush.”
That same day, Ellis featured in an FSU SJP Facebook photo from the CPE event, holding up their “new photo frame” that featured images of U.S. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar with the hashtags #ISTANDWITHRASHIDA and #istandwithilhan.
In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.
The next day, Ellis responded to a comment on his Facebook post and wrote: “... the press has been slacking for some time on this specific situation! Hear no evil see no evil since 2016 at least!”
Ellis’ Facebook comment included a link to July 2016 Electronic Intifada (EI) article that accused Israel of marketing and repackaging “its own repressive, racist and violent techniques tested and developed against Palestinians under occupation as ‘smart’ and legitimate technologies for US authorities to use from inner cities to the US-Mexico border.”
On January 27, 2016, Ellis signed a petition titled “#CancelPinkwashing” launched by a “a collection of anti-Zionist, anti-pinkwashing activists.”
“Pinkwashing” is a claim that Israel advocates manipulate the LGBTQ community in order to garner support for Israel.
The petition claimed that “Pinkwashing is an explicit strategy that the state of Israel and Israeli advocacy organizations engage in to try to improve Israel’s image which has been tarnished by its global reputation for ethnic cleansing and apartheid.”
The statement condemned the National LGBTQ Task Force for allowing LGBTQ rights group A Wider Bridge to hold a reception on Life in Israel. A Wider Bridge is a U.S.-based organization that seeks to expand LGBTQ inclusion in Israel.
The petition also demanded that the National LGBTQ Task Force “publicly endorse the Palestinian right of return” and BDS.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
FSU SJP - Opposing the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism
Ellis signed a July 2020 open letter, written by FSU students and alumni, that called for fellow students and alumni to oppose FSU’s 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59. In December of 2019, FSU SJP launched a campaign to combat the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.On December 16, 2019, FSU SJP posted on Facebook “Proud to co-sign ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻” and linked to a National SJP statement condemning then-U.S. President Trump’s executive order on combating anti-Semitism.
National SJP’s statement said they “explicitly condemn” the Trump administration’s “adoption of the IHRA [anti-Semitism] definition, which conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism.”
Several examples of anti-Semitism given in the IHRA’s definition relate to Israel, however the definition states: “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”
The IHRA’s definition was adopted by the U.S. State Department in 2016. Canada, Australia, Israel, Argentina and twenty-eight European countries have also adopted the definition.
Trump’s “Executive Order On Combating Anti-Semitism,” issued on December 11, 2019, stated that the IHRA anti-Semitism definition would be considered when enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as protection for Jews discriminated against based on ethnic, racial or national characteristics.
On July 7, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook urging students to oppose FSU’s 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59 that would recognize the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. The Facebook post called for students to join a Student Life & Academic Affairs (SLAA) committee Zoom meeting to express their opposition to the resolution.
The Facebook post also linked to a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) letter that urged “governments, municipalities, universities and other institutions to reject the IHRA definition” of anti-Semitism.
Later on July 7, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook that the resolution passed through the SLAA. The post said: “Settler-colonialism is racism. Apartheid is racism. Zionism is racism.”
On July 8, 2020, FSU SJP posted to Facebook a “call-to-action email toolkit” to urge FSU student senators to vote no to the resolution.
FSU SJP’s call-to-action toolkit claimed that implementing the IHRA definition “legitimizes the silencing and blacklisting of Palestinian students, allies and solidarity organizations” and that the definition’s examples of anti-Semitism related to Israel is “a way to shut down any criticism of Israel’s racist policies.”
On July 14, 2020, FSU SJP promoted on Facebook an open letter by FSU students & alumni that called for the resolution to “Replace the IHRA definition with a serious analysis of antisemitism that affirms the centrality of ending white supremacy in the struggle to end all related systems of oppression.”
On July 15, 2020, the FSU student senate held another Zoom meeting to vote on the 72nd Student Senate Resolution #: 59 which passed, with 26 votes in favor and 14 against resolution.
Following the passage of the resolution on July 15, 2020, FSU SJP wrote on Facebook the FSU senate “affirms… the censorship of pro-Palestine speech on campus.”
SJP Activism
On October 9, 2019, Ellis featured in an FSU SJP Facebook video captioned: “CPE Director speaks in defense of SJP at the Student Senate meeting!” In the video, Ellis said [00:00:46]: “CPE has been working with Students for Justice in Palestine… we co-sponsored Mohammed El-Kurd poetry reading, it was amazing…”Mohammed El-Kurd has glorified terrorists, spread incitement and whitewashed the Hamas terrorist organization.
Ellis continued [00:01:48]: “I have found them [SJP] to be the most compelling, most committed social justice organization on this campus.” He concluded [00:03:40] “Standing with SJP will keep you on the right side of history.”
On September 6, 2019, while Ellis was listed as the Director of CPE at FSU, FSU SJP tabled at a CPE event titled “CPE's Radical Rush.”
That same day, Ellis featured in an FSU SJP Facebook photo from the CPE event, holding up their “new photo frame” that featured images of U.S. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar with the hashtags #ISTANDWITHRASHIDA and #istandwithilhan.
Rashida Tlaib was elected to the U.S. Congress in November 2018. She has advocated for a one-state solution, endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and called for reduced foreign aid to Israel. In July 2019, Tlaib co-sponsored a pro-BDS bill in the U.S. Congress introduced by Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.Omar has demonized Israel and endorsed BDS. In July 2019, Omar introduced a pro-BDS resolution in the U.S. Congress, which she described as “an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support…the BDS movement.”
On October 9, 2019, Ellis appeared in an FSU SJP group photo on Facebook captioned: “WE’RE GOING TO THE NSJP CONFERENCE
After 50 minutes of tense debate, the Student Senate voted to pass Resolution 42 with no amendments, granting us $1,344 in travel assistance! Thank you so much to everyone who came out, your presence really made a difference. Onto the next victory! 
.”On April 2, 2019, Ellis shared an FSU SJP Facebook that promoted the group’s “APARTHEID WALL!!!”
Mock “apartheid” walls have been constructed by SJP groups on campuses to draw attention to alleged Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians.
On April 17, 2016, Ellis featured in an FSU SJP Facebook album titled “Human Rights Conference: FSU Law School: Torture.” The Facebook album description read: “We would like to thank Seminoles Against Torture for reaching out to us and giving us the platform to hold a workshop on torture in Israel and Palestine. The entire conference was truly remarkable and very engaging...”
On that same date, Ellis posted an image to Instagram of a glass window with a sign on it that read: “Human Rights Conference,” “Students for Justice in Palestine” “Torture in Israel and Palestine Room 310.” Ellis captioned the post: “#SJP #saynototorture #freepalestine.”
Promoting an Anti-Israel Agitator
On March 2, 2016, Ellis appeared in a Facebook photo, posted by FSU SJP that read: “Organizing for ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’ this Friday.”RCF was created to honor the memory of Rachel Corrie, a former International Solidarity Movement (ISM) member who was accidentally killed while interfering with an Israeli military operation in 2003 during the Second Intifada. A wrongful death suit brought by Corrie’s family was dismissed when the judge ruled that Corrie unreasonably chose to put her own life in danger.
On March 4, 2016, Ellis featured in several FSU SJP Facebook photos posing on a stage with fellow activists. The photos were taken from the event titled “A One-Woman Play: My Name is Rachel Corrie.”
FSU SJP - Defending FSU SJP Activist Embroiled in Anti-Semitism Controversy
In the summer of 2020, Ellis expressed support for FSU SJP member, Ahmad Daraldik, who reportedly spread anti-Semitism online and created a website in 2016 that compared Israel to Nazi Germany.Ellis signed a June 2020 FSU SJP statement in support of Daraldik.On June 12, 2020, FSU SJP shared a statement on Facebook defending SJP activist Ahmad Daraldik following calls for his removal as FSU Student Senate President, after it was discovered that Daraldik shared anti-Semitic content on social media.
Daraldik, who was appointed Student Senate President at FSU in June 2020, faced calls for his removal when his social media posts and website were publicized. Daraldik retained his position after a vote by student senators at FSU.
Daraldik had assumed the presidency of the student senate on June 6, 2020 after presiding over an inappropriate student senate vote of no-confidence against fellow student Jack Denton, who was then Senate Student President.
The FSU SJP statement claimed that the calls for Daraldik to be removed as Senate President were “racially and politically motivated to smear and silence Palestinian students and critics of the state of Israel” and “rooted in anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.”
The statement continued: “If SRR [FSU Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities] and/or Student Government staff take disciplinary action against Ahmad, Florida State University will be legitimizing anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia as well as weaponizing antisemitism to stifle free speech.”
On July 24, 2020 BDS Report tweeted that Daraldik had “just shared a new video on his Instagram story claiming that the problem with Jews is they make everything about themselves.”
The video Daraldik shared on his Instagram story featured a man claiming: “And most Jewish people, when talking about this conflict, it's you guys always want to shift the focus back to you. It’s always anti-Semitism, it’s always anti-Jew. Everything has to be about you guys.”
In October 2020, FSU’s Student Supreme Court ruled that the no-confidence vote, which targeted Denton for his statements of religious conviction, made in a Catholic Student Union’s private group chat in his capacity as a private citizen, violated Denton’s rights to Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Exercise Religion under the Student Body Constitution and Statutes, as well as the Constitution of the United States and of Florida.
FSU SJP - Glorifying Terrorists
On November 17, 2019, FSU SJP organized a protest titled: “Emergency Demo: #GazaUnderAttack.” The Facebook event page said: “Israeli airstrikes are not ‘self-defense.’ By the Israel Defense Forces' own admission, Israel initiated the latest wave of aggression with the illegal, extra-judicial execution of resistance fighter Bahaa Abu al-Atta and his wife.”In November 2019, Israel launched “Operation Black Belt” to stop rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. The rockets were sent by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group on November 12-14, 2019, targeting Israel’s biggest civilian population centers.
FSU SJP’s Facebook event description said: “Rather than self-defense, Israeli airstrikes are a form of collective punishment against Gaza's 2 million inhabitants” and that “The mainstream media and prominent politicians repeat the Israeli ‘self-defense’ trope over and over...”
At the protest, FSU SJP President Shelby Shoup said [00:02:05]: “I cannot imagine how dehumanizing it is to hear American journalists and politicians discussing Israel’s ‘right to self defense,’ insinuating that Palestinians are terrorists.” Activists also chanted [00:00:46] “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The chant “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state. It is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel.
On October 8, 2018, FSU SJP hosted an event titled:“Palestinian Revolutionaries.” The Facebook event description said: “Come screen some videos of Palestinian revolutionaries like Ghassan Kanafani and Leila Khaled! The revolutionaries that come out of liberation-resistance movements are who we look up to and who exemplify what it means to organize.”
Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the terrorist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during their formative years. Kanafani was also involved in the Lod Airport Massacre near Tel Aviv, for which PFLP took responsibility.
Leila Khaled participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. She was a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
On October 6, 2018, FSU SJP promoted the event on Facebook and wrote: “We'll also be discussing the PLO & PFLP!!!”
Yasser Arafat, known as the “father of modern terrorism,” was the former leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). During the second intifada, Arafat encouraged children to carry out “martyrdom” operations against Israel.
Arafat reportedly told Arab diplomats in a secret meeting in 1996: "We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion. Jews will not want to live among Arabs. I have no use for Jews. They are and remain Jews."
FSU SJP - Promoting Violence
On July 12, 2019, FSU SJP posted a graphic on Instagram depicting Palestinians holding rocks and slingshots. FSU SJP wrote: “Anyone know the artist?
#FreePalestine.”Rock throwing is a deadly form of violence, despite being romanticized as a form of “popular resistance.”
On November 26, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled: “Divestment Working Group Meeting.” The event cover photo on its Facebook page was a poster featuring an individual holding a slingshot with text that said “Free the land 'by any means necessary.’”
FSU - SJP Supporting Violent Protesters
On March 30, 2020, FSU SJP posted on Facebook commemorating the “Great March of Return,” describing it as “a protest movement to demand the Right of Return to their stolen lands” and claiming Palestinians were “shot at by Israeli snipers for exercising their right to assembly.” The post said: “... we commemorate… the hundreds of martyrs of the Great Return March.”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.
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 also threw Molotov cocktails and firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks.
On March 30, 2019, FSU SJP co-hosted an event to commemorate one year since the beginning of the March of Return.
On April 8, 2018, FSU SJP wrote on Facebook: “we've seen the IOF [Israel Occupation Forces] deploy at least 100 snipers in anticipation of unarmed demonstrators attending the Great Return March who, after being shot by said snipers, are being smeared in American media as terrorists and pawns for nonviolently asserting their dignity and human rights--specifically their Right of Return.”
On April 6, 2018, FSU SJP held a “Vigil for Gaza” which the Facebook event description said was “to memorialize those killed by the IDF” in the Gaza March of Return riots.
An April 2, 2018 post by FSU SJP on the Facebook page for the event said: “Reem & Tyler will be speaking on Gaza & the 17 martyrs that we lost.”
The majority of Gazans who died from March 30, 2018 to April 6, 2018 were confirmed as terror operatives, killed while rioting against Israeli forces, carrying out terrorist attacks or trying to infiltrate Israel by destroying the border fence on its border with Gaza.
FSU SJP - Spreading Incitement
On August 11, 2019, FSU SJP alleged in a Facebook post that “Israeli soldiers and settlers have raided and desecrated #AlAqsa Mosque” and “The Israeli police then cleared the compound of Palestinian Muslims and allowed Jewish Israelis to storm Al Aqsa for Tisha B’Av prayers.”Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples, which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
On August 11, 2019, Palestinian rioters threw stones at police and threw chairs and other objects at Jewish visitors to the compound after police allowed them to enter the site, to commemorate Tisha B’Av.
The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque served as the excuse for an upsurge in Palestinian violence that flared in the fall of 2015 and incited Palestinians to attempt mass casualty attacks on Israeli civilians in July 2016.
Such propaganda has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.
FSU SJP - Promoting Conspiracy Theories
On July 5, 2020, FSU SJP co-hosted an anti-Israel protest titled “Day of Rage.”The Facebook event page description said: “our police departments continue participating in the Deadly Exchange: learning ‘counter-terrorism’ strategies from the IDF to militarize Black and brown communities here, and teaching stop-and-frisk strategies to the Israeli police to harass Black and brown communities in occupied Palestine.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange” campaign in 2017. The campaign claimed that American Jewish organizations promoted human rights abuses. A video for the campaign by JVP accused American Jewish organizations of planning programs between American and Israeli security personnel, to advance“racist policies.”
On September 23, 2019, FSU SJP hosted a meeting titled “ICE vs. IDF: Detention, Deportation & Family Separation.” An event flyer said: “ICE & THE IDF HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.” The meeting also included a presentation about the “deadly exchange.”
On June 17, 2019, FSU SJP tabled on campus to educate about “pinkwashing” and promote anti-Israel materials. One of the items FSU SJP promoted was a booklet titled “Israel’s Worldwide Role in Repression.”
The booklet was published by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), which claims to “struggle against Zionism” and accuses Israel of the “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”
The booklet claimed that Israel’s military campaigns “serve as an [sic] laboratory
to develop weapons, surveillance technology, and tactics of population control that are then marketed across the globe.” It also alleged Israel was “at the forefront of a global industry of repression” and that “In the Middle East, Israel is the primary aggressor.”
FSU SJP - Spreading Hatred of Israel-Supporters
On March 11, 2020, FSU SJP posted a photo on its Facebook page of pro-Israel students tabling on campus and wrote that “The Zionist Organization of America… is a right-wing, Islamophobic org… The normalization of Zionism on campus = normalization of the alt-right. Why are they tabling at Market Wednesday?”The policy of “anti-normalization” aims to ensure that all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians align only with the Arab agenda, including ending the occupation and a full right of return for Palestinians, which is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. The policies are shared with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
FSU SJP - Demonizing Israel
On November 18, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “Hasbara: Debunking Zionist myths.” The Facebook event description claimed: “Hasbara refers to public relations efforts to disseminate positive information about the State of Israel that whitewashes its apartheid regime and military occupation.”The description also said: “There are countless arguments that whitewash Israeli apartheid… Let's discuss what narratives we usually hear in defense of Israel and learn how to respond to some of the most common hasbara talking points!”
On October 7, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “GBM:Apartheid 101: Palestine, South Africa & the Jim Crow South.” The Facebook event description claimed about the description of Israel as apartheid: “nothing could more aptly describe Palestinian life..”
On September 23, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “ICE vs. IDF: Detention, Deportation & Family Separation.” The Facebook event page description claimed that “Detentions, deportations and family separations are routine aspects of Palestinian life. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) uses borders, walls and widespread abusive detention of Palestinians…”
On May 15, 2019, FSU SJP held a “Nakba Day” event. The Facebook event description said: “Nakba Day is the anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of May 15, 1948 in which Zionist militias forcefully expelled 800,000 Palestinians from their homeland” and that Nakba “also refers to the ongoing, 71-year long legacy of Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
Nakba is an Arabic term for “catastrophe” and refers to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel.
On the same date, FSU SJP posted photos from the event on Facebook, including of their “mock apartheid wall,” with a panel claiming to show maps of Israel’s “LAND THEFT.”
Lands previously controlled by Jordan, Egypt and Britain are shown as autonomous “Palestinian land,” which the maps suggest were stolen by Israel.
In 2016, copies of a college textbook containing the misleading maps were recalled by publisher MCGraw-Hill.
SJP groups on campuses have constructed mock “apartheid” walls to draw attention to alleged Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians
On April 4, 2019, FSU SJP promoted an event on Facebook where they would “be delving further into the topics that you all saw on our wall and we will be going deeper into the issues surrounding Palestine, Gaza, the Great Return March, Zionism, & Israel.”
On April 2, 2019, FSU SJP displayed their “mock apartheid wall” on the FSU campus.
FSU SJP - Promoting BDS
On February 1, 2021 the FSU Student Life Academic Affairs Committee (SLAA) voted against a BDS bill written and sponsored by FSU SJP member Ahmad Daraldik. that called on FSU to divest from a number of companies doing business with Israel.On December 3, 2019, FSU SJP held a meeting about launching a divestment campaign against Israel. The event description said: “We are preparing to launch a campaign to pressure Florida State University to divest from companies that knowingly profit off of Palestinian oppression. Please come out to our new weekly Divestment working group meetings to strategize and build together!”
On November 26, 2019, FSU SJP held an event titled “Divestment Working Group Meeting.” The Facebook description for the event said participants would “research Divestment campaigns on other North American campuses, including the language of their Divestment resolutions and what tactics they employed to win student support.”
The event description also said “It's going to be a long and difficult road to introducing and passing a Divestment resolution to the Student Senate this year, but we think it's possible if we all do our part!”
On November 13, 2018, FSU SJP held an event promoting BDS. The event description said: “Come get your BDS shopping list of all the products & brands that you should be boycotting NOW! Boycott Israel, bring down the occupation!”
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.
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.
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish value.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
