Laura Tanenbaum
Overview
Laura Tanenbaum has expressed support for terrorists, promoted anti-Israel agitators and spread hatred of Israel.Tanenbaum has been an activist with anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organization since 2015. She has supported the #returnthebirthright initiative, launched by JVP to oppose Birthright Israel Jewish heritage trips to Israel.
Tanenbaum has also tweeted a petition in support of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on Twitter. She is also a supporter of the anti-Israel organization IfNotNow (INN). INN actions generally aim to demonize Israel, harass the American Jewish establishment and decrease support for Israel among Diaspora Jewish young adults.
Tanenbaum is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In 2018, Tanenbaum was affiliated with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).
As of July 2018, Tanenbaum’s LinkedIn page said she was an associate professor at LaGuardia Community College (LaGuardia). As of the same date, her website said she was a writer and a Professor of English at LaGuardia and served as the co-chair of LaGuardia’s Urban Studies Program.
Support for Terrorists
On May 21, 2018, during the March of Return protests, organized by Hamas, Tanenbaum tweeted: “If you are outraged by the slaughter in #Gaza and aren't sure what to do, please consider joining @jvplive. You don't have to be Jewish to be part of this amazing community. Happy to take DM w/questions. Join for just $18 here:”On May 14, 2018, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Thread. Too many turn a back on the massacre of peaceful protestors because we Jews, who pride our selves on education, are intentionally ignorant of the history of what is being protested.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.
“Dignity Strike” refers to a hunger strike initiated by Marwan Barghouti on April 16, 2017. More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners participated in the strike – most them also convicted for acts of terrorism. Barghouti headed the Palestinian Authority (PA) terrorist Tanzim force and founded the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. He was sentenced to five consecutive life terms by an Israeli civilian court for some of his crimes, including his role in the Sbarro Cafe bombing.
On June 29, 2015, Tanenbaum shared an article on Facebook titled: “Khader Adnan reaches deal to end hunger strike, will be released.” Tanenbaum wrote: “More good news. More proof solidarity and pressure work.”
Khader Adnan was a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization. A 2007 YouTube video showed Adnan praising and encouraging suicide bombings: "Who among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his body parts blown all over?” In May 2023, Adnan died in prison after refusing medical treatment during a hunger strike.
Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
On September 28, 2017, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Thank you @SenSanders for standing with resistance hero @Issaamro. #StandwithIssa”Anti-Israel agitator Issa Amro is known for vandalism and attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. Amro heads the Youth Against Settlements (YAS) movement, an anti-Israel organization based in Hebron that promotes anti-Semitism, rock-throwing and violence against Israelis.
On May 22, 2017, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Powerful piece on historical erasure in Hebron by one of my heroes, @Issaamro.”
On September 21, 2016, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Tell @JohnKerry to speak out for Issa Amro, a Palestinian human facing trial. http://jvp.org/issa”
On January 23, 2017, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Thank you @lsarsour for making history. Jewish and Muslim women are coming together to fight the racists & we will win. #imarchwithlinda.”
Spreading Hatred of Israel
On June 20, 2017, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Kushner is going to Israel. @fisheri @nytimes #AskKushner is end of #Gaza blockade part of your peace process?”The United Nations approved 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.
On November 15, 2016, Tanenbaum tweeted that “Jewish nationalism is the problem.”
On July 16, 2015, in response to a tweet by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) that read: “‘One year ago we were all running to shelters. This summer we are able to play out side thanks to @JNFUSA’ #Halutza” Tanenbaum tweeted: “@JNFUSA Too bad 500+ children in Gaza can't play because Israel murdered them.”
On October 29, 2014, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Pro-tip for the ADL: tell Israel to stop murdering kids, and they'll be less of the stuff that bothers you so much:...”
On July 24, 2014. Tanenbaum tweeted a link to a Mondoweiss article about Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (OPE). Tanenbaum commented: “It's not a war it's a massacre.”
Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.
Supporting BDS
On July 6, 2016, Tanenbaum tweeted: “I went to Cuomo's house to say we won't back down from #BDS. Can't quite read his response.”On June 15, 2016, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Hey @NYGovCuomo we won't be intimidated and won't back down. #RightToBoycott #BDS.”
On February 23, 2016, Tanenbaum tweeted: “On top of everything, #Oscars promoting Israeli propaganda trip. #SkipTheTrip.”
On January 20, 2016, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Tell @Airbnb: Say No to Stolen homes in occupied lands. #BDS @jvpliveNYC…”
On December 1, 2015, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Tell CT AFL-CIO, thank you for standing for a just peace in Israel/Palestine. #BDS. @JVP…”
On June 12, 2015, Tanenbaum wrote on Facebook: “I support BDS because only international pressure and solidarity can give us any hope of accountability. No more murder in my name.”
On June 30, 2015, Tanenbaum tweeted: “Your good news for the day: United Church of Christ stands up for what's right. #BDS #solidarityworks”
JVP Activism
On July 18, 2014, Tanenbaum posted a photo of herself on Facebook at a protest holding a sign that read: “AMERCIAN JEWS SAY: ISRAEL, STOP KILLING CIVILIANS! JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE.ORG.”On July 9, 2015, Tanenbaum said she would be attending a fundraiser for JVP. On May 25, 2016, she tweeted that she was renewing her JVP membership. On August 18, 2017, and May 22, 2018, she used her Twitter account to recruit for new JVP members.
Condemning Jewish Heritage Tour
On November 20, 2017, Tanenbaum tweeted: “I will literally be in the hospital with a newborn when this happens. If you don't have that excuse, y'all better be there: #returnthebirthright.” The tweet linked to a Facebook event page titled: “Boycott Birthright: Protest Birthright Gala & Sheldon Adelson.”Return the Birthright Campaign
In September of 2017, JVP issued its #ReturntheBirthright campaign manifesto, calling on American Jews to boycott the Birthright Israel (Birthright) program. Birthright was founded by Jewish philanthropists “in 1999 to address the growing divide between young Diaspora Jewish adults and the land and people of Israel.”After decades of demographic decline in the American Jewish community, Birthright set out “to strengthen Jewish identity, build a lasting bond with the land and people of Israel, and reinforce the solidarity of Jewish people worldwide.” The program offers “the gift of a life-changing, 10-day trip to Israel to young Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26.”
JVP’s anti-Birthright campaign was launched precisely to coincide with “the very moment that college students across America are returning to campus and registration for Birthright winter visits are underway.”
The #returnthebirthright manifesto accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and alleged “the modern state of Israel is predicated on the ongoing erasure of Palestinians.”
The text claimed: “We reject the offer of a free trip to a state that does not represent us, a trip that is only ‘free’ because it has been paid for by the dispossession of Palestinians.”
The manifesto concluded: “And as we reject this, we commit to promoting the right to return of Palestinian refugees… Israel is not our Birthright… Return the Birthright.”
On June 22, 2017, just prior to the launch of JVP’s #returnthebirthright campaign, JVP received a $140,00 two-year grant for general support for its operations from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF).
Since 2015, JVP has received $280,000 from RBF, which has a history of supporting anti-Jewish causes, including BDS campaigns and various organizations that promote BDS campaigns throughout the United States.
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.”
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:www.facebook.com/591984590Twitter:https://twitter.com/LauraTanenbaum
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tanenbaum-aba85932/
Website:http://lauratanenbaum.org
Photos & Screenshots
