Immanuel Ness
Overview
Immanuel Ness has engaged in anti-Israel activism, spread hatred of Israel online and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of March 2023, Ness’s LinkedIn page said he has been on the Brooklyn College faculty since 1997. He also has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the South Africa Research Chair at UJ’s Centre for Social Change since April 2015.
As of the same date, Ness’s LinkedIn said he received a PhD in political science and government from the CUNY Graduate Center in 1995. He also graduated from Columbia University (CU) with a master’s degree in comparative politics in 1986 and he graduated from New York University (NYU) with a bachelor’s degree in politics and history in 1981.
As of March 2023, Ness’s LinkedIn page said he was located in New York, New York.
Anti-Israel Activism (BDS)
In July 2022, Ness signed [p. 4] an anti-Israel statement titled: “Not In Our Name: Anti-Zionist Jewish Coalition at CUNY.”The statement read [p. 1]: “Palestinian voices are at the core of our coalition and we stand to uphold their demands for global liberation, resistance by any means necessary, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the return of all land prior to 1948, and ending the occupation. We commit to Palestinian liberation as defined by Palestinians. These principles are not negotiable.”
Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
The statement referred [p. 2] to Israel as an “illegitimate state” and accused it of committing “genocide and ethnic cleansing.” The statement also claimed that Zionism was “built with inspiration from European colonialism, ethnic nationalism, and white supremacy since its conception.”
Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.
The statement also said [p. 3]: “Never again means never again for anyone.” Another pledge signatories made was to “Stand against the IHRA working ‘definition’ of antisemitism.”
The phrase “Never Again” is often deployed as a general declaration against genocide, invoking the Nazis’ war of extermination against the Jews.
The statement also said [p. 1]: “We stand with the growing movement at CUNY for Palestinian freedom that includes CUNY4Palestine, Within Our Lifetime (with emphasis on Nerdeen Kiswani who faces multiple smear campaigns from homegrown Zionists within CUNY and outside of it with zero support from the CUNY administration), and all Palestinian solidarity groups within CUNY without question.”
Hatred of Israel
Ness retweeted a March 7, 2023 tweet that said: “We cannot allow #ApartheidIsrael to re-write history and rebrand themselves as victims when they are brutalizing Palestinians on a daily basis, stripping them of their human rights and stealing their land…#BoycottApartheidIsrael…”Ness retweeted a December 28, 2022 tweet that said: “In short, a regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid…”
Ness retweeted a November 8, 2021 tweet that said: “Ongoing press conference by Palestinian NGOs reveal that staff members phones were hacked with the Israeli Pegasus spyware.#standwiththe6.”
The United Nations approved [pp. 39–41] the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza in 2011 as a security measure to stop Hamas from acquiring sophisticated rockets. Multiple flotillas have attempted to breach the blockade, with at least one flotilla initiating a violent confrontation with Israeli forces.
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
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/immanuel-ness-6129b096/
University Website: https://www.brooklyn.edu/faculty-staff/immanuel-ness/
