Markar Melkonian
Overview
Markar Melkonian has demonized Israel and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.Melkonian is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge (CSUN).
Demonizing Israel
On January 4, 2016, Melkonian published an article condemning any relationship built between Israel and the Armenians.In the article, Melkonian alleged that “the Zionist military has... lied American taxpayers into a trillion-dollar war in Iraq that has so far resulted in well over one million deaths, and turned the lives of tens of millions of children into a living hell.”
In describing Israel’s establishment, Melkonian wrote that “Israel is a colonial settler state… Like the Afrikaners of South Africa, Israelis are a modern nation of settlers and descendants of settlers who founded a garrison state.”
Melkonian went on to write that “An imperial power lavishly subsidizes Israel as a remote-control device, to control the resources, markets, and populations of a strategically crucial region. American taxpayers subsidize luxury housing for foreign settlers on stolen Palestinian land.”
In the same article, Melkonian went on to allege that “the Zionist regime is itself responsible for crimes against humanity, and these crimes are not limited to Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria… the Israeli military has armed and supported perpetrators of genocide.”
Melkonian went on to write that “Zionist occupation has destroyed the ancient Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem. For more than sixteen centuries, the Armenian community in Jerusalem managed to survive invasions, crusades, and colonial domination, but seventy years of Zionist occupation, confiscation, and oppression has all but eliminated our ancient presence in the Holy Land.”
Melkonian also alleged that “The Zionists and their masters in Washington have set in motion wars in Iraq, Libya and Syria… [and] They have successfully fomented murderous Wahhabi hatred of Shiite Muslims.”
On July 4, 2016, Melkonian participated in a panel discussion titled “How Not to Talk About Israel and Armenia.”
In the discussion, Melkonian claimed that “unlike Armenia, Israel is a colonial settler state” and went on to argue that Israel “is in part a result of institutionalized apartheid.”
On June 1, 2017, Melkonian contributed a comment to an online discussion in which he condemned the relationship between Armenians and Israel.
Melkonian wrote that “the zionists are poisoning their own well, and in the medium long-run the zionist project is doomed.” Melkonian went on to conclude that “I refuse to try to convince myself that these zionist enemies of the Armenian nation are friends.”
Supporting BDS
Melkonian signed an open letter to California State University (CSU) Chancellor Charles Reed, opposing the reinstatement of a CSU-Israel study abroad program.Signatories of the letter argued that “CSU participation with the government of Israel in the proposed study abroad program could be interpreted as an endorsement of the international crime of apartheid.”
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.
- Status:
- Professor
- University:
- California-State-Northridge
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- SJP
- Related Profiles:
- Edie Pistolesi,
- David Klein,
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
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