Courtney Morris

Overview

Courtney Morris [Courtney Desiree Morris] is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and was active in supporting the unsuccessful attempt to get the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to boycott Israeli academic institutions in 2016.

Morris is an assistant professor of African American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). She began teaching at Penn State in 2013.

Morris uses her Twitter account to demonize Israel and to support Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions (Anthro Boycott), the primary body advocating for the boycott within the AAA. More is detailed later in this profile.

Morris received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin (UTA) in 2012. She received her master’s degree in Anthropology from UTA in 2007 and her bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies from UTA in 2001.

Defending Hamas

In a November 5, 2014 interview about Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against Hamas, Morris stated: "What we’ve seen is that the State of Israel has repeatedly attempted to deflect scrutiny during Operation Protective Edge by making the absurd claim that Hamas was using civilians as human shields..." (1:18).

On July 8, 2014, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri admitted to using human shields — a war crime under international law. Abu Zuhri said that human shields have "proven effective" against Israel and concluded: “We in Hamas call upon our people to adopt this policy, in order to protect the Palestinian homes.”

Israel launched OPE in July 2014, to stop rocket attacks targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels. Hamas urged Gazans to stay in their homes on multiple occasions during OPE and on September 16, 2014, Hamas admitted again to using human shields during the conflict. Hamas has admitted to the practice as early as 2008.

Morris, in the same interview, stated that Israel committed "war crimes" (1:13) during OPE. She added that since Gaza is “essentially an open-air prison” (1:46), then “the attacks on Gaza were basically the tactical equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel” (1:56).

Vilifying Israel in Scholarship

On September 30, 2015, Morris published a blog post on Anthro Boycott containing an excerpt from her 2015 essay titled "Where It Hurts: 2014 Year in Review."

Morris linked Israel to police violence against people of color in the United States and suggested that OPE had race-based motives. Morris wrote: "While some spectators watched the events unfolding in Ferguson in shock, anthropologists suggested that they reveal how state violence against black and brown people remains normalized."

On September 9, 2015, Morris said in an interview that Israel committed "atrocities" during OPE that she alleged “claimed the lives of some 2400 civilians, many of them children.” Many of the children killed during OPE were members of Palestinian militant groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Demonizing Israel on Social Media

On April 14, 2016, Morris tweeted: "Irony of a Jewish politician defending the rights of Palestinians is unreal. Peace will come to Israel when there is justice.#DemDebate."

On April 14, 2016, Morris tweeted: "Wow, folks cannot question Zionism. But I appreciate Bernie calling out the violence of Operation Protective Edge. It got real.#DemDebate."

On February 14, 2016, Morris retweeted a tweet claiming Israel practices "apartheid." The tweet came from the anti-Israel Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) organization.

On November 20, 2015, Morris tweeted a photo of a man wearing a Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) shirt reading "ANOTHER JEW SUPPORTING DIVESTMENT" and she wrote: “Tonight the tribe stands with Palestine. #AAA2015.”

The photo was taken at a AAA business meeting where attendees voted on having the full AAA membership vote on a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions.

On November 20, 2015, Morris tweeted: "Acting as though the boycott of Israel precludes an analysis of U.S. state violence is a smokescreen. #AAA2015 #dontbelievethehype."

On November 20, 2015, Morris retweeted a tweet promoting Anthro Boycott which claimed that Israel has "open season on Palestinians everyday under occupation."

On November 20, 2015, Morris retweeted a tweet promoting Anthro Boycott that claimed that Israel has a "racist regime."

On November 20, 2015, Morris retweeted a tweet promoting Anthro Boycott that called Israel a "settler colony."

On November 20, 2015, Morris retweeted a tweet promoting Anthro Boycott that claimed that Israel practices "colonialism."

On February 2, 2014, Morris retweeted a tweet referencing Israeli company Sodastream with the accusation that Israel practices "apartheid."

500 Palestinians eventually lost their jobs when Sodastream moved its factory from the West Bank to the Negev.

On January 28, 2014, Morris tweeted: "Defensing Israel seems to be the only thing Dems and the GOP can agree on. Damn."

On June 23, 2013, Morris tweeted: "Damn, that's cold. Note to refugees from South Sudan: Israel is for the white man | Richard Sudan | Independent Edito.."

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

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/7926889/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/creolemaroon [Deleted]

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-morris-43230a103/

Academia.edu:http://personal-psu.academia.edu/CourtneyDesireeMorris

University Website 1:http://womenstudies.psu.edu/directory/courtney-morris

University Website 2:http://afam.la.psu.edu/meet-us/cdm259