Pranav Jani
Overview
Pranav Jani has expressed support for terrorists, promoted violent protesters, as well as anti-Israel agitators and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.Jani was the 2015 faculty advisor for the Committee for Justice in Palestine (CJP) at Ohio State University (OSU) and continued to work with the group in 2019. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at OSU (SJP OSU) was formerly known as the CJP until 2016.
Jani promoted the OSU SJP’s divestment campaigns in 2015 and the OSU Coalition for BDS divestment campaign in 2018.
He was also a 2014 organizer for the Palestine Solidarity Group(PSG) in Columbus. In 2015, the International Socialist Organization (ISO), Columbia, indicated that Jani was an ISO member.
On September 28, 2016, Jani posted on Facebook that he is “Proud to be included among these academics” who signed a statement attacking Canary Mission.
PYM has expressed support for terrorists, promoted incitement to violence and advocated for the dissolution of the State of Israel.
The quote added that the aim of the scholarship was “to uphold the legacy of Ghassan Kanafani” and blamed a “smear and harassment campaign initiated by a Zionist organization” for the cancellation.
Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the terrorist organization’s early years. Kanafani announced the PFLP’s responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre of May 1972 and was linked to the airport attackers. The attack killed 26 people and wounded 80 others.
Janiv also linked to the PYM statement in his post, published in Palestine in America (PIA), titled: “PYM Responds To Cancellation Of Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship Celebration In Toronto Due To Zionist Pressure.”
On May 25, 2017, Jani promoted on Facebook the Palestinian prisoners’ “Dignity Strike,” changing his Facebook profile picture and writing: “40 days as of May 25. Publicize and break the media blackout. UPDATE: Hunger strike called off after negotiations.”
On February 20, 2013, Jani tweeted: “Call the White House today to pressure Israel to free Samer Issawi and all the Palestinian hunger strikers!”.
Samer Issawi is a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who received a 26-year prison sentence in 2002. During the second intifada, Issawi manufactured and distributed pipe bombs and, in several incidents, fired indiscriminately on Israeli civilian vehicles.
Promoting Violent Protesters
Jani wrote: “This rally was already being planned, and becomes ever more urgent given the massacre in Gaza. please share and attend!”
Also on May 14, 2018, Jani shared a post to Facebook that said: “Not a single Israeli has been injured today as they've slaughtered and maimed countless Palestinian protestors. Over 1,000 Palestinians have been shot by Israelis today. Nearly 50 have been killed - including many women and children.”
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
On May 16, 2018, Jani posted to Facebook: “The response of apologists for Israel is one word: ‘Hamas.’ That’s it. Islamophobia and racism takes care of the rest. All you need to know is ‘Hamas.’”
On October 25, 2018, Jani posted to Facebook an Al Jazeera article that featured a photo of Abed Abu Amro swinging a shepherd’s sling during the March of Return riots and quoted from the article, writing: “A’ed Abu Amro: ‘I don't go to protests to get pictures of me taken, but this has encouraged me to continue demonstrating. The flag I was carrying is the same one I always hold in all the other protests I've attended. My friends make fun of me, saying it is easier to throw rocks without holding a flag in the other hand, but I got used to it.’”
The photo has been compared to “the iconic French Revolution painting, Liberty Leading the People.”
Abu Amro [Muhammad Na’im Muhammad Abu Amro] was famously photographed participating in violent protests organized and funded by Hamas along Israel’s border with Gaza. Abu Amro was later wounded while participating in the protests.
On November 3, 2018, Jani shared to Facebook a post that featured multiple photos of the violent riots, with the caption: “The amount of tear gas Israel fires on Gaza should rightly be termed chemical warfare. Images from today's demonstrations in the bufferzone.”
On March 17, 2019, Jani shared to Facebook a link to an article from the anti-Israel publication, the Middle East Eye (MEE), titled: “Palestinians in Gaza call for millions to join Great March of Return anniversary.”
The violent riots during the “March of Return” continued into 2019 and included armed protesters using gunfire, penetrating Israeli territory, launching incendiary kites into Israel and throwing IEDs, hand grenades and Molotov cocktails. Some of the attacks were carried out by Hamas operatives.
Promoting Anti-Israel Agitators
On August 11, 2016, Jani tweeted a photo of a lecture being delivered by Iyad Burnat, adding: “Right Now! Iyad Burnat, Palestine activist, against Israeli apartheid at Columbus #FreePalestine.”Iyad Burnat is the coordinator of the Bil’in popular resistance committee, organizing weekly, often violent demonstrations against the Israeli security barrier since 2005. Burnat has repeatedly equated Israel with Hitler and ISIS. He has also claimed that Zionism is a “racist ideology” and accused “Zionists” of controlling American politics.
On December 3, 2018, Jani posted to Facebook: “ISO statement in solidarity with Marc Lamont Hill. Free Palestine! Down with the censorship of Palestine solidarity activists!” Jani linked to an article from the Socialist Worker, titled: “Stand with Marc Lamont Hill and for Palestine.”
In November 2018, Hill was fired from his contributor position at CNN (Cable News Network) after he gave an anti-Israel speech at the United Nations. He called [00:20:47] for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” a phrase associated with demands to dismantle the State of Israel. Hill also accused [00:16:19] Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” as well as [00:17:49] “white supremacy” and [00:17:56] “settler colonialism.”
On December 9, 2018, Jani shared a post to Facebook that featured a screenshot of a tweet from disgraced anti-Israel professor Steven Salaita that said: “The phrase ‘From the River to the Sea’ doesn’t connote a hypothetical genocide of Israelis. It describes the area in which Israel performed an actual (and ongoing) genocide of Palestinians.”
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.
On February 13, 2019, Jani posted to Facebook an image of U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and the hashtag “#IStandWithIlhan.”
Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2018. In February 2019, top Congressional leaders denounced Omar for tweeting anti-Semitic remarks.
On May 22, 2019, Jani posted to Facebook a link to a Change.org petition that called on the Highland Park Public Library Director to reinstate a planned promotional event for the children’s primer: “P is for Palestine: A Palestine Alphabet Book” with author Golbarg Bashi, who has demonized Israel and is a supporter of the BDS movement.
The petition defended the book and said: “‘I is for Intifada, Intifada is Arabic for rising up for what is right, if you are a kid or grownup!’ And Palestinians are certainly justified in rising up against the settler-colonial regime.”
Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.
The petition Jani posted was co-sponsored by anti-Israel groups Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition in NY, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) in NJ, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in NJ, Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and USACBI: US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, among others.
Supporting BDS
In 2016, Jani, wrote a “Statement Opposing HB 476,” which condemned Ohio State Representative Tim Brown for supporting Ohio House Bill [HB] 476 and criticizing the OSU Divest campaign. Jani indicated that he was writing “as a professor and advisor of student groups at Ohio State.”HB 476 called “to prohibit a state agency from contracting with a company that is involved in a boycott” of Israel.
The bill passed both the Ohio House of Representatives and State Senate and was signed into law by Governor John Kasich in 2019, making Ohio the 14th state to pass anti-BDS legislation.
Jani claimed in his statement that the BDS movement “has sought non-violent means to challenge Israeli atrocities” and he likened Israel to South Africa during Apartheid.
On September 22, 2016, Jani wrote to the Modern Language Association (MLA), a “Statement in Support of a Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions.” In the statement, Jani likened boycotting Israel to agreeing to free slaves in 19th Century America. Jani also said: “...cultural and academic institutions ought to be understand [sic] politically, not as neutral, autonomous spaces” and “There is no escaping global politics.”
Jani wrote in his statement to the MLA that: “Failure to pass the boycott resolution has implications for us right here, and will impact those of us for whom questions of colonialism, racism and targeting by the surveillance state are deeply personal and immediate.”
Jani concluded his statement to the MLA, writing: “Internationalism is possible, but it is not at all automatic.We need to work for it.We need to take a stand, from wherever we stand, against the Israeli occupation.”
On October 12, 2018, Jani shared a petition to Facebook, authored by the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) and titled: “Defend Lucy Peterson & John Cheney-Lippold - Support Academic Freedom & Right to Boycott.”
On March 9, 2019, Jani posted to Facebook: “David Palumbo-Liu’s presidential address at the ACLA [American Comparative Literature Association] conference, Georgetown University.Good time for a BDS get together.”
Stanford University Professor David Palumbo-Liu is a well-known advocate of the BDS movement who has excused terrorism and demonized Israel.
On March 12, 2019, Jani posted on Facebook: “Great time with some of the BDS crew at ACLA. The sessions on boycott and divestment — shoutout to Subramanian Shankar — were fantastic and we got some good discussions and debates going about a range of topics.” Jani also attached a photo of himself with other tagged BDS activists.
On July 25, 2019, Jani posted to Facebook criticizing U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley for supporting House Resolution (H.R.) 246 and for her support for “the so-called ‘two-state solution’ and really, the idea that Israel is about Jewish self-determination.”
H.R. 246, which opposed the BDS movement and “other efforts targeting Israel,” was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 23, 2019.
Jani wrote: “You can’t both defend the right of the colonized to resist and speak out, and also the right of the occupier to occupy,” and added: “This is simply another way to defend Israel’s right to colonize, while allowing for protest.”
On July 29, 2019, Jani posted to Facebook: “Rashida Tlaib’s defense of free speech and opposition of anti-BDS legislation — while calling out the racist practices of Israel.”
In his post, Jani embedded a video of Tlaib speaking in Congress which was captioned: “As the granddaughter of a Palestinian grandmother (my sity) and as the daughter of Palestinian immigrant parents, I rose in opposition to #HRes246, an attack on our freedom of speech and right to boycott the racist policies of the government of Israel.”
On February 1, 2020, Jani posted to Facebook: “Republishing my 2016 statement calling on MLA members to support the BDS movement” and embedded a link to his “Statement in Support of a Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions.”
Promoting BDS at OSU
The event’s Facebook description also claimed “(t)he struggle for Palestinian freedom and self-determination has many parallels with the South African struggle against apartheid.”
On February 6, 2015, Jani participated in a photo campaign to promote an OSU Divest initiative. The photo caption quoted Jani as saying: “Just like every single one of us must make sure the holocaust that Jews faced must never happen again, so we must make sure we refuse the logic of Israeli occupation and apartheid.”
OSU Divest was established in January 2015: “in response to the ever-worsening human rights crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories.” In March 2015, OSU Divest introduced a BDS resolution at OSU’s University Student Government (USG). The divestment resolution was voted down.
In 2018, the OSU Coalition for BDS (OSU4BDS) presented a divestment resolution to the USG. The resolution called to “support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctioning of Israeli products,” as well as calling for an academic boycott against Israel.
The OSU4BDS Facebook group, founded in 2018, described itself as a “coalition of students, workers, and community members fighting for Ohio State to divest from Israeli apartheid as part of the global BDS movement.”
On November 30, 2018, Jani shared to Facebook an OSU4BDS post that featured a copy of the divestment resolution proposal. The OSU4BDS post said: “We are now collecting signatures to present a resolution in support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement to the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at Ohio State!”
The OSU4BDS post also encouraged readers to “Join us on December 5 when we plan to present the resolution. There is a public forum in the USG meeting where anyone has the opportunity to speak for up to two minutes.”
On December 3, 2018, Jani promoted to Facebook a “Rally for BDS” to be held on December 5, 2018 and co-hosted by “OSU4BDS.”
The rally’s Facebook description said: “Join the OSU Coalition for BDS this Wednesday as we call on the university to boycott and divest from companies profiting off of Israeli apartheid...where we will be presenting our resolution in support of BDS.”
On December 5, 2018, the OSU USG voted down the BDS resolution, 30 to 7.
On December 7, 2018, Jani posted to Facebook: “OSU student government voted against BDS, 33-7[sic]. But here’s the NYU student senate vote, 35-14 for BDS. There’s a struggle ongoing, with victories and defeats. But everywhere we are raising the argument for BDS and Palestine, and forcing student bodies and campuses to articulate their positions. This is a national and international struggle not a series of local ones.”
On May 15, 2019, Jani shared to Facebook an OSU4BDS post that called on readers to “Join us in deactivating Airbnb today in protest of their complicity in the illegal settlement enterprise in the West Bank. And join us in future campaigns to boycott, sanction, and divest from Israeli apartheid.”
In November 2018, Airbnb announced it would remove 200 listings in Israel’s West Bank from the Airbnb platform, due to pressure from BDS activists. In April 2019, Airbnb reversed its decision and allocated profits from the region to non-profit organizations dedicated to humanitarian aid.
The May 15, 2019 OSU4BDS Facebook post that Jani shared also commemorated “al-Nakbah.”
The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.
SJP OSU Activism
In March 2015, CJP OSU listed Jani as their “Faculty Advisor.”On March 25, 2019, Jani posted to Facebook: “Exiting [sic.] to see some new energy at OSU around BDS and solidarity with Palestine.” Jani embedded a link to “Apartheid Week 2019 at OSU,” hosted by SJP OSU, OSU Coalition for BDS and Palestinian Women’s Association.
The event’s Facebook description said that Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) at OSU would feature “a talk on connections between Apartheid South Africa and Israeli occupied Palestine,” as well as “a tour through Arab Student Union's ‘Apartheid in Palestine’display case” and “a showing of‘5 Broken Cameras.’”
Israel’s security barrier, 97 percent of which is a low chain-link barrier, was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.
Jani added in the comment section: “I was able to finally feel again like I had space to operate on a campus where I've been active for 15 years.Right away, I was able to get into a conversation with a student who was pulled towards Zionism and Islamophobia simply because he doesn't know much. I laid out some questions he needs to educate himself on, and he agreed.”
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.
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.
The Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) describes itself as "a coalition of individuals and groups in the city of Columbus opposed to the occupation of Palestine." PSG’s Facebook posts have celebrated violence against Israel, demonized Israel and justified terrorism.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pranav.jani.four
- Status:
- Professor
- University:
- Ohio-State
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- ISO,
- more...
- PSG,
- SJP
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- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025